Rugby League: Former Warriors coach Stephen Kearney returns to Melbourne Storm as assistant

Former New Zealand Warriors coach Stephen Kearney will meet coach Craig Bellamy and the Melbourne Storm for the 2021 NRL season.

Kearney, who was fired by the Warriors in June while they were at camp in New South Wales, will return to the club as a backup for Craig Bellamy.

The club confirmed the news on its website.

Previously, Kearney spent five years in the Storm under Bellamy, helping them win two prime ministerial posts and three prime ministerial posts, from which they were later stripped due to gross salary cap violations.

During Kearney’s time, the club won 86 of 120 games.

He will replace Jason Ryles, who is leaving Melbourne for a position with the England rugby union.

Melbourne Storm football general manager Frank Ponissi says they are delighted to have someone of Kearney’s caliber on board.

“He is a quality coach and an outstanding person who, together with his wife Piri, will once again receive a warm welcome to our club.

“While Stephen will be Craig Bellamy’s assistant coach, we are changing our coaching structure for 2021, with Marc Brentnall, Aaron Bellamy and Ryan Hinchcliffe assuming additional coaching responsibilities with our NRL team.

“Stephen will have a mentoring role with both Aaron and Ryan as well as helping Craig, and we look forward to the information he will have across our football department.”

Kearney also appeared in 139 games for the Storm during his playing career.

The 48-year-old was reportedly in talks with the Brisbane Broncos about an assistant role. He also spent time at the Queensland club under head coaches Anthony Griffin and Wayne Bennett, and helped guide Brisbane to the 2015 grand final.

While the assistant roles have resulted in many victories, Kearney’s time as director has been anything but successful. He signed with Parramatta Eels in 2011 to a three-year contract as head coach. It was a move that proved disastrous, as Kearney had just nine wins in 41 games before being sacked.

His time with the Warriors for three and a half years gave him one final appearance and 33 wins in 78 games.