Craig Bellamy =====> Cowboys or Dragons...
North Queensland and St George Illawarra are also chasing Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy's signature.
THE battle for Craig Bellamy is far from over.
Negotiations are about to be ramped up, with St George Illawarra and North Queensland locked in a tug of war for the premiership-winning coach as the battle extends across three states.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal both the Dragons and Cowboys have joined Melbourne in making Bellamy their No. 1 target for 2014.
Bellamy is contracted to the Storm until the end of 2013 and is eager to make a call on his next coaching job before the start of the new season.
Chief executive Ron Gauci and the Melbourne board remain determined to see Bellamy finish his career at the club he first began coaching in 2003.
"Craig is committed to us for 2013 and we'll be doing everything we can within our budget to keep Craig at the club for the many years beyond," Gauci said.
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But the Storm camp are aware of the interest from the Dragons and Cowboys, who can pull together the $1 million a season required to lure Bellamy north.
"Sure, we know that any coach of Craig's standing would be of appeal to any club," Gauci said.
"What Craig has been able to do at the club over the last two years has been inspirational. But we know what Craig thinks of Melbourne and he knows what we think of him, which is the highest of regard."
The Dragons and North Queensland face tough decisions on respective coaches, Steve Price and Neil Henry, both of whom are off-contract at the end of next season.
Cowboys CEO Peter Jourdain refused to upset the apple cart by publicly admitting an interest in Bellamy despite The Sunday Telegraph's information that the Storm coach is well aware of the Cowboys' desire to snare him.
Jourdain said the club's primary focus was on retaining Test stars Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott, James Tamou, Brent Tate and Matt Bowen, all of whom are off contract at the end of 2013.
"We've had no conversation about (Bellamy) internally," Jourdain said.
"We've got four or five players that we need to sort out first before we discuss Neil's future. Neil is here next year and that's what we're focused on."
This is not the first time the future of Price and Henry has come into question, with Ricky Stuart linked to both clubs before joining Parramatta.
Faced with the unenviable task of taking over from Wayne Bennett, Price struggled in his rookie year with a Dragons team largely unchanged from the title-winning side of 2010.
And it's not about to get easier for Price following the retirement of experienced leaders Ben Hornby and Dean Young, while Matt Cooper is looking at the final year of his career. They have also been relatively quiet on the recruitment front.
Dragons CEO Peter Doust refused to return The Sunday Telegraph's calls.
Bellamy and Storm football manager Frank Ponissi leave for Europe today to visit leading European soccer and rugby clubs
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...6495019300?from=igoogle+gadget+compact+bi_rss
