BEFORE he became one of the greatest rugby league coaches in Australia, Craig Bellamy knew of the importance of family.
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And now, as Bellamy's Melbourne Storm, their NRL rivals and the game of rugby league itself in Australia faces a huge challenge due to the impact of the coronavirus, Bellamy is again stressing the importance of family.
To the man who began his career as a Portland Colts junior before winning the 1975 Group 10 first grade premiership with the Oberon Tigers, it is family which matters most at this time.
It is family that will help his players get through this period of uncertainty.
"Who knows what is going to happen in a month? Who knows what it is going to be like in three months? We don't know," Bellamy, who's Storm side won two from two before the NRL season was put on hold, said.
"I can't control that, so what we are trying to control at the moment is what we can control and that's giving the players a month off, go away and take a bit of the stress off.
"But at the same time, just make sure you are staying safe and you're following the precautions and make sure you are looking after your families and each other.
"Obviously these days they can stay in really close contact with everything we've got.
"It's really important that they just get away and look after their families at the moment."
This time a year ago, Bellamy was proud of the way his side kept their defensive line intact when playing against the Penrith Panthers at Carrington Park.
It was a match which Storm won 32-2 in front of 10,973 fans who braved an icy Bathurst day. Amongst those spectators were a number of Bellamy's family.
But now its is not winning games of league which is on his mind. He just wants his sport to survive.
Like a host of other NRL clubs, Storm has had to stand down a large percentage of its staff while others have taken pay cuts.
Though the NRL announced each club will receive $2.5 million to help get them through this period, there is still no certainty as to when the competition will resume.
ARL chairman Peter V'landys said he remains "optimistic that the season will restart as quickly as possible, ideally by July 1."
Certainly Bellamy has his fingers crossed that will happen.
"It's a really important part of our lives, it's the main thing we spend most of our time on, it's important to us," he said.
"I think the leaders of our game have shown they will probably do most things to ensure we can get our competition underway or keep it going.
"I think most people in the game at the moment will consider whatever is thrown up to try and get the game back on the field again."
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