BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Despite interest from other clubs including Wests Tigers, Craig Bellamy was always meant to leave the Broncos as an assistant and join the Melbourne Storm.

His arrival at Olympic Park in the southern capital couldn’t come quick enough.

The side was struggling with a premiership hangover and had lost several stars to either retirement or bigger contract offers elsewhere.

Coach Chris Anderson’s replacement Mark Murray did his best but the Storm simply didn’t have the cattle.

The Storm finished 10th in 2002.

Murray resigned.

Storm officials met with Bellamy for coffee in Brisbane and the story goes – a scheduled thirty-minute coffee turned into a three-hour lunch.

2003 seems like a lifetime ago.

And it wasn’t easy either with Bellamy desperate to bring pride back to a playing group that had fallen off a cliff.

As 2003 went on, however, it was clear, something magic was on the horizon.

September 2002
Storm confirm Broncos assistant Craig Bellamy to replace Mark Murray

“He’s very disciplined, has great knowledge of the game and has been involved with blue-chip organisations and people. Arguably, Wayne Bennett is the best in the business at the moment and Craig has been assisting him for quite some time now” – John Ribot

June 2003
Bellamy on if players were starting to target rookie star Billy Slater

“It’s part of his learning process. It’s part of his growing up as a footy player, and he’ll come through that OK” – Bellamy

July 2003
Slater on Bellamy’s coaching style

“Craig hasn’t tried to force me into a structured game at all. I’ve got lots of freedom. He tells me that if I think I can go for it, I should” – Slater

July 2003
Club great Richard Swain finds out he has been released via a media statement with Bellamy favouring youngster Cameron Smith

“I haven’t got another club at the moment. I’m pretty disappointed with what they have done to me” – Swain

August 2003
Trying to instill some history and belief back into the team, Bellamy invites old players back to speak to his men before games, including Tawera Nikau

“When ‘T’ (Nikau) came back, he started off with the haka. He really got our attention. He grabs you from the start. He really impressed the young fellas” – Matt Geyer

August 2003
Geyer on the new Storm as they continue to improve under Bellamy

“We know we are not a bunch of superstars, we’re a bunch of triers and I think that is the attitude we are trying to get in the place” – Geyer

September 2003
Reports Bellamy cornered a match official after semi-final win over Canberra

“I didn’t go out of my way to approach anyone. I just ran into a member of the referee’s team on the way down the stairs and I asked him about it” – Bellamy to Fairfax

@woodward_curtis

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