Craig Bellamy

His name has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue, as he is linked to the currently vacant Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors jobs, but in the eyes of Melbourne Storm CEO, Ron Gauci, Craig Bellamy will not be breaking his contract to join either side in 2013.

With the Roosters initially targeting Bellamy as their coach for the 2014 season, the Roosters were willing to take the gamble on a coach during that period before recruiting Bellamy in 2014 – though at one stage, they were keen to see if Bellamy would join them next year, despite that now, not being the case.

With all the talk centered around an early release for Bellamy, however, with the likelihood that that will not happen, given the healthy relationship Bellamy shares with the entire administration staff at the Storm, with the club keen to extend his current deal, if the veteran coach chooses to do so.

“Craig is contracted to the Storm until the end of next season, and he has no intention of breaking that contract”, Gauci said.

“And neither do we. Craig wants to stay, and we want him to stay. I’ve made it very clear that he has as job here for as long as he wants it.”

“We would like to sign him beyond 2013, if and when Craig is ready to do that.”

With both the Warriors and the Roosters testing the waters in relation to Bellamy coaching their club – Gauci says that the Storm are in no rush to extend Bellamy’s current deal.

“That’s the problem when one club has got a vacancy, and another club has the best coach in the competition – the coach is in demand,” Gauci said.

“But it’s not an issue here. Craig and I had that conversation a long time ago, and we respect each other’s opinions. We’ll leave further discussions on the future, until the appropriate time.”

“Craig wants to coach in the finals, and get on with that without any distractions. We’ve always said that when he wants to talk, we’ll talk. He knows we want him. I’m not surprised other clubs want him as well.”

By ricky

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