Melbourne Storm
Encyclopedia
The Melbourne Storm are an Australia
n professional rugby league
club based in the city of Melbourne
. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football
-dominated state of Victoria.
The Storm has officially won one NRL premiership (1999), one minor premiership
(2011
and one World Club Challenge
victory (2000
) in its history. The club also has won several other titles from between 2006–2009 but these were annulled after the club was found to have breached salary cap; these titles included two premierships (2007 and 2009) and three minor premierships (2006, 2007 and 2008). Altogether the club has competed in five grand finals, winning three of these grand finals.
From their inception and until the end of 2009, the Storm played the majority of home games at Olympic Park Stadium
. From 2010 they moved into their new home at AAMI Park
, the first game at the new venue was against the Brisbane Broncos
.
Originally a Super League
initiative and one of six NRL
teams which are privately owned, the Melbourne club is currently 100% owned and operated by News Limited
.
matches (including a then Australian rugby league record crowd of 87,161 in 1994 at the MCG) the Australian Rugby League
(ARL) had planned to establish a Melbourne-based team to the premiership by 1998. However, the disruption caused by the Super League war
caused great change to the game in Australia. By May 1997, Super League
boss John Ribot
pushed for a Melbourne based club for his competition, which was the rival against the ARL. Former Brisbane Broncos centre Chris Johns
became the CEO of the club and Ribot stepped down from the head of Super League to set up the club. In September 1997, Melbourne announced that Chris Anderson would be their foundation coach, and then Super League announced that the new team would be named the Melbourne Storm.
The Melbourne club then went forward with signing players, mainly from folding Super League
clubs Perth Reds and Hunter Mariners
. Some of these players included Robbie Ross
, Glenn Lazarus
, Brett Kimmorley
and Scott Hill. With the Super League and ARL joining into one competition for the 1998 season, the Melbourne team became part of the National Rugby League
(NRL). The Melbourne Storm club was unveiled at a function in the Hyatt in February 1998.
In their first ever game, they defeated Illawarra
, with Glenn Lazarus
as their inaugural captain. Melbourne, in a complete shock to the rest of the competition, won their first four games, before losing to Auckland. They went on to make the finals, but were defeated by the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.
In January 1999, CEO John Ribot negotiated a deal that saw Melbourne Storm games televised in China every weekend. The club won eight of their first eleven games of the 1999 NRL season, and went on to make the finals in third position on the premiership ladder. The team was beaten convincingly 34–10 in the quarter final by St. George Illawarra. After narrow victories against the Canterbury Bulldogs
and the Parramatta Eels
however Melbourne once more faced St. George Illawarra, this time winning 20–18 and securing their first premiership.
. The Melbourne club failed to make the finals in 2001. Johns left the club as CEO at the end of 2002 and coach Murray was sacked due to Melbourne's poor form, with the club missing the finals for the second year in a row. Wayne Bennett's assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos, Craig Bellamy was announced as the new coach of Melbourne for 2003. In addition to a new captain in Kiwi international skipper Stephen Kearney
, the strict coaching of Craig "Bellyache" Bellamy would see the Melbourne Storm get back on track from the previous lean years.
Between 2003 and 2005, Melbourne consistently made the finals, but lost games in the semi finals that prevented them from reaching the grand final. On 17 July 2004, during round 19 of the 2004 NRL season, Danny Williams king-hit Wests Tigers
' player Mark O'Neill. Williams defended the incident, using four medical experts to argue on his behalf that he was suffering post-traumatic amnesia when the incident occurred, which he claims was the result of a high tackle by O'Neill just prior to the incident. Despite Williams' claim, he was suspended for 18 weeks by the NRL judiciary. After the decision, Williams stated that he was "obviously disappointed with the outcome". It was the longest suspension in Australian rugby league since Steve Linnane
was suspended for twenty weeks for eye-gouging in 1987.
In 2005, Storm coach Craig Bellamy, in his third season as an NRL coach, gained representative honours when he was selected to start coaching the Country Origin.
Season 2006 saw a new-look Storm, with the retirement of captain Robbie Kearns
, the emergence of talented rookie halfback Cooper Cronk
taking the reins from longtime number 7 Matt Orford
, and the recruitment of hard-man Michael Crocker
. Contrary to expectation, 2006 was a standout year for the Melbourne team, winning their first minor premiership
following a resoundingly dominant Home and Away Season, including a club record 11 game streak. Melbourne only lost four games in the season, making them outright leaders by four wins. They went on to win their two finals matches, and were subsequently favourites in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. The Storm however lost 15–8 the to the Brisbane Broncos, in a match where controversial refereeing decisions against Melbourne caused much media coverage. Melbourne's television audience for the Storm's NRL grand final appearance was greater than Sydney's was for the Swans AFL grand final appearance'.
In 2007 the Storm avenged for their heartbreaking end to the 2006 campaign by playing as they did in 2006: once again dominating the competition, and finishing on top after 25 rounds. In the first week of the NRL finals, Melbourne played Brisbane, in which Melbourne won 40–0, securing a spot in a preliminary final. In the preliminary final, Melbourne played Parramatta in a game that was tied 10–10 at half time, before a superb second half by Melbourne resulted in the final score of 26–10. The win was particularly satisfying for Melbourne fans, coming soon after Parramatta CEO Denis Fitzgerald
said that rugby league should not be promoted in Melbourne. This game drew a larger crowd than chief rival Manly's preliminary final. Melbourne comprehensively defeated Manly 34–8 in the 2007 NRL Grand Final
with Greg Inglis winning the coveted Clive Churchill Medal.
In Season 2008, Melbourne won their third minor premiership after the 26 rounds of regular competition. Despite becoming the first minor premiers since the McIntyre Final Eight System
was introduced to lose their opening finals game 15–18 to the New Zealand Warriors
, they then defeated the Brisbane Broncos 16–14, scoring in the last minute of their semi final. Bellamy was fined $50,000 for making scathing remarks regarding the NRL's decision to suspend Cameron Smith over a controversial "grapple tackle" on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday. Bellamy wrongly claimed that the administration was corrupt and that bookkeepers already knew that Smith would be denied the opportunity to play for the rest of the season. Along with Melbourne's CEO, Bellamy questioned the NRL's integrity in their opting to sideline Smith and not others who were guilty of committing similar tackles. In their qualifying final, Melbourne convincingly beat the Cronulla Sharks
28–0. But in their second successive grand final appearance against the Manly Sea Eagles, Manly demolished Melbourne 40–0.
At the Dally M Awards for season 2008, Melbourne picked up 6 awards, with 3 to Greg Inglis
, and 1 for each of Billy Slater
, Cameron Smith
and Israel Folau
. Billy Slater and Cameron Smith finished 2 points behind Manly's Matt Orford
for the Dally M Medal with 22 points each. Billy Slater was awarded the international player of the year Golden Boot
award for 2008, following on from Cameron Smith in 2007.
Following the 40–0 defeat, season 2009 was generally an average year on the field by the Storm's lofty standards, Melbourne finished 4th on the ladder after the home and away season, entering the finals clear underdogs. In Week One of the finals, the Storm romped 2008 Premiers Manly 40–12 in the qualifying final, ending their hopes of back-to-back premierships, and laying to bed some of the demons of the 2008 Grand Final. This was followed a fortnight later by a 40–10 thrashing of fierce rivals and 2006 Premiers Brisbane in the preliminary final, ensuring the Storm qualified for their fourth straight grand final
(the first since Parramatta
from 1981–1984). The Preliminary Final was also a monumental game for the Storm as it saw favourite son Billy Slater
score his 100th career try and Cameron Smith
became Storm's highest ever point scorer, surpassing Matt Orford's record of 877. The Melbourne Storm then capped off a truly brilliant late-season resurgence to end a rampaging Parramatta
side in front of a parochial strong crowd at ANZ Stadium. Parramatta, coming off 10 wins from 11 games, led by the in-form young superstar Jarryd Hayne proved to be no match for the Storm's typical gameplan of grinding football, ensuring a defeat of the razzle-dazzle offload fuelled football of Parramatta. Despite the Storm leading Parramatta at one stage by 16 points, the Eels fought back in a late charge to bring the margin back to 7, with the Storm sealing a 23–16 win with a late Greg Inglis field goal. For his fantastic efforts, Fullback Billy Slater was awarded the 2009 Clive Churchill Medal
for Man of the Match. Following the victory in 2009, the Melbourne Storm have been earned the title the NRL Team of the Decade for the 2000s.
However, due to poor negotiation of NRL TV broadcast rights, Channel 9 does not show regular Storm games at prime time in Melbourne.
In the late 2000s the Melbourne Storm were still running at a loss of up to $6M per season. However, they were voted the state of Victoria's most popular sports team by a national Roy Morgan Poll in October 2009.
Super 15 team. He was replaced by Matt Hanson who was the Chief Operating Officer, however following the Salary cap revelations Matt Hanson was then stood down and Ron Gauci appointed.
The Storm's first match of the season was the 2010 World Club Challenge
against equally dominant English side, the Leeds Rhinos
, in very cold and wet conditions the Storm prevailed 18 – 10.
For the 2010 NRL season
, they played their first three home games at Etihad Stadium before unveilling their new purpose built permanent home ground, AAMI Park
.
On 22 April 2010 the club admitted that it had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap for the last five years by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL ignorant of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap, including $550,000 in 2007, $965,000 in 2009 and $1.03 million in 2010. As a result, NRL Chief Executive David Gallop stripped the Melbourne Storm of their 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships (which have been withheld), fined them an Australian sporting record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points they had already received in the 2010 season, and barred them from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season.
In the 2011 season, the Storm played 9 of its first 13 games at home, beginning their season against arch-rivals the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
.
The Storm's 2011 season
saw a very successful return to the top of the NRL ladder, considering the massive player turnover from the past 12 months. The 2011 season saw a number of notable milestones including both Billy Slater
and Cameron Smith
playing their 200th games; Smith also scoring his 500th goal. Billy Slater also became the Storm's highest try scorer passing Matt Geyers record of 113 tries. As a team, the Storm broke a number of records including the club record for the most consecutive wins which now stands at 12. They also broke the NRL record for the most consecutive away wins against the Gold Coast Titans
in Round 23 (the record is now 9) and during this streak, held the Canberra Raiders
scoreless at Canberra Stadium
for the first time in the Raiders history. The Storm finished the 2011 regular season in first place clinching the Minor Premiership. The Storm also had a successful night at the 2011 Dally M Awards
, held on 6 September 2011, with Billy Slater taking out the Dally M Medal. Craig Bellamy also won coach of the year, while Cameron Smith won the Representative Player of the year.
However their revival was stopped one game short of the Grand Final when it lost the preliminary final to the New Zealand Warriors
at AAMI Park
.
told them to go with something else because the Mavericks sounded too American. Trams and Flying Foxes were also some ideas that came up. However co-CEOs Chris Johns
and John Ribot
decided to go with the themes lightning, power and storm. The club then became known as the Melbourne Storm.
The Storm was always going to go with the colours of their state, Victoria
. These were navy blue with a white 'V'. But club consultant Peter McWhirter, from JAG fashion house, suggested that they should also have purple and gold to make their merchandise more attractive. These colours appear in the logo, however, on the home jersey they have varied. Between 1998 and 2004 these four colours also appeared but between 2005 and 2009, gold was completely removed and silver introduced. For the 2010 season, gold returned and silver was omitted, also purple became the dominant colour in the jersey for the first time. This jersey has also been retained for 2011.
Between 1998–2001, Melbourne was the only club to display player names on the back of jerseys. This was because there was no major sponsor for the Storm to display on the chest or back at the time. In 2001, Melbourne gained its first major sponsor in Adecco, and was displayed on the jersey chest, while maintaining the players names on the back until the end of 2001. In 2002, the Storm removed the player's names and displayed Adecco's logo on the back.
Manufacturers:
Chest Sponsors:
Back Sponsors:
Sleeve Sponsors:
Shorts Sponsors
declared that the Storm were not "worthy premiers" in the run up to their round 5 rematch. The Storm responded by beating the Dragons 70–10. In Round 18 the Dragons added to the rivalry by defeating the Storm 50–4. In 2006 the Storm defeated St. George Illawarra in the Preliminary Final. On 21 July 2008, Storm won a match at Olympic Park 26–0, that was highlighted by several ugly brawls. In 2009, the Storm beat them in the Round 1 home game 17–16 with a field goal in Golden Point (the second time the two teams were drawn at fulltime).
Brisbane Broncos
. The Melbourne Storm has a strong rivalry with Brisbane, built in large part on the large number of finals games played between the teams, including one final in each year from 2004 to 2009; the Storm winning all but one of them. The move of Brisbane assistant coach Craig Bellamy to Melbourne has also been attributed to fueling the rivalry, as well as the wide spread of Queensland Origin
players across their squads in the better part of the past decade.
Every year since Brisbane's victory over Melbourne in the 2006 Grand Final, Melbourne have ended the Broncos' season by knocking them out of the finals. Melbourne captain Cameron Smith commented on the rivalry prior to their 2009 Preliminary Final at Etihad Stadium.
The Brisbane Broncos defeated the Storm 15–8, under controversial circumstances, in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. The Storm sought revenge through a 40–0 thrashing in the 2007 Qualifying Final at Olympic Park Stadium
. The 2008 Semi-Final at Suncorp Stadium
ended with Melbourne dramatically winning 16–14 with a try on the final play of the game. In 2009 Brisbane were again beaten by eventual premiers Melbourne, this time 40–10 at Etihad Stadium, catapulting the Storm to their 4th consecutive Grand Final Appearance.
Manly Sea Eagles. The Storm defeated Manly 34–8 in the 2007 Grand Final but lost to in the 2008 re-match in a history-making 0–40 loss. To add the rivalry, Melbourne beat Manly 40–12 in the opening final of the 2009 finals series, ending their bid to be back-to-back premiers.
New Zealand Warriors
: More of a traditional rivalry due to the large amount of Kiwi internationals Melbourne has fielded in their history. Matches between the two clubs are normally close and low scoring, with the overall head to head slightly in Melbourne's favour (28 clashes, Storm 14-Warriors 12 & 2 draws). These two sides have also played an annual ANZAC Day clash each year since 2009.
, affectionately coined "The Graveyard" by fans due to the incredible 77.2% winning percentage there. It was here that the club played their inaugural home match in the fourth round of the 1998 season on 3 April 1998, having come off the back of three successive away victories. In front of what remains the club's record Olympic Park
attendance of 20,522, the team recorded a 26–16 victory over the North Sydney Bears
.
The team remained at the ground until the end of the 2000 season. In the 2000 season they attracted an average home attendance of 14,622, which remained their largest average attendance ever until the 2010 season which drew an average on 14,670. They played at Melbourne Cricket Ground
for two games in 2000, and they won both times including the 70–10 thrashing of St George Illawarra Dragons
in the Grand Final rematch from the previous year. Following steady attendance increases over the three years, it was decided to move home games to the much larger Docklands Stadium for the following year However, with the team ending up missing the finals, crowd numbers declined and it was decided to move the team back to Olympic Park. Attendances bottomed out to an average of 8,886 per home game in 2004, but they have steadily risen each year back to an average of 14,670 per home game for the 2010 season, their highest yearly average ever. A home attendance record of 33,427 was set in 2007 for the Preliminary Final against Parramatta
, at the Docklands Stadium. Their highest regular season attendance of 25,480 was set in 2010 against St George-Illawarra also at Docklands.
The Storm played their last game at Olympic Park in round 25, 29 August 2009, with a 36–4 thrashing of the Sydney Roosters
.
For the 2010 NRL Premiership season, the Storm's first three home games (rounds four, six and seven) were played at Docklands Stadium, before moving into their new home ground, AAMI Park
in round nine (9 May 2010) against the Brisbane Broncos. The club had anticipated playing its first game at the new ground in round four against the St George Illawarra Dragons
, however, a delay in construction required the opening to be pushed back several weeks.
Top 5 Home Attendances
1999, 2007*, 2009*
2006*, 2007*, 2008*, 2011
2006, 2008
2009
2000, 2010*
* Title stripped due to salary cap breaches
Captains
The rotating captaincy policy was in place from 2006 until Cameron Smith was made sole captain after the State of Origin series (Round 17) in 2007.
, foundation CEO John Ribot
, Daily Telegraph journalist Steve Mascord and board member Frank Stanton
.
News sites
Statistics and information sites
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club based in the city of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
-dominated state of Victoria.
The Storm has officially won one NRL premiership (1999), one minor premiership
Minor premiership
A minor premiership is the name of the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the playoffs....
(2011
2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth run by the National Rugby League. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the...
and one World Club Challenge
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
victory (2000
2000 World Club Challenge
The 2000 World Club Challenge was contested by 1999 NRL season premiers, the Melbourne Storm and 1999 Super League champions, St Helens. The match was played on 22 January at JJB Stadium, Wigan before a crowd of 13,394. The Melbourne Storm defeated St Helens 44 - 6.-Teams:-Match details:...
) in its history. The club also has won several other titles from between 2006–2009 but these were annulled after the club was found to have breached salary cap; these titles included two premierships (2007 and 2009) and three minor premierships (2006, 2007 and 2008). Altogether the club has competed in five grand finals, winning three of these grand finals.
From their inception and until the end of 2009, the Storm played the majority of home games at Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
. From 2010 they moved into their new home at AAMI Park
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, the first game at the new venue was against the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
.
Originally a Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
initiative and one of six NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
teams which are privately owned, the Melbourne club is currently 100% owned and operated by News Limited
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
.
1990s
By 1994, due to the high attendances at recent State of OriginRugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
matches (including a then Australian rugby league record crowd of 87,161 in 1994 at the MCG) the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
(ARL) had planned to establish a Melbourne-based team to the premiership by 1998. However, the disruption caused by the Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
caused great change to the game in Australia. By May 1997, Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
boss John Ribot
John Ribot
John Ribot is an Australian sports administrator and former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's top try-scorer...
pushed for a Melbourne based club for his competition, which was the rival against the ARL. Former Brisbane Broncos centre Chris Johns
Chris Johns (rugby league)
Chris Johns is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He played in the centres, achieving representative honours for Australia and New South Wales. His club football career was spent with the St. George Dragons and Brisbane Broncos, as well as a spell in England with...
became the CEO of the club and Ribot stepped down from the head of Super League to set up the club. In September 1997, Melbourne announced that Chris Anderson would be their foundation coach, and then Super League announced that the new team would be named the Melbourne Storm.
The Melbourne club then went forward with signing players, mainly from folding Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
clubs Perth Reds and Hunter Mariners
Hunter Mariners
The Hunter Mariners were an Australian rugby league club based in the Hunter Valley region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid 1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super League war, which was the rivalry between the traditional...
. Some of these players included Robbie Ross
Robbie Ross (rugby league)
Robbie Ross is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback, he played his club football with the Newcastle Knights, Brisbane Broncos and Hunter Mariners before settling at the Melbourne...
, Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Patrick Lazarus is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has been named amongst the nation's finest of the 20th century. He primarily played at prop forward, representing Australia internationally and New South Wales in State of Origin...
, Brett Kimmorley
Brett Kimmorley
Brett "Noddy" Kimmorley was an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the NRL. He has previously played for five other clubs and has also represented his country and state on several occasions...
and Scott Hill. With the Super League and ARL joining into one competition for the 1998 season, the Melbourne team became part of the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
(NRL). The Melbourne Storm club was unveiled at a function in the Hyatt in February 1998.
In their first ever game, they defeated Illawarra
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then New South Wales Rugby Football...
, with Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Patrick Lazarus is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has been named amongst the nation's finest of the 20th century. He primarily played at prop forward, representing Australia internationally and New South Wales in State of Origin...
as their inaugural captain. Melbourne, in a complete shock to the rest of the competition, won their first four games, before losing to Auckland. They went on to make the finals, but were defeated by the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.
In January 1999, CEO John Ribot negotiated a deal that saw Melbourne Storm games televised in China every weekend. The club won eight of their first eleven games of the 1999 NRL season, and went on to make the finals in third position on the premiership ladder. The team was beaten convincingly 34–10 in the quarter final by St. George Illawarra. After narrow victories against the Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
and the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
however Melbourne once more faced St. George Illawarra, this time winning 20–18 and securing their first premiership.
2000s
Season 2000 saw Melbourne consistently win after initially losing their first four games of the season. They made the finals (finishing 6th), but were eventually knocked out by Newcastle in the quarter-finals. Between 2001 and 2002, the Melbourne club performed poorly. Cracks were starting to appear between Johns, Ribot and Anderson throughout the period, with Anderson quitting as coach after round 7, 2001. He was replaced by Mark MurrayMark Murray (rugby league)
Mark Murray is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia in test matches and Queensland in the State of Origin. His position of choice was halfback...
. The Melbourne club failed to make the finals in 2001. Johns left the club as CEO at the end of 2002 and coach Murray was sacked due to Melbourne's poor form, with the club missing the finals for the second year in a row. Wayne Bennett's assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos, Craig Bellamy was announced as the new coach of Melbourne for 2003. In addition to a new captain in Kiwi international skipper Stephen Kearney
Stephen Kearney
Stephen Peter Kearney, ONZM is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team...
, the strict coaching of Craig "Bellyache" Bellamy would see the Melbourne Storm get back on track from the previous lean years.
Between 2003 and 2005, Melbourne consistently made the finals, but lost games in the semi finals that prevented them from reaching the grand final. On 17 July 2004, during round 19 of the 2004 NRL season, Danny Williams king-hit Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
' player Mark O'Neill. Williams defended the incident, using four medical experts to argue on his behalf that he was suffering post-traumatic amnesia when the incident occurred, which he claims was the result of a high tackle by O'Neill just prior to the incident. Despite Williams' claim, he was suspended for 18 weeks by the NRL judiciary. After the decision, Williams stated that he was "obviously disappointed with the outcome". It was the longest suspension in Australian rugby league since Steve Linnane
Steve Linnane
Steve Linnane is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s, and coach of the 2000s. After playing club football in the Winfield Cup for St. George and Newcastle, he moved to England where he became coach of Rochdale, Halifax and Hull Kingston Rovers.-Playing career:As a...
was suspended for twenty weeks for eye-gouging in 1987.
In 2005, Storm coach Craig Bellamy, in his third season as an NRL coach, gained representative honours when he was selected to start coaching the Country Origin.
Season 2006 saw a new-look Storm, with the retirement of captain Robbie Kearns
Robbie Kearns
Robbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward...
, the emergence of talented rookie halfback Cooper Cronk
Cooper Cronk
Cooper Patrick Cronk is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Melbourne Storm of the NRL...
taking the reins from longtime number 7 Matt Orford
Matt Orford
Matthew Orford is an Australian professional rugby league player, last playing for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League competition...
, and the recruitment of hard-man Michael Crocker
Michael Crocker
Michael Crocker is an Australian professional rugby league footballer with the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the NRL...
. Contrary to expectation, 2006 was a standout year for the Melbourne team, winning their first minor premiership
Minor premiership
A minor premiership is the name of the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the playoffs....
following a resoundingly dominant Home and Away Season, including a club record 11 game streak. Melbourne only lost four games in the season, making them outright leaders by four wins. They went on to win their two finals matches, and were subsequently favourites in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. The Storm however lost 15–8 the to the Brisbane Broncos, in a match where controversial refereeing decisions against Melbourne caused much media coverage. Melbourne's television audience for the Storm's NRL grand final appearance was greater than Sydney's was for the Swans AFL grand final appearance'.
In 2007 the Storm avenged for their heartbreaking end to the 2006 campaign by playing as they did in 2006: once again dominating the competition, and finishing on top after 25 rounds. In the first week of the NRL finals, Melbourne played Brisbane, in which Melbourne won 40–0, securing a spot in a preliminary final. In the preliminary final, Melbourne played Parramatta in a game that was tied 10–10 at half time, before a superb second half by Melbourne resulted in the final score of 26–10. The win was particularly satisfying for Melbourne fans, coming soon after Parramatta CEO Denis Fitzgerald
Denis Fitzgerald
Denis William Fitzgerald, OAM, is an Australian former rugby league footballer and former Chief Executive Officer of the Parramatta Eels....
said that rugby league should not be promoted in Melbourne. This game drew a larger crowd than chief rival Manly's preliminary final. Melbourne comprehensively defeated Manly 34–8 in the 2007 NRL Grand Final
2007 NRL grand final
The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. Played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on September 30, in front of 81,392 spectators. It was the fourth NRL Grand Final played...
with Greg Inglis winning the coveted Clive Churchill Medal.
McIntyre Final Eight System
The McIntyre Final Eight System was devised by Ken McIntyre in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems. It is a playoff system of the top 8 finishers in a competition to determine which two teams will play in the Grand Final. The teams play each other over three weeks, with two teams...
was introduced to lose their opening finals game 15–18 to the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
, they then defeated the Brisbane Broncos 16–14, scoring in the last minute of their semi final. Bellamy was fined $50,000 for making scathing remarks regarding the NRL's decision to suspend Cameron Smith over a controversial "grapple tackle" on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday. Bellamy wrongly claimed that the administration was corrupt and that bookkeepers already knew that Smith would be denied the opportunity to play for the rest of the season. Along with Melbourne's CEO, Bellamy questioned the NRL's integrity in their opting to sideline Smith and not others who were guilty of committing similar tackles. In their qualifying final, Melbourne convincingly beat the Cronulla Sharks
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
28–0. But in their second successive grand final appearance against the Manly Sea Eagles, Manly demolished Melbourne 40–0.
At the Dally M Awards for season 2008, Melbourne picked up 6 awards, with 3 to Greg Inglis
Greg Inglis
Greg Inglis is an Australian professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative outside back, Inglis joined the Rabbitohs in 2011 after much controversy.Inglis is a versatile back, having played in several...
, and 1 for each of Billy Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
, Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
and Israel Folau
Israel Folau
Israel Folau is a professional Australian rules footballer currently listed with the Greater Western Sydney Football Club in the Australian Football League . He previously played Rugby league for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League from 2007 to 2008 where he broke the record for most...
. Billy Slater and Cameron Smith finished 2 points behind Manly's Matt Orford
Matt Orford
Matthew Orford is an Australian professional rugby league player, last playing for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League competition...
for the Dally M Medal with 22 points each. Billy Slater was awarded the international player of the year Golden Boot
Rugby League World Golden Boot Award
The Rugby League World Golden Boot Award is a rugby league award handed out annually for achievements in rugby league by Rugby League World magazine...
award for 2008, following on from Cameron Smith in 2007.
Following the 40–0 defeat, season 2009 was generally an average year on the field by the Storm's lofty standards, Melbourne finished 4th on the ladder after the home and away season, entering the finals clear underdogs. In Week One of the finals, the Storm romped 2008 Premiers Manly 40–12 in the qualifying final, ending their hopes of back-to-back premierships, and laying to bed some of the demons of the 2008 Grand Final. This was followed a fortnight later by a 40–10 thrashing of fierce rivals and 2006 Premiers Brisbane in the preliminary final, ensuring the Storm qualified for their fourth straight grand final
2009 NRL Grand Final
The 2009 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league football game played on 4 October 2009 at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney. It was the 12th annual championship game of the National Rugby League staged to decide the premiers of the 2009 NRL season....
(the first since Parramatta
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
from 1981–1984). The Preliminary Final was also a monumental game for the Storm as it saw favourite son Billy Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
score his 100th career try and Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
became Storm's highest ever point scorer, surpassing Matt Orford's record of 877. The Melbourne Storm then capped off a truly brilliant late-season resurgence to end a rampaging Parramatta
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
side in front of a parochial strong crowd at ANZ Stadium. Parramatta, coming off 10 wins from 11 games, led by the in-form young superstar Jarryd Hayne proved to be no match for the Storm's typical gameplan of grinding football, ensuring a defeat of the razzle-dazzle offload fuelled football of Parramatta. Despite the Storm leading Parramatta at one stage by 16 points, the Eels fought back in a late charge to bring the margin back to 7, with the Storm sealing a 23–16 win with a late Greg Inglis field goal. For his fantastic efforts, Fullback Billy Slater was awarded the 2009 Clive Churchill Medal
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
for Man of the Match. Following the victory in 2009, the Melbourne Storm have been earned the title the NRL Team of the Decade for the 2000s.
However, due to poor negotiation of NRL TV broadcast rights, Channel 9 does not show regular Storm games at prime time in Melbourne.
In the late 2000s the Melbourne Storm were still running at a loss of up to $6M per season. However, they were voted the state of Victoria's most popular sports team by a national Roy Morgan Poll in October 2009.
2010s
On 11 January 2010, it was announced that Brian Waldron resigned his position as CEO to take up the same position at the Melbourne RebelsMelbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels are a professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They are the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia...
Super 15 team. He was replaced by Matt Hanson who was the Chief Operating Officer, however following the Salary cap revelations Matt Hanson was then stood down and Ron Gauci appointed.
The Storm's first match of the season was the 2010 World Club Challenge
2010 World Club Challenge
-Teams:-Match details:-First half:Leeds almost scored early in the first half when Brent Webb ran over but he was held up by Luke MacDougall on the last tackle. Soon after they posted the first points with a penalty goal to captain Kevin Sinfield. Soon after Melbourne drew level with a penalty goal...
against equally dominant English side, the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, in very cold and wet conditions the Storm prevailed 18 – 10.
For the 2010 NRL season
2010 NRL season
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium...
, they played their first three home games at Etihad Stadium before unveilling their new purpose built permanent home ground, AAMI Park
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
On 22 April 2010 the club admitted that it had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap for the last five years by running a well-organized dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL ignorant of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap, including $550,000 in 2007, $965,000 in 2009 and $1.03 million in 2010. As a result, NRL Chief Executive David Gallop stripped the Melbourne Storm of their 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships (which have been withheld), fined them an Australian sporting record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points they had already received in the 2010 season, and barred them from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season.
In the 2011 season, the Storm played 9 of its first 13 games at home, beginning their season against arch-rivals the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
.
The Storm's 2011 season
Melbourne Storm season 2011
The 2011 Melbourne Storm season was the 14th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in first place, taking out the minor premiership...
saw a very successful return to the top of the NRL ladder, considering the massive player turnover from the past 12 months. The 2011 season saw a number of notable milestones including both Billy Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
and Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
playing their 200th games; Smith also scoring his 500th goal. Billy Slater also became the Storm's highest try scorer passing Matt Geyers record of 113 tries. As a team, the Storm broke a number of records including the club record for the most consecutive wins which now stands at 12. They also broke the NRL record for the most consecutive away wins against the Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans are an Australian professional rugby league football club, based in the Gold Coast, Queensland. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership. It is the newest of the sixteen clubs in the league, having commenced its...
in Round 23 (the record is now 9) and during this streak, held the Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
scoreless at Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia...
for the first time in the Raiders history. The Storm finished the 2011 regular season in first place clinching the Minor Premiership. The Storm also had a successful night at the 2011 Dally M Awards
Dally M Awards
The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. The most prestigious of these awards is the Dally M Medal which is only ever awarded to Australian born Players...
, held on 6 September 2011, with Billy Slater taking out the Dally M Medal. Craig Bellamy also won coach of the year, while Cameron Smith won the Representative Player of the year.
However their revival was stopped one game short of the Grand Final when it lost the preliminary final to the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
at AAMI Park
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
Season summaries
| Competition | Games Played | Games Won | Games Drawn | Games Lost | Ladder Position | |R | |F | | Glenn Lazarus Glenn Patrick Lazarus is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has been named amongst the nation's finest of the 20th century. He primarily played at prop forward, representing Australia internationally and New South Wales in State of Origin... |
1998 Melbourne Storm season The 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Telstra Premierhsip and by Round 15 had climbed to the top of the 20-team ladder... |
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24 (4) | 16 (3) | 0 | 8 (1) | 3 / 17 | |
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1999 Melbourne Storm season The 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the 2nd in the club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 3rd... |
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26 (1) | 14 | 1 | 11 (1) | 6 / 14 | |
| Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward... |
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26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 9 / 14 | | Mark Murray (rugby league) Mark Murray is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia in test matches and Queensland in the State of Origin. His position of choice was halfback... |
| Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward... Rodney Howe Rodney Howe Rodney Howe , is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian national side.... |
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24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 10 / 15 | | Mark Murray (rugby league) Mark Murray is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia in test matches and Queensland in the State of Origin. His position of choice was halfback... |
| Rodney Howe Rodney Howe , is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian national side.... |
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24 (2) | 15 (1) | 0 | 9 (1) | 5 / 15 | |
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Stephen Kearney Stephen Peter Kearney, ONZM is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team... |
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24 (2) | 13 (1) | 0 | 11 (1) | 6 / 15 | |
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24 (2) | 13 (1) | 0 | 11 (1) | 6 / 15 | |
| Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward... |
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24 (3) | 20 (2) | 0 | 4 (1) | 1 / 15 | |
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24 (3) | 21 (3) | 0 | 3 | 1 / 16 | |
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24 (4) | 17 (2) | 0 | 7 (2) | 1 / 16 | |
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Cameron Smith Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League... |
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24 (3) | 14 (3) | 1 | 9 | 4 / 16 | |
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2009 Melbourne Storm season The 2009 Melbourne Storm season was the 12th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 4th . They then progressed to their fourth consecutive grand final, this time to be played against the Parramatta Eels and won, claiming their... |
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| 2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium... |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 16 / 16 | 2010 Melbourne Storm season The 2010 Melbourne Storm season was the 13th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership, however following the much-publicised ousting of the administration's salary cap rorting early in the season, were unable to accumulate any more competition points and ended the... |
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| 2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth run by the National Rugby League. The NRL's main championship, called the 2011 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, was contested by sixteen teams for the... |
24 (2) | 19 (1) | 0 | 5 (1) | 1 / 16 | |
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Emblem and colours
Originally, the club favoured the name Melbourne Mavericks with a gunslinger logo holding a fistful of dollars. The club officials were all set to go with this until News Limited's Lachlan MurdochLachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Keith Murdoch is the eldest son of Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his second wife Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005...
told them to go with something else because the Mavericks sounded too American. Trams and Flying Foxes were also some ideas that came up. However co-CEOs Chris Johns
Chris Johns (rugby league)
Chris Johns is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He played in the centres, achieving representative honours for Australia and New South Wales. His club football career was spent with the St. George Dragons and Brisbane Broncos, as well as a spell in England with...
and John Ribot
John Ribot
John Ribot is an Australian sports administrator and former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's top try-scorer...
decided to go with the themes lightning, power and storm. The club then became known as the Melbourne Storm.
The Storm was always going to go with the colours of their state, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. These were navy blue with a white 'V'. But club consultant Peter McWhirter, from JAG fashion house, suggested that they should also have purple and gold to make their merchandise more attractive. These colours appear in the logo, however, on the home jersey they have varied. Between 1998 and 2004 these four colours also appeared but between 2005 and 2009, gold was completely removed and silver introduced. For the 2010 season, gold returned and silver was omitted, also purple became the dominant colour in the jersey for the first time. This jersey has also been retained for 2011.
Between 1998–2001, Melbourne was the only club to display player names on the back of jerseys. This was because there was no major sponsor for the Storm to display on the chest or back at the time. In 2001, Melbourne gained its first major sponsor in Adecco, and was displayed on the jersey chest, while maintaining the players names on the back until the end of 2001. In 2002, the Storm removed the player's names and displayed Adecco's logo on the back.
Manufacturers:
- 1998: Nike
- 1999–2002: Fila
- 2003–04: Canterbury
- 2005–08: Reebok
- 2009–present: Kooga
Chest Sponsors:
- 1998–2000: None
- 2001–05: Adecco
- 2006–08: Medibank Private
- 2009–mid 2010: ME Bank
- Mid 2010–Lnd 2010: Jayco
- 2011–present: Crown Casino
Back Sponsors:
- 1998–2001: Player Names
- 2002–2005: Adecco
- 2006–mid 2010: Host Plus
- Mid 2010–Late 2010: Jayco/Suzuki
- Early 2011-late 2011: None
- Late 2011–present: Harvey Norman
Sleeve Sponsors:
- 1998-Late 1998: None
- late 1998–2003: Honda
- 2004: None
- 2005: Medibank Private
- Early 2006: None
- Mid 2006–2007: Mortgage House
- 2008–present: Suzuki
Shorts Sponsors
- 2001–2002: Accapac
- 2003–2004: Accapac (front) and Crazy Johns (back)
- 2005-late 2006: None
- late 2006– 2010: Jayco
- 2010–2011: Makita (front) and Jayco (back)
- 2012-present: Makita (front) and Harvey Norman (back)
Rivalries
St George Illawarra Dragons: The Storm narrowly beat them in their first grand final in 1999, with a late penalty try putting the Storm in front. The following year Anthony MundineAnthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
declared that the Storm were not "worthy premiers" in the run up to their round 5 rematch. The Storm responded by beating the Dragons 70–10. In Round 18 the Dragons added to the rivalry by defeating the Storm 50–4. In 2006 the Storm defeated St. George Illawarra in the Preliminary Final. On 21 July 2008, Storm won a match at Olympic Park 26–0, that was highlighted by several ugly brawls. In 2009, the Storm beat them in the Round 1 home game 17–16 with a field goal in Golden Point (the second time the two teams were drawn at fulltime).
Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
. The Melbourne Storm has a strong rivalry with Brisbane, built in large part on the large number of finals games played between the teams, including one final in each year from 2004 to 2009; the Storm winning all but one of them. The move of Brisbane assistant coach Craig Bellamy to Melbourne has also been attributed to fueling the rivalry, as well as the wide spread of Queensland Origin
Queensland State of Origin Team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
players across their squads in the better part of the past decade.
Every year since Brisbane's victory over Melbourne in the 2006 Grand Final, Melbourne have ended the Broncos' season by knocking them out of the finals. Melbourne captain Cameron Smith commented on the rivalry prior to their 2009 Preliminary Final at Etihad Stadium.
The Brisbane Broncos defeated the Storm 15–8, under controversial circumstances, in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. The Storm sought revenge through a 40–0 thrashing in the 2007 Qualifying Final at Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
. The 2008 Semi-Final at Suncorp Stadium
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park is the original name of the site located in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, Queensland, Australia, now occupied by the major sports facility known by its sponsorship name, Suncorp Stadium...
ended with Melbourne dramatically winning 16–14 with a try on the final play of the game. In 2009 Brisbane were again beaten by eventual premiers Melbourne, this time 40–10 at Etihad Stadium, catapulting the Storm to their 4th consecutive Grand Final Appearance.
Manly Sea Eagles. The Storm defeated Manly 34–8 in the 2007 Grand Final but lost to in the 2008 re-match in a history-making 0–40 loss. To add the rivalry, Melbourne beat Manly 40–12 in the opening final of the 2009 finals series, ending their bid to be back-to-back premiers.
New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
: More of a traditional rivalry due to the large amount of Kiwi internationals Melbourne has fielded in their history. Matches between the two clubs are normally close and low scoring, with the overall head to head slightly in Melbourne's favour (28 clashes, Storm 14-Warriors 12 & 2 draws). These two sides have also played an annual ANZAC Day clash each year since 2009.
Stadium and attendances
Melbourne have played the vast majority of their home matches at the city's Olympic Park StadiumOlympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
, affectionately coined "The Graveyard" by fans due to the incredible 77.2% winning percentage there. It was here that the club played their inaugural home match in the fourth round of the 1998 season on 3 April 1998, having come off the back of three successive away victories. In front of what remains the club's record Olympic Park
Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
attendance of 20,522, the team recorded a 26–16 victory over the North Sydney Bears
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
for two games in 2000, and they won both times including the 70–10 thrashing of St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
in the Grand Final rematch from the previous year. Following steady attendance increases over the three years, it was decided to move home games to the much larger Docklands Stadium for the following year However, with the team ending up missing the finals, crowd numbers declined and it was decided to move the team back to Olympic Park. Attendances bottomed out to an average of 8,886 per home game in 2004, but they have steadily risen each year back to an average of 14,670 per home game for the 2010 season, their highest yearly average ever. A home attendance record of 33,427 was set in 2007 for the Preliminary Final against Parramatta
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
, at the Docklands Stadium. Their highest regular season attendance of 25,480 was set in 2010 against St George-Illawarra also at Docklands.
The Storm played their last game at Olympic Park in round 25, 29 August 2009, with a 36–4 thrashing of the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
.
For the 2010 NRL Premiership season, the Storm's first three home games (rounds four, six and seven) were played at Docklands Stadium, before moving into their new home ground, AAMI Park
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in round nine (9 May 2010) against the Brisbane Broncos. The club had anticipated playing its first game at the new ground in round four against the St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
, however, a delay in construction required the opening to be pushed back several weeks.
Stadium records
Home Grounds used by the Storm| From | To | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2000 | Olympic Park Stadium Olympic Park Stadium Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium... |
| 2001 | 2001 | Docklands Stadium |
| 2002 | 2009 | Olympic Park Stadium |
| 2010 | present | AAMI Park Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.... |
Top 5 Home Attendances
| Crowd | Stadium | Opponent | Game Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33,427 | Docklands Stadium | Parramatta Eels Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League... |
Preliminary final | 23/09/2007 |
| 28,580 | AAMI Park | New Zealand Warriors New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia... |
Preliminary Final | 24/09/2011 |
| 27,687 | Docklands Stadium | Brisbane Broncos Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two... |
Preliminary final | 26/09/2009 |
| 25,480 | Docklands Stadium | St George-Illawarra Dragons | Regular Season – 1st home game following premiership (Good Friday) | 02/04/2010 |
| 24,081 | AAMI Park | St George-Illawarra Dragons | Regular Season – Round 24 | 19/08/2011 |
Statistics and records summary
Statistics and Records current as of the end of the 2011 NRL seasonClub honours
- National Rugby LeagueNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
Premierships: 1
1999, 2007*, 2009*
- National Rugby League Minor Premierships: 1
2006*, 2007*, 2008*, 2011
- National Rugby League runners up: 2
2006, 2008
- National Youth Competition premierships: 1
2009
- World Club ChallengeWorld Club ChallengeThe World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
wins: 1
2000, 2010*
- Greatest winning margin: 64 points
- Vs Wests TigersWests TigersThe Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
, on 5 July 2001, Final score 64 – 0.
- Vs Wests Tigers
- Worst defeat: 46 points
- Vs Bulldogs (50–4 on 10 August 2003)
- Vs St. George Illawarra (50–4 on 4 June 2000)
- Most consecutive wins: 12
- 29 May 2011 (Round 12) – 19 August 2011 (Round 24)
- All time head to head record
- Since 1998, The Melbourne Storm have the following Win-Loss record.
- Their wins percentage is currently the second best in the league only second to the Broncos.
| Games | Wins | Drawn | Loss | Points for | Points against | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 369 | 231 | 5 | 133 | 8921 | 6571 | 63.27% |
Melbourne Storm salary cap breach
The Melbourne Storm salary cap breach was a major breach of the National Rugby League's strictly enforced salary cap by the Melbourne Storm club over a period of five years...
Individual honours
- Top 3 Highest point scorers:
- Cameron SmithCameron SmithCameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
1168 points (31 tries, 522 goals) - Matt OrfordMatt OrfordMatthew Orford is an Australian professional rugby league player, last playing for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League competition...
877 points (52 tries, 333 goals, 3 field goals) - Matt GeyerMatt GeyerMatt Geyer is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League competition, winning premierships with them in 1999...
662 points (113 tries, 105 goals)
- Cameron Smith
- Top 5 Try scorers:
- Billy SlaterBilly SlaterBilly Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
124 tries (203 games) - Matt GeyerMatt GeyerMatt Geyer is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League competition, winning premierships with them in 1999...
113 (262) - Greg InglisGreg InglisGreg Inglis is an Australian professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative outside back, Inglis joined the Rabbitohs in 2011 after much controversy.Inglis is a versatile back, having played in several...
78 (117) - Marcus BaiMarcus BaiMarcus Bai is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a winger, he played his final season in 2006 for English Super League team Bradford Bulls. He is the only man to win the World Club Challenge with three different clubs...
70 (144) - Steven BellSteven BellSteven "Steve" Bell is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Catalans Dragons of Super League...
63 (107)
- Billy Slater
- Most points scored in a season: 242
- Matt Geyer, 20 tries and 81 goals in the 1999 premiership season.
- Most tries in a season: 21
- Israel FolauIsrael FolauIsrael Folau is a professional Australian rules footballer currently listed with the Greater Western Sydney Football Club in the Australian Football League . He previously played Rugby league for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League from 2007 to 2008 where he broke the record for most...
2007 season.
- Israel Folau
- Dally M medalists: 2
- 2006 – Cameron Smith
- 2011 – Billy Slater
- Golden Boot AwardRugby League World Golden Boot AwardThe Rugby League World Golden Boot Award is a rugby league award handed out annually for achievements in rugby league by Rugby League World magazine...
(World's best player) winners: 3- 2007 – Cameron Smith
- 2008 – Billy Slater
- 2009 – Greg Inglis
- 2011 - Billy Slater
Coaches and captains
Coaches- 1998-R7 2001: Chris Anderson
- R8 2001–2002: Mark MurrayMark Murray (rugby league)Mark Murray is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia in test matches and Queensland in the State of Origin. His position of choice was halfback...
- 2003–present: Craig Bellamy
Captains
- 1998–1999: Glenn LazarusGlenn LazarusGlenn Patrick Lazarus is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has been named amongst the nation's finest of the 20th century. He primarily played at prop forward, representing Australia internationally and New South Wales in State of Origin...
- 2000: Robbie KearnsRobbie KearnsRobbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward...
- 2001: Robbie KearnsRobbie KearnsRobbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward...
, Rodney HoweRodney HoweRodney Howe , is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian national side.... - 2002: Rodney HoweRodney HoweRodney Howe , is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian national side....
- 2003–2004: Stephen KearneyStephen KearneyStephen Peter Kearney, ONZM is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team...
- 2005: Robbie KearnsRobbie KearnsRobbie Kearns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the National Rugby League competition whose senior career began with the Cronulla Sharks. He represented New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia in international matches. His position of choice was at Prop Forward...
- 2006: Cameron SmithCameron SmithCameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
, David KidwellDavid KidwellDavid Kidwell is a retired professional rugby league footballer who represented his country. Kidwell was a member of the 2005 Tri-Nations and 2008 World Cup winning New Zealand teams, which defeated Australia in both competitions' respective finals...
, Scott Hill, Matt GeyerMatt GeyerMatt Geyer is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League competition, winning premierships with them in 1999...
, Michael CrockerMichael CrockerMichael Crocker is an Australian professional rugby league footballer with the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the NRL... - 2007 R1-R17: Cameron SmithCameron SmithCameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
, Matt GeyerMatt GeyerMatt Geyer is an Australian rugby league footballer for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup. A New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his club football primarily with the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League competition, winning premierships with them in 1999...
, Cooper CronkCooper CronkCooper Patrick Cronk is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Melbourne Storm of the NRL...
, Matt King, Dallas JohnsonDallas JohnsonDallas Johnson is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League and formerly the Melbourne Storm and Catalans Dragons. He plays primarily as a lock forward.Between 2007 and 2009, Johnson played in four consecutive NRL grand finals... - 2007 R18-present: Cameron SmithCameron SmithCameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
The rotating captaincy policy was in place from 2006 until Cameron Smith was made sole captain after the State of Origin series (Round 17) in 2007.
2011 squad
Although other players may play for the Melbourne Storm during the year, all NRL clubs are required to select a top 25 First Grade squad at the beginning of the season.Team of the decade
As part of their 10 year celebrations in 2007, Melbourne Storm released a team of the decade. The 17 man team was selected by former assistant coach Greg BrentnallGreg Brentnall
Greg Brentnall is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. An Australian international and New South Wales representative fullback and winger, he played for Canterbury-Bankstown in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, winning the 1980 grand final with...
, foundation CEO John Ribot
John Ribot
John Ribot is an Australian sports administrator and former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's top try-scorer...
, Daily Telegraph journalist Steve Mascord and board member Frank Stanton
Frank Stanton (rugby league)
Frank "Biscuits" Stanton is an Australian former rugby league player and a successful club and national representative coach. His playing and club coaching career was with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles...
.
Supporters
The Melbourne Storm's supporter base grew from almost 500,000 in 2004 to almost 800,000 in 2009, making them the fourth most popular rugby team. The club's supporter group, the "Graveyard Crew", make an Aussie-rules-style banner for the team to run through in important matches.See also
- Rugby league in VictoriaRugby league in VictoriaRugby league football has been played and watched by people in the Australian state of Victoria since the early 20th century. While for most of its history there the game's popularity has been marginal due to Australian rules football's dominance in southern states, rugby league's popularity has...
- Sport in AustraliaSport in AustraliaAustralia has a long sporting history dating back to the mid 1800s. By the 1920s, a number of sports were being played by both men and women, including cricket, badminton, judo, swimming, tennis, netball, lacrosse, golf, hockey and various codes of football....
- Sport in VictoriaSport in VictoriaThe state of Victoria, Australia, is known for its sporting culture. The Victorian capital, Melbourne is often referred to as the sporting capital of the world....
External links
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