Craig Bellamy 'honoured' to have coached Kamikamica

The 32-year-old was all smiles as he farewelled the Melbourne home crowd prior to Thursday night's 22-14 loss to Penrith, waving from the field with his young child in his arms.

Born on the Fijian island of Taveuna, the towering Kamikamica became a fan favourite playing 142 NRL games with the Storm between 2017 and 2026.

Long-time Storm coach Bellamy will remember Kamikamica fondly for his leadership and loyalty off the field.

Bellamy, who coached Cameron Smith and Billy Slater and played alongside Ricky Stuart and Mal Meninga, said few brought more heart to a footy club than Kamikamica.

"What he's done for our club in the time he's been here, that would be very, very hard to repeat. Everyone loves him," Bellamy said.

"That's not just me, it's everyone in the club. They all love him because he's such a genuine guy and a real decent guy.

"He's been one of the best clubmen that I've ever seen, coaching and playing. I couldn't give him a bigger rap than that."

On the park, Kamikamica added valuable size to the Storm pack at a time in the club's history when bigger bodies have been at a premium.

"Every time he laced his boots on and went out and played, he'd give it his all," Bellamy said.

"I'm just honoured to have been his coach for a little while and got to know Tui as a footy player but got to know him as a man as well.

"I haven't worked with too many better people in the game than Tui."

Bellamy lamented a slow start on Thursday night, when the Storm's already remote finals hopes were officially dashed by the visiting Panthers.

Brian To'o scored three tries as Penrith took a 22-0 lead before the Storm's late fightback.

"We started slowly and didn't really get into the game," Bellamy said.

"The second half obviously was much better from our point of view but if you get 22 points behind Penrith ... we were probably never really going to be coming back."