RETIRED Collingwood premiership captain Nick Maxwell’s first job out of football will be in the NRL at Melbourne Storm.

In a surprise move, the Herald Sun can reveal the highly sought-after Maxwell has joined Storm as leadership development coach.

The move comes just months after Magpies boss Gary Pert boldly stated Maxwell had the potential to rise to the top of an AFL club and thrive in the chief executive’s chair.

Maxwell, said he saw the Storm role as a good opportunity to broaden his experience in a non-AFL environment.

“I never saw myself doing anything like this, but when (Storm coach) Craig (Bellamy) and (football manager) Frank (Ponissi) came and spoke to me and told me what they wanted to do, it appealed to me,” Maxwell said.

“Firstly because of my respect for the Storm organisation and all the guys I’ve met along the way.

“Also it’s a real good opportunity for me.

“I’ve done a lot of leadership stuff over the past five years and I look forward to try and impart some of that knowledge to the boys here.”

Maxwell accepted the role after spending a day at the club late last season to make sure he believed he could add something to the club.

He already has a good relationship with many of the Storm’s senior stars, including skipper Cameron Smith.

In fact, he credits Smith for aiding Collingwood’s 2010 premiership success.

Maxwell met with Smith two days after the drawn grand final to seek advice on trying to mentally get the group back up for the replay.

The then-Magpies skipper sought Smith out given the NRL star always backs up for Storm just days after playing in brutal State of Origin matches.

Maxwell also spoke to the Storm playing group early in the 2013 season about overcoming adversity and the talk always struck in Bellamy’s mind.

“Being the captain of probably the biggest footy club in Australia, that impresses you anyway,” Bellamy said.

“But to see the adversity he had to overcome with all the knock-backs was highly impressive.

“I didn’t think then that we would one day try and get him to work with us, but when he retired we thought he might be interested in doing some stuff with us.

“It’s great to have him on board and I know he’ll be a big help to the club and the team.”

The part-time role will see Maxwell predominantly work with the club’s emerging leaders, such as Jesse Bromwich, Will Chambers and Kevin Proctor.

Storm’s playing squad have returned for the start of pre-season training, minus Cooper Cronk, Tohu Harris, Bromwich, Proctor and Smith who are still away on Four Nations duties.