Craig Bellamy re-signs with Melbourne on a three-year deal worth more than $1.7 million a season
CRAIG Bellamy has shut the door on a possible move to Brisbane, signing a new three-year deal with Melbourne worth more than $1.7 million a season.
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CRAIG Bellamy has rejected a rich approach from the Broncos to extend his deal with Melbourne.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that protracted negotiations regarding Bellamy’s future are over with Bellamy to announce on Sunday he will recommit to the Storm.
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Bellamy — who is off-contract at season’s end — strongly considered returning to Brisbane to replace Wayne Bennett from 2020. The move would have seen Bennett coach for one more season before being usurped by his former assistant coach.
News Corp has obtained a leaked Melbourne Storm email which confirms Bellamy has inked a three-year extension, understood to be worth $1.7 million annually, keeping him at the Storm until the end of 2021.
The email reads in part: “Craig Bellamy has accepted terms to continue as head coach for a further three seasons (end 2021).
“A long-form agreement will need to be finalised in the coming weeks.
“Given he’s informed the Broncos of his position, there will be an announcement early tomorrow afternoon, prior to our game against Newcastle.
“He is informing football staff and players tonight.”
The 58-year-old became just the seventh coach to coach 400 games or more earlier this year and is in the midst of his 16th season at the club having won last year’s premiership.
Bellamy’s contract is expected to take him beyond the careers of Billy Slater and Cameron Smith with the duo uncertain of their playing future beyond this year. It now means that Bellamy is in charge of rebuilding a Storm roster which has dominated for more than a decade.
His re-signing was considered key by the Storm’s part-owner Bart Campbell.
It gives his Melbourne side a massive boost heading into their clash against the Knights. The Storm are well placed to defend their premiership title having been entrenched in the top eight this season.
Bellamy’s decision is a massive blow for the Broncos, who last month secretly approached the 58-year-old with a view to him replacing Bennett at Red Hill, either next season or in 2020.
Now the Broncos must find a Plan B contingency for the post-Bennett era. The club can either hand the 68-year-old Bennett an extended deal, or opt for a fresher face such as his former assistant Kevin Walters, who has long been touted as a possible successor.
The news will bring a wry grin to the face of super coach Bennett, who was blindsided when Broncos boss Paul White made a secret trip to Melbourne to meet with Bellamy.