Having achieved just about every NRL accolade available as a player Cameron Smith would also make a great coach, but Melbourne mentor Craig Bellamy doesn’t see that in his captain’s future.

In their qualifying final against Parramatta at AAMI Park on Saturday, Smith will play his 356th NRL game to move past Brisbane champion Darren Lockyer – many now rating the hooker as the game’s best-ever player.

Bellamy said he was proud to be a part of Smith’s legacy and described the achievement as “monumental”.

He said the stunning aspect about the Test captain’s career was after 15 seasons the 34-year-old was still improving, and Bellamy rated this year as his best yet.

“The thing with Cameron is that there’s not much between his best and worst performance – he’s that consistent,” Bellamy said.

“But I can’t remember Cameron playing a whole heap better than he’s played this year.”

Bellamy said he thought reaching 400 games could be a driver for Smith to continue beyond his 2018 contract.

Bellamy is also tied to the club for next season and there’s a thought Smith could transfer his leadership into a coaching role and take over at the Storm after his mentor retired.

Bellamy said Smith would be a success if he wanted to coach, but saw the star’s career moving into media.

“He’s said he couldn’t sit in front of a computer and watch that many footy games,” Bellamy said.

“I’d love him to always be involved in the Storm perhaps as a specialist coach with the forwards or young dummy halves one day a week but I can’t see him being a full-time coach.

“Having said that, if he wanted to and he applied himself, he’d do a great job.”