Entering his 17th season as head coach of the Melbourne Storm, Craig Bellamy's side sits atop the NRL table with an impressive 11-2 win-loss record and captain Cameron Smith believes his coach deserves all the praise.
“The main man that needs to get the credit is Craig Bellamy,” Smith said on SEN Breakfast.
Smith added that Bellamy had done an unbelievable job in developing the younger players in their squad such as Brodie Croft, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Joe Stimson and Jahrome Hughes.
“It’s the great work of Craig and his assistants that get these guys up every week,” he added.
“We’ve got ten to half a dozen players who have played under 50 games.
“Craig has a great knack of getting young guys and developing them early.”
Smith also said the club was in a very strong position from a leadership perspective, on and off the field, thanks to his head coach.
“I go back to Craig,” Smith said.
“I’ve learnt a lot from him and I feed off him.
“I have a very good leadership group underneath me that are coming through.
“Jesse Bromwich, Will Chambers, Dale Finucane, Kenny Bromwich. These are the guys who are going to lead our club into the next phase.”
The Melbourne Storm will look to solidify their spot at the summit of the NRL table in a mouth-watering clash against the third-placed Sydney Roosters at Adelaide Oval next Friday night.
Listen to Smith's chat with Garry & Tim in the player below: