BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Legendary Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has recently been linked to moves to the new Brisbane franchise, the Broncos and even the Cronulla Sharks as a coaching director.

For years we in the media we have been linking Bellamy to every job in the world.

Bellamy is only 61.

Nobody would understand that age is just a number better than the man himself.

After all, Bellamy is physically and mentally, probably younger than many that were born many years after him.

Some said Bellamy should hang it up at AAMI Park after Cooper Cronk left. After Billy Slater retired. The romantics wanted Bellamy to bow out with Cameron Smith as the retirement rumours around the legendary hooker grew louder at the end of 2020.

What people probably don’t understand is that Bellamy would have made his own legacy down in Victoria whether he turned Smith, Slater and Cronk into legends or not.

The Melbourne Storm ‘Big Three’ is a myth.

A scary story parents tell their kids to get them into bed.

It worked for years against opposition sides too.

What is the one constant at the Storm now the big names are gone?

Bellamy.

On Thursday night at AAMI Park, the Storm entered a new era.

Funny thing was, as soon as referee Grant Atkins blew time on, nothing had changed.

Bellamy’s rival coach – Wayne Bennett – surely told his South Sydney Rabbitohs that the first onslaught would be the toughest and quickest of the night.

Yet they still couldn’t stop it.

The Rabbitohs kicked off to Nelson Asofa-Solomona who charged back into the line. Souths bent him back but not well enough to stop the offload.

Another offload slipped out on the third tackle.

Melbourne charged down field like an avalanche and we hadn’t even played a minute of the new season.

In 2002, the Storm ruthlessly pushed out club legend Richie Swain for some hairy little kid called Smith.

They replaced premiership-winning fullback Robbie Ross with Slater.

Cronk was so good for so long people forget about Brett Kimmorley.

The Storm are easily Australia’s best sporting organisation.

And that includes Cricket Australia, the VFL or Football Australia in a World Cup year.

They shot out of the gates and scored in under two minutes through their superstar Cameron Munster.

Justin Olam seven minutes later.

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The freakish Ryan Papenhuyzen got two in a space of fifteen minutes.

A Storm-loving crowd couldn’t care that Cameron was gone.

Brandon ‘The Cheese’ Smith rocked on and they never missed Harry Grant.

Scary.

Why would Bellamy leave?

Souths came back in the second-half and made a game of it but it was always unlikely they’d steal the two competition points after their start.

Bellamy has won five premierships.

Three of those “legitimately” after the salary cap scandal.

Who says with this roster he can’t win three or four more in the next ten years?

He’d be mad to walk away.

A gig above another coach at somewhere like the Sharks or the Broncos or the next Brisbane franchise will make him some coin… absolutely.

But does Bellamy look like someone that cares about the money?

Stay in Melbourne, Craig.

There’s more premierships ahead.

@woodward_curtis