{"id":833803,"date":"2026-07-30T16:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833803\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:43:12","slug":"nrl-2026-craig-bellamy-responds-to-cameron-munster-claim-about-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833803\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Craig Bellamy responds to Cameron Munster claim about future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has responded to superstar playmaker Cameron Munster who said he would remain at the club as long as the legendary boss was still there.<\/p>\n

It comes on the back of Bellamy giving his champion five-eighth permission to negotiate with the Chiefs who recently added Zac Lomax to their impressive roster for when they enter the NRL competition in 2028.<\/p>\n

Munster was meant to travel to PNG along with Lomax last weekend, but he felt it wasn\u2019t the right time given his current injury as well as Melbourne\u2019s struggles that will likely mean they will miss the finals for the first time since 2010.<\/p>\n

The Storm veteran turns 32 in a few weeks and has Bellamy\u2019s blessing to finish his career wherever he wants to ensure his family is in the best position when he retires. <\/p>\n

And while the Chiefs would ensure that, Munster says there\u2019s a much bigger factor that will decide his next contract. <\/p>\n

\u201cCraig has been the only NRL coach that I\u2019ve had,\u201d he said at a Sapporo event in Brisbane. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to say too much about it, but I\u2019m not sure what his coaching future looks like. If he stays, I\u2019ll stay, so there\u2019s a bit of pressure on your back, \u2018Bellyache\u2019 (Bellamy). <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to make sure it\u2019s right for me and my family. If he\u2019s not sure what he wants to do, sometimes you\u2019ve got to make decisions for your family and you can\u2019t wait for someone else when you\u2019re making decisions for your family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Craig and I love the Melbourne Storm. I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m not going to stay, but November 1 comes around and I\u2019ve got to make sure I do the right thing for me and my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve taken pay cuts a fair bit in my career. I\u2019m not saying I won\u2019t take one again, but I\u2019ve got to make sure my family\u2019s in a great position long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cFooty\u2019s not everything, and it\u2019s not always a long-term prospect. I\u2019ve got to work after footy, so I want to make sure I\u2019m financially stable for myself and my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bellamy\u2019s future is also clouded after the Storm coach was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder earlier in the year, with the legendary boss providing an update on when he might retire. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe next year or two is when I\u2019ll be finishing up, so he\u2019ll (Munster) end up older than me if I stop counting my age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to go through my entire coaching career with him ending at the same time, but he\u2019s got a decision to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll make the right decision for what\u2019s right for his family, and he\u2019s got the right do to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bellamy is relying on Trent Toelau and rookie Hayden Watson to pick up the slack with superstar skipper Harry Grant unavailable for the next few weeks as he deals with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny team losing their captain, that\u2019s a big loss,\u201d Bellamy said ahead of Friday\u2019s must-win clash with the Bulldogs. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut Harry especially is always in the middle of the play, whether it\u2019s with the ball or without the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be a loss for us, but when someone misses out, someone else gets a chance. We\u2019ll deal with that tomorrow night, and hopefully some of the young blokes can do a good job for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as \u2018The next year or two\u2019: Craig Bellamy drops major coaching hint as Cameron Munster responds to PNG rumours<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Storm coach Craig Bellamy has responded to superstar playmaker Cameron Munster who said he would remain at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":833804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[405502,405504,383309,397456,378810,405495,405479,172475,390987,376963,377450,380180,395154,381157,405496,380880,387307,405499,405513,405485,405501,405488,377719,392767,64,63,119148,405510,651,4567,5386,13284,13149,33849,8089,19385,405506,9116,39598,57055,379545,396200,405484,405489,376761,394377,392652,405497,55125,405481,647,136041,393975,311482,405509,378592,403913,761,762,35062,150443,158,403988,246164,15560,405487,1655,405503,378066,85,17711,405492,405512,405511,405494,378784,377205,405498,380414,99646,382205,377514,376549,405491,405493,288453,405505,384293,405500,405507,400061,396192,386795,400663,397376,387717,405490,378787,405486,405482,378969,395550,405483,405508,182130,405480,392835,22332],"class_list":["post-833803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-s-blessing","tag-s-coaching-hint","tag-s-future","tag-s-must-win-clash","tag-s-struggles","tag-2010-the-storm-veteran","tag-2028-munster","tag-172475","tag-a-big-loss","tag-a-bit","tag-a-chance","tag-a-decision","tag-a-fair-bit","tag-a-few-weeks","tag-a-good-job","tag-a-great-position","tag-a-hamstring-injury","tag-a-long-term-prospect","tag-a-loss","tag-a-much-bigger-factor","tag-a-neurodegenerative-disorder","tag-a-sapporo-event","tag-an-update","tag-any-team","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bellamy","tag-bellyache","tag-brisbane","tag-cameron-munster","tag-chiefs","tag-coaching","tag-contracts","tag-craig","tag-craig-bellamy","tag-decisions","tag-five-eighth-permission","tag-footy","tag-friday","tag-harry","tag-his-career","tag-his-champion","tag-his-coaching-future","tag-his-current-injury","tag-his-family","tag-his-next-contract","tag-last-weekend","tag-lomax","tag-long-term","tag-major-coaching-hint","tag-melbourne","tag-munster","tag-my-age","tag-my-career","tag-my-entire-coaching-career","tag-my-family","tag-my-kids","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-night","tag-november-1","tag-nrl","tag-one-line","tag-pay-cuts","tag-png","tag-png-rumours","tag-pressure","tag-rookie-hayden-watson","tag-someone-else","tag-sports","tag-storm","tag-storm-coach-craig-bellamy","tag-superstar-playmaker-cameron-munster","tag-superstar-skipper-harry-grant","tag-that-tomorrow","tag-the-back","tag-the-ball","tag-the-best-position","tag-the-bulldogs","tag-the-chiefs","tag-the-club","tag-the-finals","tag-the-first-time","tag-the-legendary-boss","tag-the-melbourne-storm","tag-the-middle","tag-the-next-few-weeks","tag-the-next-year","tag-the-nrl-competition","tag-the-only-nrl-coach","tag-the-play","tag-the-right","tag-the-right-decision","tag-the-right-thing","tag-the-right-time","tag-the-same-time","tag-the-slack","tag-the-storm","tag-the-storm-coach","tag-the-veteran-coach","tag-the-year","tag-the-young-blokes","tag-their-captain","tag-their-impressive-roster","tag-trent-toelau","tag-your-back","tag-your-family","tag-zac-lomax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}