Melbourne Storm boss Dave Donaghy says he never doubted Craig Bellamy would re-sign with the NRL champions and spurn a huge offer from Brisbane.
The 58-year-old coach put to bed weeks of speculation he would leave for the Broncos when he inked a new three-year deal last weekend.
While the rumblings out of Brisbane were loud and Bellamy appeared genuinely conflicted on his future, Donaghy felt certain they would land their man.
"I never at any point felt Craig was going to do anything but stay," Donaghy told SEN on Thursday.
"It was a longer process than it needed to be and we both played our best poker faces during the negotiations.
"I heard different things but it was exaggerated noise."
Donaghy said it was Bellamy weighing up whether to leave his Melbourne-based grandchildren and his ties to the club where he'd spent the past 16 years rather than length of the contract or dollars offered that were behind the protracted negotiations.
The chief executive felt the lure of living almost anonymously in an AFL-mad town rather than a bubble in the rugby league heartland in Brisbane would appeal more.
"There are some real challenges with that," Donaghy said.
He said Melbourne hadn't gone any further than "names on a whiteboard" in considering coaching replacements.
Donaghy said Bellamy had two very promising coaches in Adam O'Brien and Jason Ryles working under him who he believed would one day be NRL coaches.
With retirement not far off for Billy Slater, Ryan Hoffman and Cameron Smith, Donaghy said the stability Bellamy offered the club was key to their future.
"He's the best coach in the game and it puts us in really strong position," Donaghy said.
"We've got a significant period of transition and succession coming up and he can lead us through that."
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