NRL 2024: Parramatta Eels targeted Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy with $10m contract to replace Brad Arthur

Before securing Jason Ryles as their new head coach, Parramatta offered Storm coach Craig Bellamy an NRL record $10 million contract to replace Brad Arthur and save the strife-torn Eels.

Strife-torn Parramatta secretly targeted Craig Bellamy and offered the Melbourne super coach an NRL record $10 million contract in a stunning big-money bid to poach him from the Storm.

As he prepares for his 10th grand-final in Sunday night’s clash against Penrith, this masthead can reveal the Eels tabled the richest coaching contract in rugby league’s 116-year history to lure Bellamy out of Melbourne.

The Eels were on the hunt for a new coach following the termination of Brad Arthur and attempted to blow Melbourne out of the water with a deal that seemed too good for Bellamy to refuse.

Parramatta’s pursuit of Bellamy is entirely feasible given Bellamy’s success this season in winning the minor premiership, the Dally M coach of the year award and steering the Storm to a 10th decider.

After winning his seventh Dally M coach of the year, it can be revealled the Parramatta Eels secretly plotted to poach Craig Bellamy from Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

It’s understood Parramatta powerbrokers had drawn up a hit list of potential successors to Arthur and they made inquiries with several candidates, including Wayne Bennett, who ultimately joined South Sydney.

But Bellamy was a key target.

Mindful of his 20-year association with Melbourne, Eels chiefs knew it would take a monumental effort to entice Bellamy and they were armed with a four-year contract worth an estimated $2.5 million a season.

Bellamy signed a five-year deal with Melbourne in 2022 that allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach role for the following season or transition into another role at the club.

The 65-year-old held preliminary talks with the Eels but money wasn’t a driving factor in his decision to knock back Parramatta and stay loyal to the Storm.

While he appreciated Parramatta’s interest, Bellamy was mindful of the rebuilding task required at the Eels and the perils of leaving a Melbourne club with a cultural bedrock of sustained success.

Bellamy was identified as a key target after the Parramatta Eels sacked coach Brad Arthur. Picture: NRL Imagery

After announcing the appointment of Jason Ryles as their new head coach in July, Eels chair Sean McElduff revealed the club had originally set their sights on seven-time premiership winner Wayne Bennett.

What wasn’t made public was the plan to sign Bellamy, who many believe has now surpassed Bennett as the greatest coach in the game’s history.

Eels sources confirmed on Thursday that Bellamy had been approached, but insisted talks failed to progress to the pointy end because the three-time premiership winner was under contract with the Storm.

It is understood Bellamy’s current contract with Melbourne makes him the highest-paid coach in the game on a deal worth almost $2 million a season.

Any club looking to prise him out of Melbourne would likely need to pay him significantly more.

Parramatta were willing to do just that, although sources close to the Eels insist talks did not reach a decisive stage because Bellamy indicated he wanted to stay in Melbourne.

Thus, the Eels became the latest club to try and fail in a bid to land the signature of Bellamy, who has rejected bids from Brisbane, the Dragons, Cronulla, Gold Coast, the Warriors and Wests Tigers during his Storm tenure.

After missing out on Bellamy, Parramatta moved on to his former assistant coach Jason Ryles. Picture: Getty Images

Storm chairman Matt Tripp said he was always wary of poaching bids for Bellamy, but insisted the newly-minted NRL coach of the year is not motivated by money alone.

“The truth is Craig has been offered much more money by other clubs than we can give him,” Tripp said.

“If Craig was motivated just by money, he would have taken the offers and we wouldn’t have him anymore.

“Over the years, of course, money talks, but I think he’s in a really good place at the moment.

“I’d be incredibly surprised if Craig got the urge to go to another club, or even a start-up (expansion) club, because of his familiarity with Melbourne and what he has created here.”

Having missed out on Bellamy, the Eels are entirely satisfied with the appointment of his former Storm assistant Ryles and backing the 45-year-old to lead a blue-and-gold revival.

Bellamy, whose contract expires at the end of 2026, said he is never complacent at the Storm and humbled by regular interest from NRL rivals.

“One thing I never try to do is get too happy about things because there is always something around the corner to give you a slap in the face and wake you up again,” Bellamy said.

“I’ll keep making the decisions I think are right for the club and not myself.

“You’ve got to make the right decisions for the team and the whole club.

“That’s one thing I’ll always hold dear and see as really important and will try to do that.”

Bellamy has secured his place as one of the best coaches in the history of Australian sport. Picture: Getty Images

Bellamy’s greatness as an NRL coach is now set in stone.

Even allowing for Melbourne’s salary-cap breach which saw the club stripped of titles in 2007 and 2009, Bellamy will clinch his fourth official premiership if the Storm prevail over Penrith on Sunday night.

He has claims to being one of the finest coaches in the history of Australian sport.

Football’s Ange Postecoglou dominated the National Soccer League and the A-League, delivered the Socceroos’ only major trophy and has won leagues in Scotland and Japan.

Bennett has won seven NRL premierships, while Alastair Clarkson won four flags (2008, 2013-15) from five grand finals at Hawthorn.

Such is Bellamy’s dominance, he has well outlasted Clarkson, with his 10 grand-final appearances spanning an 18-year period dating back to 2006.

Bellamy will be a free agent when two new expansion clubs, the Western Bears and Papua New Guinea, are tipped to enter the NRL in 2027-28, but Tripp is determined to keep him at the Storm for life.

“To be honest, the greatness of Craig is that he is coaching better now than he ever has,” Tripp said.

“He’s contracted with us until 2026 and we’ve got a rolling arrangement where in March or April each year, Craig has a think about things.

“He will tell me whether he was to stay as head coach or move into a mentoring role.

“Part of Craig’s strength is that he makes average players good and good players great.

“There’s always going to be interest naturally in a coach of Craig’s ability, but with what he’s created, I think he’d like to see it out at Melbourne.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: Parramatta Eels targeted Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy with $10m contract to replace Brad Arthur