The day Rupert Murdoch visited Storm training to chat with Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith
It’s been a closely-guarded secret for 10 years - but now it can be revealed how Craig Bellamy and Cam Smith found themselves in the company of one of the world’s most powerful figures
Opinion
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The photo is grainy but the figures are unmistakeable. On one side is Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, on the other Storm icon Cameron Smith. Separating the pair is News Corp media baron Rupert Murdoch.
As the Storm celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their 2012 premiership win - the title that many believed cemented Bellamy’s reputation as one of the greatest coaches of his generation - News Corp can reveal how Bellamy and Smith found themselves in the company of one of the world’s most powerful figures only days before the first legitimate title of their respective careers.
The photo and the meeting have remained a closely-guarded secret until now. The Storm officials in attendance remained tight-lipped for a decade, only lifting the lid on the rendezvous at a lunch in Melbourne on Friday, where 14 of the 17 players from that grand final side were in attendance.
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The meeting between heavyweights of the rugby league and media world was a clandestine arrangement, organised and conducted under conditions normally reserved for visiting royalty or heads of state.
Bellamy was only told about Murdoch’s arrival at Storm headquarters after training was over that day. Smith had to be hauled off the training paddock, where he was practising his goalkicking at an open day for fans.
A gear steward drove him to the meeting after head of football Frank Ponissi told Smith to get himself to the boardroom quick smart. Smith initially stood his ground - he had a grand final to prepare for.
It was only when Ponissi told Smith who was waiting that the Storm skipper, a stickler for doing extras after training, realised the urgency of the situation.
Murdoch came and went through a back entrance after spending about 30 minutes with Bellamy and Smith. Those who were in the room said he made a point of congratulating the club - at the time owned by News Corp - on the way they had rebuilt after the 2010 salary cap scandal.
He also picked Bellamy’s brain on leadership and culture, two areas where the Storm have become a flagship in Australian sport.
“Ron Gauci was the chief executive at the time,” Ponissi said.
“The morning of our last training session - it was the Tuesday before we flew out to Sydney for the grand final breakfast and all that - (Gauci) kept asking what time training would be finished.
“He was really anxious. He kept saying you have to be back by this time. Then he let the cat out of the bag - he said Rupert Murdoch is coming to see us to wish us all the best for the grand final and congratulate us for getting there after the last couple of years.
“We had to get Cam off the training paddock - he was doing goal-kicking practice. We also had fans that day - it was at the fan day - so he would have spent another half an hour signing autographs.
“He walked straight off the training track with his boots on. We sat around the board room and chatted for about half an hour.
“No-one saw (Murdoch) come in and no-one saw him leave. The photo was taken on his phone.”
A matter of days after the meeting, Bellamy led Melbourne to a win over Canterbury - the side they will play on Sunday afternoon at AAMI Park.
It was the climax to one of the most remarkable rebuilds in Australian sport. The salary cap scandal of 2010 threatened to rip the club apart. Ponissi admits he wondered whether the Storm would survive.
Winning a premiership was the last thing on his or anyone’s mind as they sifted through the rubble and began the process of regeneration.
They fell a game short of the grand final in 2011 and then started 2012 on fire before losing five games in a row. Even Bellamy was out of answers. He and Ponissi had a meeting where they searched for a solution.
It eventually came from left field. They cancelled a video review session, contacted comedian Marty Fields - a Storm fan - and headed to a hotel in Richmond.
They wouldn’t lose again.
“Two years before if you said to me that we would be winning a premiership, I would have laughed at you,” Ponissi said.
“We didn’t even know whether we were going to survive, let alone win a premiership. Survival was our first thought.
“It was a very special premiership.”
Now that is something worth celebrating.
Madge and Tigers just can’t take a trick
It was hard not to feel a level of sympathy for Michael Maguire after the Wests Tigers agonising loss to the Gold Coast on Thursday night.
Maguire and the Tigers can’t take a trick at the moment. Four losses through their opening four games have left the coach vulnerable and the club under attack.
Their latest loss was the most devastating. The game itself was an embarrassment. The standard was shameful. Yet it wasn’t about quality for the Tigers. They just needed a win and defeat came in the most painful circumstances.
Significantly, suspended Tigers star Jackson Hastings could be seen in the sheds after the game comforting players, having paid his own way to the Gold Coast after the club opted not to meet a request for him and co-captain Adam Doueihi to fly with the team.
Some at the Tigers felt it would be disrespectful to other players in the top 30 who were injured or sidelined. They were wary of fracturing the squad at a time when everyone was struggling. It was completely understandable.
At the same time, other clubs have taken a different tack. South Sydney flew Latrell Mitchell and Liam Knight to Brisbane with the side in round one even though the former was suspended and the latter was injured.
Melbourne did the same with Harry Grant in round one when they played the Wests Tigers in Sydney- Grant was also serving a ban.
Bird gives Dragons huge boost
Jack Bird is expected to confirm he is staying at St George Illawarra within days. Bird has a two-year extension on the table from the Dragons, the offer having been made, withdrawn, slightly revised and then made again.
Bird had no desire to leave but he also didn’t want to short-change himself. Weekend Read understands he had further talks with his manager, David Riolo, this week and a decision is imminent, with Bird expected to extend his time at St George Illawarra.
Originally published as The day Rupert Murdoch visited Storm training to chat with Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith
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