Craig Bellamy was looking for a change in Cameron Smith after the Melbourne champion played his 400th NRL game, but it hasn’t come.

The 36-year-old, his coach says, is as hungry as ever and still looking to improve.

The former Queensland and Australian captain was at his best in Brisbane on Friday, mixing pinpoint kicks with clever runs out of dummy-half, and even scoring a rare try.

His efforts helped the Storm to a 40-4 defeat of the Broncos – their ninth straight against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium and 17th from the sides’ last 19 meetings.

“Yeah I can (believe it); I see it every week and he’s still competitive at training and still wants to get better,” Bellamy said of the evergreen Storm leader’s form.

“I know that sounds a bit stupid to all of us, but he still puts the work in.

“We sit back and think ‘how can he get better?’ But he’s putting the work in.”

Smith became the first man to 400 NRL games last month, while Bellamy said Friday’s clash was his 300th as captain of the Storm.

“We were all looking forward to his 400th game and since then I was thinking ‘was there going to be a bit of a drop-off in his interest or intensity?’

“But I haven’t seen that at all; he’s still got that hunger even though he’s got that record.

“He’s a remarkable player, person … there’s got to be a time when his interest starts waning, but I haven’t seen that at the moment.”

Smith has indicated his intention to play on in 2020 and Bellamy said that was easily within reach.

“He’s capable of playing this game for a long period of time,” Bellamy said.

“I’m pretty much sure he’s going to play on next year.”