Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns has opened up on his phone call with Craig Bellamy that convinced the Melbourne coach to commit to another season.
Johns told Bellamy he’d be “mad to retire”, before suggesting it would be “terribly sad” to hang up the clipboard when he still had so much to contribute.
Bellamy was already contracted to the Storm until the end of 2026 but, until Wednesday, no one knew if the three-time premiership-winning mentor would continue as coach beyond this season.
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Bellamy revealed in a press conference that a call from Johns had persuaded him.
“I called him a couple of months ago and just told him he’d be mad to retire. It was a private conversation (so) I don’t really want to go into what I said, but it was along the lines of, ‘I think you should keep going because of X, Y and Z’,” Johns said on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.
“By all accounts he said he was going to finish up. He’s too good a coach (to finish this year), he’s in the argument in the top-three coaches we’ve ever seen, if not the last 20-30 years, I reckon he’d be the No.1 the way they’ve reinvented themselves down at Melbourne.
“It would be an absolute – I wouldn’t say a tragedy. But it would be terribly sad when he’s got so much to offer and he retires. Can you imagine him retiring and watching Melbourne play and just not being able to contribute?
“So, I think it’s great news (that he’s committed to another year).”
Johns’ illustrious 15-year career ended when he retired in 2007 due to a bulging disc in his neck.
“I got some advice when I was coming to the end which I relayed on (to Bellamy), and it must have struck a chord,” Johns said.
The legendary Knights halfback says he speaks regularly with Bellamy, Roosters coach Trent Robinson and former Bulldogs mentor Trent Barrett.
“I probably talk to Craig once or twice a year. I just thought it was the right time to call him, just for a different set of eyes and someone outside of it all to give him my perspective,” Johns said.
“So, I’m happy it all worked out.”
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Bellamy has led the Storm in just over 500 games since arriving at the club ahead of the 2003 season.
The 2010 season, in which Melbourne was stripped of its competition points for salary-cap breaches, remains the only time the club hasn’t played finals footy under Bellamy.
The Storm are placed second on the ladder and will face the third-placed Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday.
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