Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has warned that his squad may not return to Victoria until the end of the NRL season due to the recent outbreak of the coronavirus.
After the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in Victoria last week, the Storm Hub had to move north and is currently set up in Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast.
Although the move should be temporary, Bellamy believes Melbourne could live in Queensland for several months as the number of Victorian cases continues to escalate.
The Sunshine Coast Stadium could therefore serve as the storm’s venue for the rest of the NRL 2020 premiere if the COVID 19 outbreak is not resolved in the coming weeks.
“I think we’re going to be longer rather than shorter here to be honest,” said Bellamy Courier mail.
“When we were first told that in the worst case it was 2-3 weeks. But from a couple of numbers we got from the NRL recently, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were here for the rest of the season.
“It depends on what’s happening down in Melbourne.”
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After her convincing 50-6 win on Friday, Bellamy was praised for personally thanking the New Zealand Warriors for her commitment to the competition.
Bellamy has no objection to an extended stay in Queensland and was keen for Melbourne to play its tenth round encounter at Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Storm played the Warriors at Kawana Waters’ venue last season.
“I would like to play an NRL game (on the Sunshine Coast),” said Bellamy.
“We are currently playing the Titans game here.
“I’m not quite sure what needs to happen for this to happen, but the NRL has played games here, not just auditions, but Souths played the Warriors here.
“If we want to spend a lot of time here, we want to play our games here because we don’t have to travel as much as to the Suncorp Stadium.
“The reds play at Suncorp, so I don’t think we can play the titans there. We would certainly try to play our home games up here. “
The Storm will meet defending champion Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday evening. The fifth and eighth superstar Cameron Munster will no longer be available after a knee injury in round seven against the Warriors.
“We talked about who (the taps) have, not whom they don’t have,” said Bellamy.
“I don’t know what they thought during the break, but they came back about everyone else.
“Cameron (Münster) is a big loss. It really matured this year and we will miss it, but at the end of the day we have to keep going and still do the best we can without it. “
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