Craig Bellamy

Craig Bellamy is widely regarded as one of the finest coaches in the rugby league world.

A former Canberra Raiders player, he was appointed as head coach of NRL’s Melbourne Storm in 2003 and prior to that coached the New South Wales State of Origin team. Craig also writes a column for The Australian.

Before retiring from playing in 1992 and becoming a coach in 1993, Craig had played his entire NSWRL premiership career with the Canberra Raiders, chalking up 148 first-grade matches with the Green Machine.

He joined the Raiders coaching staff immediately after retiring, as President’s Cup coach and, after guiding the team to a premiership in 1995, was appointed the club’s strength and conditioning and reserve grade coach (1996) and first-grade assistant coach to Test great Mal Meninga (1997).

After a coaching apprenticeship as Wayne Bennett’s assistant at the Brisbane Broncos, where he earned widespread acknowledgement for his contributions to the Broncos’ grand final triumphs in 1998 and 2000, Craig was appointed head coach of the Melbourne Storm for the 2003 NRL season. He achieved great success for the club.

In 2006, the Storm, after having won the minor premiership by a record eight points, progressed to the grand final, only to be beaten 15-8 by the Broncos. The following year (2007) the Storm made amends in devastating fashion, whipping the Manly Sea Eagles – after again claiming the minor premiership title.

Craig Bellamy masterminded Melbourne’s 23-16 victory over Parramatta in the 2009 NRL decider to add to his 2007 grand final success when his team defeated Manly 34-8; titles that were later taken from the club because of salary cap issues. He again revealed his awesome coaching credentials when the Storm clinched the 2012 grand final with an emphatic and clinical display against minor premiers, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, taking out the grand final 14-4. Craig Bellamy’s contribution in achieving this superb result was comprehensively acknowledged by the rugby league world. Craig won his second recognised NRL premiership as coach with the Melbourne Storm after a dominant 2017 season, in which the Storm lost only four games. He won his third NRL premiership with the Storm in 2020.

It is a tribute to Craig Bellamy’s determination and talent that he rebuilt the Storm following the salary cap dramas and the subsequent forced departure of several key players.

For his efforts, Bellamy was named the Sydney Morning Herald’s 2007 Coach of the Year. In selecting Bellamy, the newspaper recorded that the Storm coach ‘is everything he was as a player – known for his passion, dedication and commitment’. Craig was also awarded Dally M Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2011 and RLIF Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2012.