Craig Bellamy (rugby league)

Craig Bellamy (born 3 October 1959 in Portland, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the NRL's Melbourne Storm club and previously coached the New South Wales' State of Origin team. Bellamy also writes a column for The Australian.^[2]

Bellamy played his entire NSWRL premiership career with the Canberra Raiders during the 1980s and 90s. In Canberra he played under the likes of leading coaches Tim Sheens and Wayne Bennett, and won a grand final with the Raiders in 1990.

After a coaching apprenticeship as Wayne Bennett's assistant at the Brisbane Broncos, Bellamy was appointed head coach of Melbourne in 2003. There he has achieved much success, winning premierships in 2007 and 2009. He was the coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team until he was sacked in 2010 after three unrelenting seasons of disappointment which netted only two wins from nine matches.

Playing career

Bellamy played for Oberon in the Country Rugby League as a teenager before moving to Macquarie United in the Newcastle competition in 1979.

The Canberra Raiders signed Bellamy in their debut season, 1982. He played the majority of his career in the centres but was also used as a utility player, appearing at times as fullback, winger, five-eighth and lock.

Bellamy played in the 1990 Grand Final victory for the Canberra Raiders as a reserve. He spent 1990 with Turvey Park as captain/coach in the Wagga Wagga competition and had a stint playing in England for Swinton in 1991, before returning to Canberra for one last year in 1992.

Coaching career

1990s

In 1995, Bellamy coached the Canberra Raiders' President's Cup team to a premiership win.^[3] In 1998 he became performance co-ordinator and assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos.

2000s

In 2002, when Broncos' head coach Bennett was on State of Origin duty with the Queensland Maroons, Bellamy gained NRL experience as a head coach. Forced to field a team full of young players due to the regular side's representative commitments, the 'Baby Broncos' upset the Wests Tigers. The Tigers were a leading candidate to sign Bellamy as their coach for the 2003 season, although he ultimately joined Melbourne after Mark Murray was sacked. In his third season as an NRL coach with the Storm, Bellamy started coaching the Country Origin team with a loss in 2005. His work with Wayne Bennett extended to international level when he was appointed assistant to Bennett for the Australian Test team during the 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament, and was often seen 'running the water' to players on the field. Bellamy was considered a leading candidate to coach the Queensland Maroons in 2006, but his selection was opposed by many former players, including Arthur Beetson, and was ultimately vetoed due to the fact he was a New South Welshman. He coached New South Wales Country to victory and his club, Melbourne won the 2006 minor premiership and reached the 2006 National Rugby League grand final, but finished as runners-up to former mentor Bennett's Brisbane Broncos. The following season Country lost but the Storm were minor premiers and reached the 2007 grand final, in which they destroyed the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 34–8 to become the grand final winners of the NRL.

In April, 2008, Bellamy signed a five-year contract extension through to 2013 with Melbourne despite interest from the Brisbane Broncos.^[4] This signing means that Bellamy will become the first 10 year coach in the Storm's history. After the New South Wales Blues' poor showing in the 2007 State of Origin series, Bellamy was appointed as coach for the 2008 series.^[5] In his first series in charge of NSW, the Blues lost to Mal Meninga's Maroons 2 – 1. The second and third series have also resulted in series losses, therefore posing serious questions on Bellamy's abilities to coach at representative level. It was suggested that Bellamy was chosen as the Blues' coach given he had coached the illegal Melbourne Storm teams to premierships which have since been stripped from them due to salary cap breaches. Bellamy was sacked as Blues coach after the 2010 series which resulted in a 3-0 whitewash, the first in Origin and also the Blues' first since 2000. Ricky Stuart was later named his successor.

During the finals campaign of the 2008 NRL season, Bellamy cost his club $50,000 after he was fined for disclosing scathing remarks and views on the NRL's decision to suspend his side's captain and goal-kicker, Cameron Smith over a controversial "grapple tackle" on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday. Bellamy claimed that the administration was corrupt and that bookkeepers already knew that Smith would be denied the opportunity to play for the rest of the season and furthermore along with Melbourne's CEO questioned the NRL's integrity in their opting to sideline Smith and not others who were guilty of committing similar tackles. This drew threats of legal action from the members of the NRL judiciary.

Bellamy coached Melbourne to their 3rd successive NRL grand final, but could not repeat the feats of the previous year as his side suffered defeat to Manly.^[6]

So far the Storm have not missed the finals in Bellamy's seven seasons at the helm as a result of their performances.

Craig Bellamy coached Melbourne Storm in their grand final win in 2009.^[7] 2009 marked the fourth consecetive year Melbourne played in the grand final under Bellamy. Melbourne also reached the top four on the NRL ladder for the fourth consecutive year, under Bellamy.

Bellamy was named coach of the year at the 2009 RLIF awards.^[8]

2010s

References

• Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 9781877082931.