Melbourne skipper Jesse Bromwich says he'd be excited if Billy Slater took on the head coach role at the NRL club after the retired fullback emerged as a shock contender to succeed Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy is still to make a call on when he will shift into a director of coaching role at the club but the Storm are already considering who will take the coaching reins, with Slater now reportedly in the mix.
The 38-year-old has taken on the Queensland State of Origin coaching duties and this week announced his former Storm captain Cameron Smith would join him as an assistant.
Slater already works as a television commentator and breeds horses from his outer Melbourne property, although his role at AFL club St Kilda was a casualty of COVID-19 budget cuts.
Bromwich said that before his retirement at the end of 2018, Slater already acted like a coach at the club.
"I've never seen anyone so passionate about our game and someone like Billy Slater as coach of this club, how good would that be?," the prop said on Wednesday.
"Whether that's now or in a few years time I'm not too sure, but I'll be really excited if that was to happen one day.
"When he was a player, it felt like he was a coach anyway at this club; he was so vocal and he's got so much knowledge about the game and I think he'll be a really good coach.
"He's just really committed to the game and he just really loves the game."
The Storm host Canterbury on Sunday at AAMI Park, who they beat in the grand final to win their 2012 premiership.
The bulk of the squad will fly into Melbourne for a function on Friday to mark the 10-year anniversary, with Bromwich and Gold Coast's Kevin Proctor the only remaining NRL players,
The team included Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Gareth Widdop, Bryan Norrie, Todd Lowrie and Justin O'Neill.
Now 32, Bromwich said he was just a "quiet kid" who didn't appreciate how big the moment was.
He said it was special premiership for the club, coming two years after they were stripped of two titles and made to play for no competition points for salary cap cheating.
"I think that's why it's a very special time for this club, off the back of 2010," Bromwich said.
"We had a really strong year 2011 but we fell short against the Warriors and then 2012, for that team to go and win the comp two years after what happened to this club, just shows how special this club is and what a special time it was for this club.
"It feels like it was just yesterday, but I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot of those boys."
