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The Storm are scheduled to play the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, but Croft was spotted on Thursday meeting Seibold in a Sydney cafe on a busy street in the city.
As revealed exclusively by foxsports.com.au, Croft met with Seibold seemingly without the blessing of his current coach, with the Broncos looking to recruit the rising star for 2020.
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The rest of the team arrived in Sydney on Thursday night, and Bellamy told media on Friday he was unaware of Croft’s plans.
“I knew he was going to Sydney, I didn’t know he was going to meet Anthony Seibold, no,” Bellamy said.
“At the end of the day it’s a part of our game, how it goes. I’m not quite sure if they were looking for the attention that they ended up getting but they got it.”
Bellamy suggested the meeting should have taken place after the season, or perhaps somewhere less public to avoid attracting so much attention.
“Ideally you’d prefer it not to happen but that’s probably the way the game is these days,” he said.
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“Perhaps a meeting in Melbourne would have been a little bit more appropriate, no one would have known who they are down there.
“It’s obviously not ideal and at the end of the day it’s the way our game is.”
Croft played 22 games for the Storm this year before being dumped in the final rounds so Bellamy could get Jahrome Hughes and Ryan Papenhuyzen into the team.
It was a blow for Croft, who has been groomed as Cooper Cronk’s heir apparent for several years at the Storm, making his debut in 2016.
Bellamy said he could understand the 22-year-old’s frustration, and if he wanted a release in the future, the club would consider it.
“That’s a decision that will be made down the track I suppose, it’s been a tough situation for Brodie too,” Bellamy said.
“He played (22) games and was left out of the side so I understand where he’s coming from too. Sometimes you’ve got to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and that would have been really hard for him to take.
“To his credit as well, he’s continued to work really hard and he’s been really helpful for the rest of the team as well. At the end of the day if he wants to travel further down that line we’ll sit down and talk about it. We’ll wait until the end of the season to do that, we’ve got a few other things on our plate at the moment.”