Between April 2012 and June this year, Inside Sport featured each of the famed “Big Three” of the National Rugby League – Melbourne Storm superheroes Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater - on our cover. By now, even rugby league newcomers or complete outsiders would be aware of the amazing skill, athleticism and focus each one of these guys shows on the field. We’ve seen Cameron Smith tackle his heart out, put it back in, and tackle it out again – time and time again. We’ve witnessed Cooper Cronk’s deadly accurate kicking game in action, as well as his clever passing and terrific foresight many times over. And we all know about Billy “The Kid” Slater’s electrifying speed. But what does their coach, premiership-winning mentor Craig Bellamy, have to say of the lethal trio? We grabbed a selection of his comments from the three features for an insight. Enjoy watching Smith, Slater and Cronk maybe pull-off an historic eighth-straight series win for Queensland tonight. Or maybe not … All three are champions whatever the outcome of tonight’s series decider.

“You’re talking different eras – even since the days of Kimmorley and Johns, the game’s changed. But I will say Cooper is the best defensive halfback I’ve seen. He’s up there with Johns in that regard. I didn’t think I’d ever see a halfback do what Joey could do in defence, but Cooper can.” - MELBOURNE STORM COACH CRAIG BELLAMY ON COOPER CRONK

“Obviously, there are a few strings to his bow. Probably one of his biggest strengths is he’ll take the right option most of the time. No one does it all the time, but he’s as close as anyone I’ve ever seen. Always cool in any circumstance. Roll that into one player … and you’ve got a pretty good footy player.” – BELLAMY ON CAMERON SMITH

“I’ve seen a lot of players put in big pre-seasons or whatever. But I’ve never seen anyone put in a pre-season like Billy did in his first year here. He was winning all the speed contests we had, he was winning all the endurance contests we had. In the gym, for his size, he was strong. In the game-related activities we did, he was always the hardest competitor there, always wanted to be on the ball, always wanted to be where the action was.” – BELLAMY ON BILLY SLATER