Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy is resigned to losing his right-hand man Adam O'Brien, who has been linked to the Sydney Roosters.
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It's believed O'Brien is looking to break his current deal, which ends in 2019, and move to Sydney for family reasons.
And despite the speculation there could be as many as five NRL head coach vacancies with O'Brien mooted as a contender, he's believed to be close to joining the Roosters as Trent Robinson's assistant.
"I imagine a decision will come soon and that would be best for everyone," Bellamy said on Thursday.
He said he didn't want to lose O'Brien, who joined Melbourne back in 2007 as an assistant coach with Storm's under-20s program.
O'Brien is credited for revamping Melbourne's robotic attacking structure to help them win last year's premiership.
"We'd like to see him stay without a doubt," Bellamy said.
"He's a really good coach and really good guy to have around your club.
"He's very dedicated to his role but he's got a lot of care for the club and he's been here a long time."
When Bellamy was considering his own coaching future this year and a possible move to Brisbane, he said O'Brien should be his successor at the Storm.
He felt O'Brien was ready for a head coaching job should one open up.
"If he's not, he's very close but I think he probably is," Bellamy said.
Australian Associated Press
