Reason Craig Bellamy loses his cool in coaching box amid surprise call on Storm succession plan

Craig Bellamy has opened up about what causes him to lose his cool, his red flags when signing players and the shock Storm succession plan in place.

Craig Bellamy has declared Melbourne will be in safe hands when he makes the call to retire from coaching as he opened up to news.com.au about what makes him see red in the coach’s box, the one thing that stops him from signing a player and his high hopes for his son Aaron, who could be in line to replace him at the helm of the Storm.

Bellamy’s remarkable record over three decades in charge of the team has led many to declare that he isn’t just the greatest NRL coach of all time but the best coach in Australian sports history.

In 22 years in charge of Melbourne, Bellamy has led the team to a phenomenal 21 finals appearances, with the only miss coming in 2010 as a direct result of a salary cap punishment.

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The 65-year-old has guided the Storm to nine grand finals, of which he has won five and has a barely believable 70 per cent coaching win rate.

However, even still he rides every play like it’s do or die and in a rare insight to news.com.au he revealed there is nothing that fires him up quicker than when a player doesn’t stick to the game plan.

You can watch Craig Bellamy’s biggest blow ups behind the scenes in the player above.

Bellamy told news.com.au that while players such as Cameron Munster and Harry Grant can read the game as well as anyone, nothing infuriates him more than a player who doesn’t stick to the game plan.

“When someone tries something out of the norm of what we have planned it gets me fired up,” Bellamy told news.com.au.

Craig Bellamy is known for his coaches box blow ups. Image: Stan/Getty

“So when they try to do something they’re not used to doing and it’s a bit over the top especially if the game is on the line it does get me worked up.

“If we’re 30 points up it might not matter but if there’s 10 minutes to go and we’re two points behind or two points in front it can cost us the game. So things like that annoy me more than anything else.

“But there’s definitely a few other things that annoy me at times as well but nothing more than that.”

Bellamy is a self-proclaimed chill guy away from footy, however, he admits he can get carried away at times in the coach’s box and revealed it has even got to a point where his son Aaron, who is also an assistant coach at the Storm, has had to pull him aside at times and told him to calm down.

“I guess it’s how you express that (frustration) and I do sometimes go over the top,” Bellamy admitted to news.com.au.

“Look even a couple of times my son has pulled me aside and told me to pull my head in and he was probably right.

“I think I’m reasonably cool, calm and collected away from footy but in the game I can get heated. I get that from my mum I think, she was quite fiery.

“Sometimes I’m just feeling a bit of heat and have to just walk away for five minutes and then talk it out. It’s never too personal it’s just about the action.”

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has one of the greatest coaching records in Australian sport. Pic: Instagram

Craig Bellamy reveals red flag that will stop him signing a player

The Storm’s recruitment is undoubtedly one of the best of any sporting franchise in the country over the more than two decades Bellamy has been at the helm.

In that time much has been made of Bellamy’s ‘good bloke test’ and the lengths he goes to in order to ensure the player he is getting fits into the side.

And Storm talent identification guru Paul Bunn even went as far as to say they would rather a player with great character than great skill, stating that just one wrong signing has the potential to tear down what Bellamy and the Melbourne staff have built over the years.

“We will compromise on talent to make sure we have the right character,” Bunn said in the Stan documentary ‘Revealed: Craig Bellamy – Inside the Storm’, which premieres Sunday March 9

“We can’t destroy the culture we have built.”

But Bellamy admits that test goes well beyond the playing group, stating not a single player or core member of the club, whether it be a squad member, a physio or a backroom staff member is employed at the Storm until he’s sat down and had a chat to them and is confident they will fit in.

“We want people in our organisation whether that be players, physios or whatever we want people that care and care about what we are about as a club, care about footy and their teammates,” Bellamy said.

Craig Bellamy is notorious for tough pre-season camps (pictured pre-season training camp at Torquay beach) Picture: David Geraghty

“The big thing for me is care. But sometimes it is hard to pick that if they have it or haven’t got it and that’s why you do your homework on where they have been and talk to their school teaches and junior coaches and what not.

“The main thing I like doing is sitting down and talking to a player who we are looking to bring into the club and talk to them and I think I can get a good handle on if they will fit into our club and our culture.

“That’s the biggest one for me and I will trust my gut after I talk to them.”

While the chat is more about getting to know them than picking apart potential weaknesses, Bellamy says if they do one certain thing they won’t be getting a contract.

“If they talk too much about themselves,” Bellamy revealed as the one thing he doesn’t like to see in an interview.

“It’s I can do this and I can do that and I think that’s the biggest thing that turns me off.

“You obviously want confidence but it is how they portray that confidence that’s most important.”

Craig Bellamy says a caring player is better than a talented one. Picture: Damian Shaw

Craig Bellamy opens up about Melbourne Storm succession plan

As we approach the same time of the year when Bellamy has to make up his mind whether or not he will continue on in charge for another year, news.com.au put it to the master coach about if he will be calling it quits at the end of this season.

And while the Storm mentor did beat around the bush a little, it would appear he isn’t done just yet.

“I don’t think I’ll see it coming but I’m sure something will tell me it’s time,” Bellamy told news.com.au

“I don’t know what that will be but at the same time it is getting closer I’d imagine.”

Aaron Bellamy (left) is one of three assistant coaches under Craig Bellamy at the Storm and may be handed the head coaching job when his father retires. Pic: Michael Klein

But when that time comes Bellamy hopes either his son Aaron or fellow assistant coaches Marc Brentnall or Ryan Hinchcliffe are the ones to take over from him.

“I think any of our three assistant coaches, Aaron, Marc Brentnall and Ryan (Hinchcliffe), I think they’re all capable of being first-grade coaches in the future and I’d love to see Aaron do that of course.

“But I’d also love to see Marc and Hinch get a go to whether that is taking over from me or at another club.

“They’re all very capable coaches and more importantly good people.”

Revealed – Craig Bellamy: Inside the Storm not only pulls back the curtain on his coaching secrets, but also on his guarded personal life, showcasing a man who belies the tough coaching persona fans are familiar with, and shares the challenges he overcame to get to where he is today.

Originally published as Reason Craig Bellamy loses his cool in coaching box amid surprise call on Storm succession plan