Of the eight people who were part of Wednesday’s press conference ahead of the Perth Double Header – six have at one point been part of the Melbourne Storm.
Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith sat alongside former Storm Under-20s coach Dean Pay (Bulldogs), former assistant Anthony Seibold (Rabbitohs), former captain Stephen Kearney (Warriors) and current Rabbitohs skipper and former Storm excitement machine Greg Inglis.
It was like a graduation of sorts, from the Craig Bellamy school of mentorship.
In the build up for Saturday’s season opener against the Bulldogs, the Storm coach looked down the line with great pride at what his one-time colleagues turned counterparts have now achieved.
“It is good for our Club and great for these guys that they have got top positions now,” Bellamy said.
“They all did a great job when they were at our Club and we’re only too happy to see them go on.
“We are really glad to see people who have been associated with our Club do really well at other Clubs.”
But when good talent leaves how do you replace it?
That is just part and parcel of elite sport.
“It is just like loosing a talented player, you just move on,” Bellamy said.
“We lost four players after the ’16 Grand Final, four players from last year, that is eight quality players. If you sit around feeling sorry for yourself because of players or coaches you’ve lost you are just going to worry about things you shouldn’t be thinking about.
“At the end of the day when people go, other people get an opportunity, that is the way we’ve always looked at it.”
