Storm coach Craig Bellamy acknowledges his footy heritage at training as he wears his junior club jersey at Gosch's Paddock in Melbourne, Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) NO ARCHIVING

At 5am six days a week, the NRL’s most esteemed coach — in his 15th season at Storm — can be found working out at AAMI Park. On the seventh day he skips the weight room and goes for a two-hour walk.

“He’s religious about it,” club great Robbie Kearns said.

“The young kids sometimes try to impress the coaching staff by getting into the gym a bit early, but Craig has always already been and gone.”

Bellamy believes in hard work.Source:Getty Images

Work ethic has been a constant throughout Bellamy’s life and he preaches it to his players. He wants them to work hard and — always — to be respectful and humble.

He is an old-school man, to whom politeness and courtesy is of the utmost importance.

It is also expected from his players, and any big heads are quickly shown the door.

It was how Bellamy was brought up.

He shares a friendship with Alastair Clarkson, the coach of AFL power Hawthorn, who was struck by how much he shared in common with his NRL counterpart when they first met six years ago.

Their football codes may be poles apart, but they are in strong agreement when it comes to the art of coaching and getting the best out of their players.

“We’re both from the country with working class backgrounds and followed our dreams from the bush to the city,” Clarkson told the Herald Sun. “Our philosophies are pretty closely aligned and so are our upbringings, and also our partners get along really well.

“That’s where the bond has been formed.”

Not surprisingly, Bellamy and Clarkson — who share a staggering seven grand final wins between them as coaches — relate to each other in many ways.

Alastair Clarkson has become friends with Bellamy.Source:News Corp Australia

Not only do they have similar backgrounds — as well as both enjoying Seinfeld and classic rock music — but they sit atop of their respective code’s coaching totem pole.

They often catch up for coffee to talk about life, and the occasional sharing of ideas. Clarkson has entered the famous Storm inner sanctum on several occasions, including Bellamy’s coaches’ box on game day.

He has also addressed the Storm players, and Bellamy, in turn, has done the same at Hawthorn.

Clarkson said the animated Bellamy Storm fans see on game day was far different to the private man.

Asked to describe the Bellamy he knows, Clarkson replied: “I think of his devotion to family, his players and his mates, which comes from his upbringing and his family and community.

“Somehow he’s been able to transfer all that into the culture that is Melbourne Storm today.

Bellamy has infused the Storm with qualities close to his own heart.Source:News Limited

“Craig’s chief role, as is mine, is to ensure all these individuals who have their own agendas, in a sense, stick to the one collective agenda, which is team success.

“He has been an absolute master at making sure that his leadership disciples, like (Cameron) Smith, (Billy) Slater and (Cooper) Cronk, are spreading that message from the locker rooms, as well.

“That has been the key to their success, I believe.”

Storm shares its AAMI Park training facilities with the A-League’s Melbourne Victory and AFL club Melbourne.

Victory coach Kevin Muscat, another Bellamy confidant, said it was hard not to be impressed by the Storm coach’s presence around the precinct.

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“When he walks into room, or you see him in the corridor, he’s got an aura about him and he commands a respect with the way he conducts himself,” Muscat said.

“I’ve spent a few days with them and his delivery when he talks to players is second to none.

“I’ve heard quite a few people, but his directness and approach in getting a message across to the players struck home to me.”

Bellamy’s methods and approach have become the stuff of legend, and the stories are passed down to new Storm recruits every year.

Like the famous tale of his first day at the club — the start of pre-season training for the 2003 season.

Bellamy took the players to the 3.8km Tan running track around the Melbourne Botanical Gardens and put nearly all of them to shame.

Bellamy’s focus hasn’t shifted since day one.Source:Getty Images

“We would do two laps of the Tan, with a five-minute break between laps,” Kearns said.

“The fittest we had at the time was Robbie Ross, and Craig would run side by the side with Robbie at the front for both laps, and Robbie couldn’t believe it. Craig wanted to lead by example.”

Another story concerns Bellamy often taking his players out into the bush, making them run up hills while he hid among the trees.

“We’d call him the sniper — you’d just see his head bob up,” Kearns recalled.

“He’d have leaves hanging off his head, trying to camouflage himself.

“He always wanted to know who was really trying and who wasn’t.”

Originally published as The foundation of Bellamy’s success