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AP
Former Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has been hired by his former club, the Storm.
Stephen Kearney will return to the NRL coaches box as Craig Bellamy’s assistant in Melbourne next year.
Just three months after being fired as the Warriors head coach with more than two years left on his contract, Kearney signed a 12-month deal with the Storm.
In doing so, he will return to where it all began for him as a coach, having previously been Bellamy’s assistant between 2006 and 2010.
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Sunday’s game against Manly will be Todd Payten’s last game in charge of the Warriors.
In this case he will replace Jason Ryles, who plans to fulfill his contract to be Eddie Jones’ assistant with the England national rugby team.
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“We are delighted that someone of the caliber of Stephen Kearney is coming home to the Melbourne Storm,” said soccer coach Frank Ponissi.
“He is a quality coach and an outstanding person who, together with his wife Piri, will warmly welcome him to our club.”
Kearney will also act as a mentor to several younger Melbourne coaches, including Bellamy’s son Aaron and Storm’s former assistant Ryan Hinchcliffe.
The former Parramatta and Warriors coach Kearney also played 139 games for the Storm between 1999 and 2004, on their inaugural premiership-winning team.
