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Craig Bellamy is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the NRL's Melbourne Storm club and previously coached the New South Wales State of Origin team as well as being an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos. Bellamy also writes a column for The Australian.
Bellamy played his entire NSWRL premiership career with the Canberra Raiders during the 1980s and 90s. In Canberra he played under the coaches Don Furner, Wayne Bennett, and Tim Sheens. Injury midway through the 1987 season saw Bellamy miss the Raiders charge to their first ever Grand Final appearance which resulted in an 18-8 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Bellamy played from the bench in Canberra's 18-14 win over Penrith in the 1990 Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium. In 2013 Bellamy still rates his 1990 Grand Final win as a more satisfying achievement than his premierships as a coach.
After a coaching apprenticeship as Wayne Bennett's assistant at the Brisbane Broncos, which included a win over the Wests Tigers with the "Broncos Babes" when Bennett and the teams stars were away on State of Origin duty, Bellamy was appointed head coach of News Ltd' other NRL team, the Melbourne Storm, for the 2003 NRL season. There he has achieved great success; winning the 2007 Grand Final over Manly, and the 2009 Grand Final against Parramatta. He also led the Storm to the minor premiership in 2011, and won his third premiership as a coach in 2012 when the Storm defeated the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He was the coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team until he was sacked in 2010 after three unrelenting seasons of disappointment which netted only two wins from nine matches.
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