Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has revealed Nelson Asofa-Solomona was both staying and leaving the club in the four or five days before signing.
The star prop, who returned from injury on Tuesday evening in the Anzac Day clash with a monster performance against the New Zealand Warriors, was announced to have re-signed with the Storm on a four-year deal that will tie him to the club until at least the end of the 2027 season following the contest.
The pack leader at the Storm will likely have played 250 games by the time his deal comes to an end if he can stay fit, and the signature comes after mass interest in both the NRL and across rugby union, both in Australia and abroad.
Bellamy, speaking post-game, revealed Asofa-Solomona had gone back and forward on the idea of re-signing with the club in the last few days.
"With all due respect, I wasn't in any of the negotiations or whatever. I don't sort of do that. I spoke to the chairman Matt Tripp a couple of times and it was a bit like a rollercoaster," Bellamy said.
"He was just about ready to sign, then 24 hours later he looks like he might be going. It hasn't been like that for a long time, probably for the last four or five days it's been up and down.
"There was a lot of interest obviously, especially with rugby union with a little bit of a fued going on there. I don't have anything to do with it, but at the end of the day, it's a great result for our club and a great result for rugby league."
Asofa-Solomona, who was due to take on extra responsibility this year following a string of high-profile departures from the Storm, has spent the last six weeks out injured after impressing during the opening two rounds of the season.
His return showed exactly what the Storm have been missing in the engine room, and Bellamy said his signing was "pretty big" for the club.
"It's pretty big for the club," Bellamy said.
"We all know what a talent he is and well all know how big he is. He probably turned the game there a bit tonight when he came on.
"It's massive for the club to be quite honest. He is quite unique in what he can do on the footy field and all the guys really respect him and what he brings to the team off the field as well."
Captain Christian Welch said Asofa-Solomona provides a point of difference for the Storm alongside a pack of "mostly toilers."
"I think it's really important," Welch said.
"Obviously you want to have a strong spine, but having a guy like Nelson who can generate a bit of momentum for your Munsters, Jahrome, Harry Grant to play off the back, we saw a bit of that tonight, the explosiveness of Nelson.
"This club - we are probably more toilers. Blokes who work hard but don't have that explosive impact. Nelson's probably a difference-maker for our forward pack. He can blow that defensive line up and it's really handy for our guys to get on the back of it.
"I'm really pleased he has stayed. He is great for our club."
The signing comes with Bellamy himself still weighing up his future, with the 2023 campaign likely to be his last in the coaches box before shifting to a back room role for the final three years of his deal with the Victorian club.
While Bellamy has given no public hints over his future in recent weeks, it's believed a decision will be made in the coming weeks.
