Craig Bellamy has joked that the Melbourne Storm ‘tore up’ Cameron Smith’s membership after he revealed that he’d be joining the Brisbane Broncos as a coach.
Reports had surfaced back in November that the legendary Storm hooker was set to become a part of Michael Maguire’s coaching staff, with the reigning premiers unveiling the three-time NRL champion at the beginning of February.
Smith, who hails from Queensland, enjoyed a glittering career with the Storm, and was honoured with a life membership in 2009.
After his appointment was officially announced, Maguire revealed that Smith would be working with leaders at the club, chiming in to offer advice on how the Broncos can improve.
Storm coach Bellamy said there were no hard feelings about Smith’s move, adding that the former hooker had called him up to let him know he’d be joining the Broncos.
‘We tore his membership up straight away,’ Bellamy joked to Nine, when asked if he could describe the club’s reaction to the news.
Craig Bellamy (left) joked that Melbourne had ‘torn up’ Cameron Smith’s (right) life membership
Smith, who hails from Queensland, enjoyed a glittering career with the Storm, and was honoured with a life membership in 2009
‘Nah, he rang me up and just explained why he’d taken on the job.
‘At the end of the day, he’s got no ties where he’s got a contract or anything, so he can do what he likes.
‘He’ll be a great benefit to the Broncos, it’s a pretty smart move by the Broncos to get him in. He’s just going to help out the halves and hookers up there.’
Some had questioned why the Storm hadn’t approached Smith to take up a role with the Victorian club.
However, it appears that the 42-year-old wanted to stay close to home and be with his family.
‘We’d have loved to see him here, but he lives in Queensland now, so it fits in with his life and his family’s at the moment,’ Bellamy added.
‘There’s certainly no hard feelings at all.’
Smith is now carving out a very respectable coaching career, with some believing that the two-time Dally M medallist could be in the running to one day take over from Bellamy as Storm’s head coach.
Michael Maguire (pictured) revealed that Smith would be working with leaders at the club, chiming in to offer advice on how the Broncos can improve
Some have questioned why the Storm didn’t approach Smith (pictured) to join the Victorian outfit
Since retiring in 2020, Smith (left) has also worked in the media, working with Channel Nine
Bellamy, meanwhile, praised Smith for letting him know about the move.
‘I think it does [say something about him] and that’s Cameron Smith, he’s probably the greatest player I’ve seen and one of the all-time greats of our game – but the underlying thing though is that he’s a really good bloke,’ he said.
‘He thought that was the right thing to do and I appreciated that. He didn’t have to do that, but he did and it says something about the type of bloke he is.’
Smith is yet to speak on his new role at the club, but Maguire gave an insight into what he’s been up to since joining the Queensland outfit.
‘He just chimes in where he feels he can,’ Maguire said.
‘He talks to the players about their game. I guess it’s a broad role. But we aren’t painting it into one specific area.’
Cameron Munster is one who believes that Smith could be in the running to take over from Bellamy when he finally does step down.
‘It would be nice [if he did take over from Bellamy],’ Munster added.
‘Not too many guys have a resume or the accolades or premierships and awards [that Smith does]. I’m not sure he hasn’t won one, except for the Clive Churchill Medal.’