Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has given an update on his coaching future, with an announcement expected within the next two months.
The 62-year-old is widely-regarded as one of the greatest coaches in rugby league history, winning three premierships with the Storm in 2012, 2017 and 2020.
Bellamy signed an extension with the club until the end of 2026, but it will be decided on a year-to-year basis whether or not he will continue in the head coaching role or move into a part-time role with Melbourne.
Speaking on Matty Johns Face-To-Face on Tuesday night, Bellamy was quizzed on whether or not he would remain head coach for the entire contract, and his plans if he does retire before 2026.
“No, probably not," he said.
"I’ve got a decision to make soon, to be quite honest.
"If I do give up the full-time role, it gives the club plenty of time to get a replacement.
"I will still be involved in a part-time role, there will be a couple of different things. I’ll be working with the coaches a bit, but I think I’ll be doing a bit of corporate stuff as well and hopefully helping the club in general.
"It obviously won’t be as full-time and won’t be as flat-out.
"When I do retire, I’ll probably head up to Coolangatta, I really like it up there and my daughter lives up there. That’s the place I want to retire, it’s close to their airport so it’s not too far when I do have to come down.
"I’ve got to make that decision in the next month or two and we’ll go from there."
Melbourne will lose a host of key players next season, with the likes of Brandon Smith, Jesse Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi all moving to rival clubs, which would make a Bellamy exit even tougher to handle.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Bellamy has a fortnight to make a decision on his future, with the original deadline set by the club for March 31.
But on NRL 360, senior reporter Paul Kent revealed that Storm CEO Matt Tripp will consider extending the deadline for the legendary mentor.
“March 31 he’s got to tell the Storm whether he will continue and plans to be head coach next season, or whether he wants to step back into an advisory role," Kent said.
"Matt Tripp said we will consider scrapping it if Craig needs more time, which is a smart move.
"But you don’t want it going too much longer, because it will become it’s own circus if March 31 becomes April 30 and becomes June 30.
"At some point, the reason the March 31 was there in the first place, was to give them enough time to get out in the market and get the right coach."
