Melbourne Storm Head Coach Craig Bellamy will hand over the coaching reigns at both the Auckland Nines tournament and the Club’s first trial match of the pre-season.
Forwards coach Jason Ryles will take control at the Auckland Nines which kicks-off on February 4.
For the previous two years this role had been held by assistant coach Adam O’Brien, who will instead coach Storm in their trial against the New Zealand Warriors at Sunshine Coast Stadium on February 11.
Bellamy will still be in attendance and working closely with Ryles and O’Brien during both the Auckland Nines and Sunshine Coast trial.
He will step back into the coaching seat for Storm’s February 18 trial match in Hobart against the Bulldogs.
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O’Brien has been in the Storm coaching system since 2007, starting out as an assistant with the Under-20s before moving on to be a development coach between 2011-2013. He is now preparing to enter his fourth season as an assistant coach, overseeing the Club’s backs and attack.
Ryles joined the Storm coaching staff as an assistant last year, taking charge of the team’s forward pack.
The former prop played 270 games at the highest level, including 46 in the purple jersey between 2012-2013.
The Club is set to name an exciting squad for next week’s Auckland Nines with storm’s younger players have taken significant steps forward under the tutelage of development coaches Marc Brentnall and Aaron Bellamy.