In a dramatic turn of events, former Warriors star and now television commentator Shaun Johnson has openly criticized Melbourne Storm’s coach, Craig Bellamy, following a tense halftime incident during the team’s latest match. Bellamy, renowned for his fiery temperament on the sidelines, was caught on camera unleashing his frustration on forward Joe Chan amid a challenging game against New Zealand.
The clash, which resulted in a 38-14 defeat for the Storm, marked their fourth consecutive loss, placing them precariously at 13th on the ladder. This game also delivered New Zealand their first victory in Melbourne since 2014, adding to the drama of the evening. Bellamy, often referred to as ‘Bellyache’ due to his well-documented emotional outbursts, directed his ire at Chan, making it a focal point of the halftime discourse.
In a highly charged scene within the locker room, Bellamy was seen repeatedly pointing and gesticulating at Chan, before making the decisive move to bench him only five minutes into the second half. Shaun Johnson, who was providing commentary on Fox Sports, took issue with Bellamy’s approach.
Johnson expressed his disapproval, stating, “Joe Chan was the scapegoat tonight,” as he criticized Bellamy for singling out Chan on a night when the entire Storm lineup struggled to meet their usual performance standards. This incident has sparked debate about the pressures faced by players and the management styles within high-stakes sports environments.
That didn’t sit well with Johnson, who blasted Bellamy for singling out Chan on a night when the whole Storm team was well below their usual standard.
‘Joe Chan was the scapegoat tonight,’ Johnson said on Fox Sports’ coverage.
Pictured: Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy gives forward Joe Chan (left, in the No.11 jersey) a severe dressing down at halftime of the team’s loss to the Warriors on Saturday night
Bellamy was accused of making Chan the scapegoat as the Storm fell to their fourth straight loss, which left them 13th on the ladder
Chan (pictured right playing against the Cowboys) was one of many Melbourne stars to struggle badly in their 38-14 defeat
‘Those pictures don’t look good.
‘I’ve been in a similar position where it’s just not clicking for you and you try harder but it snowballs and it becomes worse, and you think on the sideline wondering if I’m the only reason for the team’s poor performance.
‘But he wasn’t the only reason. He wasn’t alone. It was right across the board.’
Fox host Yvonne Sampson also felt for Chan.
‘He was the whipping boy tonight,’ she said.
‘He copped it from Bellamy and his teammates and he was dejected.’
Fox colour commentator Cooper Cronk, who is one of the Storm’s all-time greats, said superstars Cameron Munster and Harry Grant will cop it from Bellamy in the aftermath of the loss for being ‘lazy’ in defence.
In his post-match press conference, Bellamy was asked about the side’s tackling after they allowed 50 points to Penrith in their previous match.
The coach’s spray did not go down well with Warriors great turned commentator Shaun Johnson (pictured)
After the match, Bellamy (pictured right with Warriors coach Andrew Webster) said the team will need to get rid of players and staff who aren’t ‘doing their jobs properly’
‘We done a lot of work on our defence this week. May as well have gone to the pub and had a couple of beers,’ he said.
‘There’s a lot of things going wrong so we need to have a good, hard look at ourselves.
‘We’re all going to take responsibility, and if there’s people not doing their jobs properly, well, we need to make changes.
‘That’s with staff as well.’
The defeat marks the first time the Storm have lost four straight since 2022.
Last year, Bellamy admitted he was ’embarrassed’ about some of the footage of him that appeared in the footy documentary Inside the Storm.
After learning over 900 hours of vision was collated for the documentary, Bellamy was in disbelief – and also expressed regret at his antics when mic’d up.
‘I definitely forgot I had the microphone on at times,’ he said.
‘I wish I could take back some things I said to the coaching staff about the players, but I guess it was heat-of-the-moment stuff.’
