Craig Bellamy said the storm offered to commemorate Cameron Smith’s last game at Suncorp Stadium but the Melbourne skipper said he didn’t want any fuss.
Smith’s Storm will play for a spot in this year’s grand final when they face the Canberra Raiders at Suncorp.
The Melbourne captain has shown no signs of slowing down in recent years, but the entire seasonal debate has raged over whether he will play in 2021.
Stream the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series live and on demand from overseas on Watch NRL. Get your final pass now!
With the rise of Brandon Smith and Harry Grant, there were some calls for Smith to quit after a brilliant career.
Smith, explained Bellamy Rift
2:01
In public, the Storm say they are no smarter about Smith’s plans, and the club has stated that they had a plan for their salary cap in case he retires or continues to play.
With that in mind, Bellamy said he gave the 37-year-old the opportunity to celebrate his final game at Suncorp, where he has taken countless wins for Australia, Queensland and Melbourne.
Despite the generous offer, Smith firmly believed that no celebration should distract his side from the task at hand.
Overseas? Stream the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series from outside Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands on WatchNRL. Every game including the Grand Final Live & On-Demand. Get your Finals Pass to start streaming>
“We would have loved to make it special if it was his last game (at Suncorp) but I promised I wouldn’t heat him,” said Bellamy.
“I pointed out to him that we’d like to send him the right message when he retired or moved to another club, hopefully not.
MATTY JOHNS PODCAST
Title: Final footy and coaching characters
Summary: From the Fox Sports Panel ….. Matty, Blocker and Kenty rate the Roosters & Eels season and take a look at the personalities of the coaches who are responsible for the remaining 4 teams.
LISTEN TO: APPLE OR SPOTIFY
“I told him we’d like to give him a decent goodbye and he said, ‘Why? ‘
“I said that after more than 400 games and how many big finals you ‘ve done a great job for us.”
“But he’s not one of those people who wants a lot of fanfare.”
Bellamy said although the season was nearing its end, he was unclear about his skipper’s future.
Storm boys draw the boss
4:08
There is speculation that if the storm wins he would end it, but Bellamy says he won’t push him to a decision.
Get the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Register now>
“We still honestly don’t know what Cameron is doing,” added Bellamy from Smith.
“And as I said from the start, I won’t expect an answer from him until he’s ready to give an answer and he wasn’t ready.”
.
