Melbourne Storm has secured the services of its head coach, Craig Bellamy, for a further three years.
Bellamy, a four-time Premiership coach, put pen to paper on Saturday afternoon and broke the news first to Storm's playing squad ahead of their Round 15 clash against the Knights on Sunday afternoon.
The agreement was formally endorsed by Storm's Board overnight, clearing the way for the announcement today.
The deal commits Bellamy to Storm until the end of 2021 – taking him to 19 seasons with the Club.
Bellamy has coached Storm since 2003 for 408 games, placing him fifth on the NRL list for most games coached.
Boasting an impressive 277 wins, Bellamy ranks fourth for most wins by any coach in the history of the game, whilst his winning percentage is 67.9 percent – placing him second on the all-time list behind only Norm Provan for coaches that coached in excess of 100 games.
A four-time Dally M Coach of the Year, Bellamy has been one of the most influential figures at Melbourne Storm. Since his arrival 16 seasons ago, he has led Storm to six Minor Premierships, nine Preliminary Final appearances, seven Grand Finals, four titles and three World Club Challenge wins.
The Club has played in Finals in 14 of the 15 seasons under his reign.
Storm CEO Dave Donaghy said: "Craig has proven himself as the best coach in the NRL, he's been a pivotal part of our success."
"I'm personally delighted Craig has once again recommitted himself to Storm.
"He and Wendy have made Melbourne home and I'm sure the entire city will be as equally delighted by this news.
"Storm is a special Club, with wonderful people and an environment that allows our staff and players to constantly challenge themselves and grow in their roles – Craig has been a key driver of that.
"In speaking to Craig throughout this process, it's clear his enthusiasm for coaching, especially our next generation of talent, shows no sign of slowing down. There is still much to achieve at Storm for him."
Bellamy said the Storm playing group was an integral reason to his decision to stay in the Victorian capital.
"I'm very happy to be remaining at Melbourne Storm. There were a number of factors to weigh up and I'm glad now to have my future decided.
"It would've been pretty hard to leave the players, I'm very close to the group here and that was one of the reasons I decided to stay. It would've been very hard to coach against guys like Cameron, Billy and Hoffy who were all here when I started in 2003.
"Melbourne Storm was the first Club to give me the opportunity to coach at first grade level, so I certainly owed the Club something in that respect and I'm looking forward to the next three years."
