The Melbourne Storm has requested to NRL head office for a home game at AAMI Park to close out the regular 2027 season against the Canberra Raiders.
The Victorian powerhouse club wants to recognise the amazing career Craig Bellamy has had in the game as he winds down to the final years as head coach.
Bellamy is expected to draw the curtain on his coaching career at the end of next season, with News Corp reporting the club wants to acknowledge the incredible work he has done across the Storm and his playing career in the nation's capital.
When Bellamy calls time on his career, it will mark one of the most successful coaching stints of all time in rugby league.
Each club in the competition can provide three requests to the NRL for the upcoming release of the draw, with Melbourne's final home game for 2027 circled in the calendar.
Bellamy played 150 NRL matches for the Raiders over ten years from 1982 to 1992.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart shared the field with Bellamy when the club won the 1990 Grand Final, and it will be a fitting ceremony when Stuart travels to AAMI Park to recognise his amazing impact on the game.
Meanwhile, the Perth Bears are keen to have back-to-back games in Western Australia to kick off their inaugural season.
Plans were moving towards having South Sydney Rabbitohs face the Bears in Round 1, but now are looking unlikely since the Bunnies want to host arch rivals the Sydney Roosters the following week, with the turnaround too short to accommodate both.
The Sea Eagles facing the Bears is now a possible option to rekindle the fierce rivalry between Manly and North Sydney in the 1990s.
Many deem Manly the reason why the North Sydney Bears folded out of the first grade competition following a messy split of the Northern Eagles amalgamation.
Despite locking in their home ground at HBF Park, the Bears want to switch their opener to Perth's Optus Stadium, which holds 60,000 people.
“It would be huge,” Bears coach Mal Meninga told News Corp.
“We are working and have asked questions and have good feedback from the NRL.
“We want our first two games to be at home. We would come close to filling Optus Stadium.”
The 2027 NRL draw is set to be finalised and released next week.
