“We would love you to be our neighbours.‘’
The text message with accompanying 58-second video, showcasing the Sutherland Shire‘s pristine bays, beaches, popular cafes and golf courses, pinged into Craig Bellamy’s phone on September 24, 2020.
The Melbourne Storm coach remembers, he liked what he saw.
“Every clip of the video had the sun out,” Bellamy joked this week.
“It looked quite enticing, I must admit.”
Cronulla’s pitch to one of the greatest coaches of all-time also included, at one point, a discussion on whether to send Bellamy a stand-up paddle board for his early-October birthday, so that he could meander the Port Hacking waterway on his days off.
The video, orchestrated by the Sharks hierarchy, was cheeky.
But it also showed intent and intricate detail in Cronulla’s plan to pull-off the club’s biggest coaching appointment in 52-years.
A lucrative two-year contract for the 62-year-old to become Cronulla’s coaching director in 2022 had been forwarded to Bellamy’s advisor, Andrew Butler, two weeks earlier — on July 9, 2020.
Once the contract offer had arrived, Bellamy, Butler and the Sharks continued talking for the next 10-months, culminating in more than 30 phone calls and text messages and top-secret coffee meetings in Sydney.
If not for the travel restrictions around Covid, face-to-face lunches and dinners at lavish restaurants in Melbourne and on the Sunshine Coast, would‘ve also eventuated.
The Sharks original offer never changed, or more importantly, was never asked to be upped or altered by Bellamy.
It was an indication to the Sharks that they weren’t just tenders holding a number card at an auction.
This wasn‘t a pipedream. It was real.
Discredited as a little fish in the big Sydney market of the NRL, the Sharks spent 10-months throwing punches with two of the biggest brands in Australian sport, the Storm and Brisbane Broncos.
Bellamy admits now, he too, was surprised when the Sharks first called.
“It came out of the blue for me too,” Bellamy said.
“But once we started talking, it was clear the direction they wanted to head.”
Bellamy had already told the world the 2021 season would be his final year as head coach of Melbourne, which led to the Sharks, Broncos and Storm formulating an expensive plan for him to transition into a coaching director‘s role.
The Broncos were willing to offer Bellamy a “lifetime contract” worth $10 million.
The Sharks, who travel to Melbourne to tackle the Storm at AAMI Park on Saturday night, weren’t interested in going that far.
They were sticking to their two-year plan, originally designed to assist the ongoing development of former head coach John Morris.
The only shift to the Bellamy talks came in April, 2021, when the tough call was made to terminate the contract of Morris in order to eventually appoint Craig Fitzgibbon.
Bellamy watched the appointment of Fitzgibbon, his coaching rival on Saturday night, from afar.
“I was talking to the Sharks before ‘Fitzy’ was mentioned but it got a bit more attractive when he joined them because I know Fitzy really well. I haven’t worked with him as a coach but I coached him in Origin,” Bellamy said.
In the wake of the 2016 premiership, the Sharks executive team had a list of reasons why they wanted Bellamy to forgo his purple colours for the black, white and blue.
Overwhelmingly, they believed he would prove critical in elevating the club from mid-table and back into a premiership force, with his like-minded focus on defence and hard-nosed attitude, but also what he could provide as a magnet for instant commercial and sponsorship appeal.
However, if the Sharks were to secure the club’s biggest name in coaching since Jack Gibson strode across the old Endeavour Field in a tracksuit, they needed to sell Bellamy something more than just football.
The video was part of it.
“In all our initial conversations with Craig, the actual job description was down the line as far as priorities go,” Mezzatesta said.
“Of course, we always saw Craig in that coaching director role, with so much experience and knowledge to bring our team of coaches, not just at an NRL level but throughout our pathways.
“But what we spent more time discussing was stepping back from the pressures of a head coaching role, a lifestyle change for both he and Wendy (wife) and also, which few people realise, Craig‘s desire to develop his corporate-level connections.’’
At one point, right before Christmas 2021, Sharks chairman Steve Mace was so confident they had Bellamy signed that they began drawing up the final terms of agreement.
However, the excitement was quickly tempered as Bellamy, renowned for taking his time, did exactly that.
The Sharks were still talking to Bellamy - meeting in secret over coffee at Sydney Olympic Park after a Storm game in Sydney - two weeks before he made his call on July 27, 2021, to stay with his beloved Storm until the end of 2026.
The chance to coach beyond the incredible milestone of 500-games, and the flexibility to walk away from the Storm head coaching role at the end of any season, was enough for the super coach to stay put.
“To be fair, with the Sharks results and what they’ve done under Fitzy and his staff, they’re clearly doing a fair few things right,’’ Bellamy said.
“Fitzy has been a real plus for them, some of their players seem to be improved players this year and that’s the sign of a quality coach.
“They look a lot more consistent in doing things for longer periods of time in their games.
“Overall, I enjoyed our meetings. The Sharks vision was quite impressive, to be quite honest, Dino (Mezzatesta), their CEO, is a very impressive individual.
“The whole club seemed to have a clear direction of where they wanted to go and you can probably see Fitzy is critical to that now.‘’
Mezzatesta, with the Sharks sitting second on the NRL ladder with a 4-1 record under the direction of Fitzgibbon, said the club held no grudge towards Bellamy‘s decision.
“It was a decision we made to try and strengthen our club - I ask you who wouldn‘t when there’s a chance to talk to Craig Bellamy?,’’ Mezzatesta said.
“We won’t ever stop searching for ways to be stronger and there’s no better supporter than that of Fitzy, who is leading our club with one of the most experienced and aspirational coaching staff in the game.
“We’re more than happy with where we’ve landed and where we’re going under Fitzy.’’
