![Craig Bellamy is keen to restart the league ASAP but can understand skipper Cameron Smith's view. Craig Bellamy is keen to restart the league ASAP but can understand skipper Cameron Smith's view.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/fca52075-2e30-475e-9ffa-b8b96c1de925.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Melbourne NRL coach Craig Bellamy may not agree with Cameron Smith but has defended his skipper's right to resist moves to resume playing in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
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The NRL is believed to be considering a June restart with a two-conference system with teams isolated in two 'bubbles', in NSW and Queensland, for a 14-week regular season.
Smith, the former Kangaroos captain and Storm leader, says he's not comfortable with that prospect and feels it will have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of players.
Smith's most recent comments come after he was heavily criticised when he suggested after the Storm's round-two match that the NRL competition go on hold for a few weeks amid health concerns.
Bellamy says Smith is a target for some outside of Melbourne, no matter his stance.
"There's some people in our game that whatever Cameron says, they're just going to go against him, for whatever reason," the coach told the Whateley program on SEN radio on Wednesday morning.
"The one thing about Cameron is that he will always have the game at heart, he loves it, and he's a very, very smart guy.
"We all know how smart as a footy player but generally he's a smart guy and very considered - he doesn't say things without believing them, off the top of his head, he's balanced.
"We probably should be taking more notice of him more often."
In his 18th season overseeing Melbourne, Bellamy doesn't necessarily agree with Smith's approach.
He's eager to get the game moving for the sake of players and staff, saying it will be a "shot in the arm" for the isolated general community.
"I'm probably a little bit in the middle there; obviously I want to see the game get up and going again for the good of the game," Bellamy said.
"But the health of the players and community has got to be No.1.
"A lot of these guys have got young families and it's a huge ask for them to leave their families and put it all on their partners.
"That's a big ask if it's going to be a reasonable amount of time."
Bellamy also said he "wasn't impressed" by a proposal points from the opening two rounds - which includes two Storm wins - should be scrapped.
"Common sense has prevailed ... our competition started and there were six teams who won their first two games.
"The second game against Cronulla we went by charter flight ... our players got home at 3am the next morning.
"We felt we earnt those two points."
Australian Associated Press