Craig Bellamy wants to make a decision on his future with Melbourne before considering other offers, including a big-money deal to join Brisbane.
The Storm mentor says he plans to use next week’s bye to make a call on a three-year offer from the defending champions.
And only then, if he decides to move on, will he look elsewhere.
Bellamy confirmed he had spoken with Brisbane chief executive Paul White but hadn’t discussed any terms or figures and said he also spoke to current Broncos coach Wayne Bennett before the meeting.
“Because our program has been really hectic with a short turnaround and a fair bit of travel, I haven’t had the time to sit down and give it the time I need to make some sort of decision,” Bellamy said on Wednesday.
“There’s a whole heap of things to go through – it’s not just the dollar signs. I need to make sure I’m very clear in what I’m going to do.
“The first thing I will be doing is deciding on the Melbourne offer and depending on what decision I come to there with that, then I will do what I need or want to do from there.”
Bellamy is off contract at the end of this season but the Broncos have Bennett locked in as coach until the end of 2019.
Melbourne chief executive Dave Donaghy told SEN radio earlier on Wednesday the club wouldn’t consider giving him a one-year deal to fit in with the Broncos deal.
“We’re not in the business of short-term planning,” Donaghy said.
“There’s lot of confidence in our football club in terms of what we offer and we’re not in the business of being someone else’s feeder team.”
Bellamy didn’t rule out sitting out a year if he decided to go with the Broncos.
“I’ve never had a year off,” he said.
“You could look at it in two ways. It could be refreshing and you can go and have a look at other organisations and pick up some things.
“We usually do that for two weeks at the end of the year but having said that, having a year off sometimes the game evolves very quickly and you could lose some touch.”
Bellamy said he hadn’t spoken to his players but believed they understood his situation, given their own contract negotiations.
He said he hoped to make a decision sooner rather than later but wouldn’t be pressured into it.
“When I sit down and go through some thought processes It will be what’s best for me and my family and the footy club, because I’ve been a long time and it’s like a family itself.”