Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has given the strongest hint yet as to where his future lies.
Wide speculation has been that Bellamy will be the man to lead the Storm in 2022 but the master coach has refuted claims his future is set in stone.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Bellamy said he was worried he could burnout mid-way through next year.
โIโd rather pull up a year early than go a year late,โ Bellamy said. โIโd hate to keep going and then be half-interested and not do my job properly.โ
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Bellamy says he is worried he won't be able to coach to his usually lofty standards should he lose his love of the game.
โIโd hate to keep going and then be half-interested and not do my job properly. Thatโs my main concern โ I donโt want to go on when I canโt give it all Iโve got," he added.
โI expect everybody else to do their job properly โ that works for us โ and Iโve got to be doing that too. Thatโs the thing I donโt want to do.
โIn the circumstance of letting people down or not letting people down, Iโd rather pull up a year early than go a year late. That gets said a lot about players.
Bellamy does have options surrounding his future, he can stay on at the Storm as head coach, which is a real possibility, but may also choose to take on a position as coaching director.
Then there are the director roles at Cronulla and Brisbane, with the Broncos very keen on the Bellamy and you would imagine the Sharks wouldn't be knocking back Bellamy in a hurry.
Bellamy paid tribute to players and staff at the club and said he owed them his full commitment.
โEverybody in our footy club works really hard and we expect them to do their job the best they can. Iโve got to do that as well.
โI donโt want to be going a year longer and not doing that. Thatโs my mentality when Iโm thinking about if Iโm going to go on and how long Iโm going to go on.
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โAt the end of the day, Iโve got a role to play and I need to play that role. I donโt need to be in there not doing my job. I donโt want to get to that stage and let everybody else down.
โFor me, if Iโm going to do the job, I want to be passionate about it and I want to make sure Iโm still up for that work ethic to get the job done.โ
The Storm face South Sydney this weekend with Bellamy to face old rival and Souths counterpart, Wayne Bennett.
Bennett will depart the Rabbitohs at season's end, and should Bellamy leave the game as well it would be a big loss to the competition.
Bellamy said the pride he takes in his job means he will always ensure he is willing and able to commit 100% of himself to the role.
โAt the end of the day, itโs the one thing I have always prided myself on, that is making sure I do my job the best I can because that is what I expect of everybody else. I canโt expect that from others if Iโm not doing that myself," he said.
โPeople see me as they see me and I canโt really control that. But, like I say, thatโs not really the main point โ itโs about the people Iโm working with.โ
Bellamy said that his passion wouldn't be the only determining factor in his decision saying there had been a few issues he labelled as "hiccups" along the journey.
Bellamy didn't want to go into detail on the hiccups he was referring to.
