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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Melbourne Storm football director Frank Ponissi insists coach Craig Bellamy remained committed to seeing out the 2026 NRL season, despite revelations the legendary mentor had been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder.<\/p>\n Bellamy did not face the media for his typical post-game press conference after his side slumped to a seventh-straight defeat, at the hands of the Dolphins on Friday night<\/a>, and Ponissi instead fronted the microphones alongside skipper Harry Grant.<\/p>\n Ponissi confirmed \u201che [Bellamy] was never coming in tonight \u2013 win, lose or draw\u201d, at the end of what has been the most challenging week of the coach\u2019s life as he and his family comprehend the life-changing diagnosis.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been through a lot with his family, so we gave him the opportunity to not worry about tonight,\u201d Ponissi he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in terms of the way he coached tonight you wouldn\u2019t think there was anything there of the last few days that he\u2019s gone through \u2013 it\u2019s quite remarkable. He\u2019s just purely about the team and trying to fix where we\u2019re going wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n An outpouring of emotion has flown Bellamy\u2019s way<\/a> since his health concerns came to light on Thursday, and Ponissi said the coach, who has overseen the Storm for 22 years, had been \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by the support he had received.<\/p>\n Related Article Bellamy in February signed a contract extension through to the end of 2028, and Ponissi was adamant the coach would see out this year\u2019s campaign. He said the premiership-winning honcho had already begun planning for next week\u2019s clash against the Tigers.<\/p>\n \u201cI have absolutely no doubt, the fire is in the belly,\u201d Ponissi said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been hard for him the last few weeks with the news, but he\u2019s as committed as ever \u2013 you just had to be in that dressing room now to see the passion he\u2019s got and the commitment. He doesn\u2019t like where we are now, none of us do, and he works as hard as he\u2019s ever done before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all hurting, and frustrated too, but we\u2019re certainly not going to be throwing in the towel. He just wants to now focus on coaching and getting us back to winning.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the longest losing streak of Bellamy\u2019s coaching career, and after leading 10-0 until the final minute of the first half in their 28-10 defeat to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium, it marked the fourth time in the seven losses the Storm took a lead into the break.<\/p>\n It is a run of form that is also foreign to Grant, who cut a dejected figure after his side missed a golden opportunity to salvage a win.<\/p>\n But the Queensland hooker declared he and his teammates needed to follow Bellamy\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the journey, it\u2019s a bit raw and a bit real. But at the end of the day, it\u2019s life and the cards have been dealt,\u201d Grant said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two parts of it \u2013 on the field and off the field \u2013 and at the moment, we\u2019ve got to fix some stuff on the field as well to ease a little bit off the field. It\u2019s a whole club matter, and I think everyone would understand there\u2019s an element of respect in Craig\u2019s privacy and getting on with business as usual, like Craig\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can all kind of respect that. As a rugby league community [we] wrap our arms around it, and just really roll with what\u2019s next. He\u2019s looking forward to next week and really righting some wrongs.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cAs a playing group, we\u2019ve just got to really buy into that and back him up by working hard at training, and transferring that into a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Broncos coach Michael Maguire, who previously served as an assistant coach under Bellamy, said: \u201cCraig and I have had some great times together, and you obviously care about the people you\u2019ve been a part of throughout your career.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing Craig, I know he\u2019ll be right \u2013 he\u2019s a fighter, so he\u2019ll get through this and keep coaching.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Melbourne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/38ed36a3811426e3107942ed948b4e05b6a1d651.jpeg\")
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy in Sydney in December.Sam Mooy<\/p>\n![\"Craig](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5bfbcce0fef81d83d8a385dd12b881b1eb7da306.jpeg\")
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