NRL 2021: Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy breaks silence on ‘white powder’ scandal
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has expressed his disappointment in the wake of the NRL club’s “white powder” scandal.
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Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy says he is “disappointed” in the three Storm players at the centre of the “white powder” scandal that rocked the NRL last month.
A video leaked just hours before the Dally M Awards depicted Storm stars Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith and Chris Lewis in a hotel room. A white substance was visible in the clip.
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The trio have each been suspended for one game and fined a combined total of $49,000 over the incident. In addition, all three will be required to complete education and training programs relating to substance abuse.
On Friday afternoon, Melbourne coach Bellamy addressed the scandal publicly for the first time. The six-time Dally M Coach of the Year said he only found out about the video “half an hour” before the NRL’s night of nights.
“I found out about half an hour before the Dally M Awards, what had happened. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure about what did happen until after (the Dally M Awards),” he said on 4BC’s Afternoons with Sofie Formica.
Bellamy said he was both disappointed in his players and committed to supporting them in the wake of the scandal.
“It’s been really disappointing for us as a club. It’s been really disappointing for the game,” he said.
“Those guys are very aware that they have done the wrong thing but it’s really important now that we give them the help and the guidance they need to not be making those mistakes again.
“They get a lot of education in those areas from the club but also from the NRL. The NRL is great with its education in those areas. It’s particularly disappointing for our club.
“We need to make sure we do all we can for this not to happen again.”
Bellamy said NRL players had a responsibility to improve their behaviour in their post-season celebrations.
“When I was their age, we used to go out after a game and have six, eight, 10 schooners. That’s what we did in those days. Obviously they don’t do that a whole heap now. I don’t know whether having a snort of cocaine or a line of cocaine … is worse for your body or worse for you than half a dozen schooners,” he said.
“But the big difference is having half a dozen schooners isn’t illegal.
“What disappoints me so much is that these guys earn a good living, they’re doing what they love in life and what they did was illegal and they were very, very well aware of that but they still ventured there.”
The Storm players aren’t the only ones who have been caught in controversy this off-season.
Warriors rookie Reece Walsh has been fined $5000 by the NRL and suspended for two games after the teenager admitted to being caught by police in possession of cocaine last month.
The NRL Integrity Unit is also investigating Ofahiki Ogden of the Bulldogs after he was charged with drug possession in the days before the grand final.
Originally published as NRL 2021: Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy breaks silence on ‘white powder’ scandal
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