Bellamy had already committed to the 2026 NRL season, deciding to do so just last season, as speculation ran wild that he would be seeking to move his professional career to Queensland to be closer to his family.
The 66-year-old will have coached 26 consecutive years at the Storm by the time his new contract expires at the end of 2028, with the man affectionately known as 'Bellyache' hoping to add to his five Grand Final wins, seven Dally M Coach of the Year awards and 22 finals appearances.
Melbourne have missed the finals only once in his 23-year tenure, when the Storm were effectively banned from finals qualification in 2010 due to their salary cap breaches. They would have finished fifth on the ladder in that year with a 14-10 record without sanction.
Bellamy recently became the fourth man (following Brian Smith, Tim Sheens and Wayne Bennett) to oversee 600 first grade games as a coach, but it was a night to forget with the team thrashed 40-10 by Sydney Roosters in Round 26.
“Coaching Melbourne Storm has always been a huge honour. I love this Club and everything it represents, the people, our history and our fans,” Bellamy said in a club statement on Friday night.
“I’ve always said I’ll only keep coaching if the Club believes I can still contribute. Having that certainty for the next three years is reassuring and I’m looking forward to seeing how far we can continue to grow as a squad.
“I’m also excited to keep working with our coaching and performance staff, who make Storm such a great place to be. We’ve got an outstanding coaching group, who are very capable, and I’m looking forward to helping with their ongoing development.”
Bellamy boasts the best win percentage of all current NRL coaches, winning nearly 70% of his 606 league games. It's the best win rate of any coach with at least 100 first grade games.
This is a developing story. More to come...