'Tore his membership up': Craig Bellamy's cheeky jab at Cameron Smith over Broncos move

Craig Bellamy has revealed Storm legend Cameron Smith called his former coach to let him know he would be joining the Broncos staff.

Smith surprised many in the NRL when he was spotted at Brisbane training recently, where he will help the club's young players and spine members for 2026.

The game's all-time leader for games played spent his entire first grade career with the Storm and still holds a close relationship with Bellamy to this day.

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But with his family settled in Queensland, the three-time premiership winner decided to take the opportunity to hone his craft under Michael Maguire at Red Hill.

Speaking to media on Thursday ahead of the Storm's first trial game, Bellamy was asked about the decision from Smith and gave a cheeky response.

"We tore his membership up straight away," Bellamy laughed.

"Nah, he rang me up and just explained why he'd taken on the job. At the end of the day, he's got no ties where he's got a contract or anything, so he can do what he likes.

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"He'll be a great benefit to the Broncos, it's pretty smart by the Broncos to get him in there. He's just gonna help out the halves and hookers up there.

"We'd have loved to see him here, but he lives in Queensland now, so it fits in with his life and his family's at the moment. There's certainly no hard feelings at all."

Bellamy was then asked about the conversation with Smith and what it said about the former Queensland and Australian captain's character to pick up the phone.  

"I think it does [say something about him] and that's Cameron Smith, he's probably the greatest player I've seen and one of the all-time greats of our game - but the underlying thing though is that he's a real good bloke," he said.

"He thought that was the right thing to do and I appreciated that. He didn't have to do that, but he did and it says something about the type of bloke he is."

Melbourne will play their first trial game on Friday night against the Canberra Raiders, but the big talking point in recent weeks has been the Zac Lomax contract saga.

Bellamy admitted he remained "hopeful" the Storm and Eels could come to a resolution, with a looming court case expected to decide Lomax's future.

"You'd probably have to ask the higher-up guys than me," the coach said.

"I don't know what's happening there at the moment - it changes and then it doesn't change, so I don't know. I'm hopeful without a doubt, we'd love to see him here."

Lomax was granted an early release from the final three years of his contract with Parramatta in order to join R360 before the competition's start date was delayed.

The 26-year-old has since attempted to join Melbourne, but clauses in his release that Lomax signed off on have meant he is unable to officially sign with the club.