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Melbourne Storm
File:MelbourneStorm.png
Club information
Full nameMelbourne Storm Rugby League Club
Nickname(s)Storm
Founded1997 (first season 1998)
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOFrank Stanton
CoachCraig Bellamy
CaptainCameron Smith
CompetitionNational Rugby League
2009Stripped of Premiership
Home jersey
Home colours
 Away jersey
Away colours
Records
Premierships1 (1999)
Runners-up2 (2006, 2008)
Minor premierships0

The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria, the Storm have played in the last four National Rugby League (NRL) grand finals, making them one of the league's top teams. In October 2009, they were ranked the most popular sports team in Melbourne by a national Roy Morgan Poll.[1][2]

The club won the minor premiership three times in a row from 2006–2008 and contested each grand final from 2006 to 2009, winning in 2007 and 2009, although these titles were later stripped for salary cap breaches. They were named the NRL Team of the Decade for the 2000s. Their coach Craig Bellamy is the incumbent New South Wales State of Origin coach.

From their inception and until the end of 2009, the Storm played their home games at Olympic Park Stadium. As of Round 9 in the 2010 NRL season, the Storm will play home games at AAMI Park, the first being against the Brisbane Broncos. Prior to this, they will play their first three fixtures of 2010 at nearby Etihad Stadium.[3] Originally a Super League initiative and one of six NRL teams which are privately owned,[4] the Melbourne club is currently 100% owned and operated by News Limited.

As a result of an NRL investigation, it was announced on 22 April 2010 that the Storm had been stripped of its 2007 and 2009 premierships and its 2006-2008 minor premierships, fined a record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points and barred from receiving further premiership points for the rest of the 2010 season after being found guilty of gross long-term salary cap breaches. Several sponsors, most notably ME Bank, Hostplus and Skins withdrew support from the club[5] while Harvey Norman [6] Jayco [7], Suzuki [7] and KooGa [7] continued their support, with their logos featuring prominently in a hastily reconfigured jersey. In contrast to those sponsors who distanced themselves, Jayco and Suzuki increased their existing support to compensate for the losses of other sponsors [8] .

History

See also: Rugby League in Victoria

1990s

By 1994, due to the high attendances at recent State of Origin matches, the Australian Rugby League (ARL) had planned to establish a Melbourne-based team to the premiership by 1998.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

The Melbourne club then went forward with signing players, mainly from former 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 1997, there were 21 rugby league teams running around Australia (and one in New Zealand), but none in the country's second-largest city. In 1998, with the game reunited, three clubs had been jettisoned and the Melbourne Storm had bobbed up as an unexpected and initially curious addition to the landscape.

— The Sunday Age, 1999[12]

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.[13] They went on to make the finals, but were defeated by the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.[14]

In January 1999, CEO John Ribot negotiated a deal that saw Melbourne Storm games televised in China every weekend.[15] 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 (and to date, only) 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 Murray. 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.[16][17] 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.

Now, the Melbourne Storm are here to stay. They are not moving and News Limited is apparently committed to keeping them financially. I am OK with that. I hated Melbourne when they were in place of traditional teams that were expelled, but that's all over now. If they want to persevere in Melbourne, I have no argument.

— Phil Gould, 21 December 2003[18]

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.

Storm players celebrating their premiership win in 2007.

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.[19]

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.[citation needed]

Season 2006 saw a new-look Storm, with the retirement of captain Robbie Kearns, the emergence of talented rookie halfback Cooper Cronk taking the reigns 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.[19] They went on to win their two finals matches, and were subsequently favourites in the 2006 NRL Grand Final.[19] The Storm however lost 15–8 the to the Brisbane Broncos, in a match where controversial refereeing decisions against Melbourne caused much media coverage.[20] 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'.[21]

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.

Melbourne Storm warming up before a match in 2008

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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

However, due to poor negotiation of NRL TV broadcast rights, Channel 9 does not show regular Storm games at prime time in Melbourne.[25]

In the late 2000s the Melbourne Storm were still running at a loss of up to $6M per season.[26]

2010

On 11 January 2010, it was announced that Brian Waldron resigned his position as CEO to take up the same position at the Melbourne Rebels Super 15 team.[27] He was replaced by Matt Hanson who was the Chief Operating Officer.

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.[28] For the 2010 NRL season, they will play their first three home games at Etihad Stadium before moving to their new purpose built permanent home ground, AAMI Park.

Salary cap breach

Following claims by a whistleblower that the club was keeping a second set of books, the NRL conducted an investigation in late 2009 and early 2010. After initially denying the claims, Storm officials confessed on 22 April 2010 that the club had committed serious and systematic breaches of the salary cap for the last five years by running a well-organized dual contract 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 club's compliance with the NRL salary cap is supported by statutory declarations, the club's owners have requested that fraud charges be laid against those responsible and has stated that any person who knew of the breach would be expelled from the club. The Victorian Fraud Squad began preliminary investigations on 23 April. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission have also made preliminary investigations and have indicated an interest in investigating breaches of the Corporations Act. Storm executives had arranged for inflated invoices to be submitted to hide the payments to players. This involved submitting invoices of up to $20,000 above the real value of the services rendered with this amount paid directly to players by the third party suppliers although there is no suggestion that the suppliers were involved in submitting the inflated invoices.[29][30]

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 a record $1,689,000 ($1.1 million in NRL prize money which will be re-distributed equally between the remaining 15 clubs, $89,000 in prize money from the World Club Challenge which will be re-distributed to the Leeds Rhinos, and the maximum of $500,000 for breaching the salary cap), deducted all eight premiership points already received in the 2010 season, and was barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season, meaning that the club will win the 2010 wooden spoon.

The Storm initially accepted this decision without question but have since indicated they may appeal the loss of their two premierships and premiership points for the 2010 season. The Storm have also been ordered to cut their payroll by $1,325,000 to meet the salary cap by the end of the season;[31] failure to do so will result in the club being suspended for the 2011 NRL season.

Former CEO Brian Waldron, current chief executive officer and former chief financial officer Matt Hanson, and current chief financial officer Paul Gregory are alleged to have been the main culprits behind the breaches. Former chief financial officer Cameron Vale, who is now with AFL's North Melbourne Football Club, was said to have been the whistle blower on the situation, but has denied the allegations against him.[32]

On 23 April 2010, Brian Waldron resigned from his position of chief executive of the Melbourne Rebels rugby union club after just six weeks of taking over the expansion team entering the new Super 15 competition. The AFL investigated (and later cleared) St Kilda Football Club's players' payments during Waldron's three-year time at the club alongside now-former Storm CEO Matt Hanson.[33]

On April 23, the NRL seized a secret dossier hidden in the home of acting chief executive Matt Hanson. The dossier contains letters of offer to three of the Storm's star players (Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, and Cameron Smith) and another as yet unnamed player guaranteeing illegal payments in the form of goods from third parties. For one player with a $400,000 contract lodged with the NRL, the letter of offer was valued at $950,000, and contained a $20,000 gift voucher for a national retailer and a $30,000 boat. Other offers included a new car for a player’s partner and $30,000 in home renovations. The offers together amounted to $700,000 of which the four players had already received $400,000. While Waldron had signed all the letters of offer only Inglis and Slater had signed theirs, albeit the letters were written in a way that the players may not have realised the extra payments were outside the cap.[29][34]

The news was referred to by The Age newspaper as "The biggest scandal in Australian sports history".[35] The Storm's scandal has also been likened to that of golfing great Tiger Woods and disgraced AFL player Ben Cousins.

Club supporters had mixed reactions and feelings towards the situation as the club was left with "dishonour and shame". In 102 years of professional rugby league in Australia, no club had ever been stripped of a competition title. Many fans dumped their jerseys and other memorabilia at the team's Carlton headquarters on hearing about the incident, and many others simply broke into tears; there was a feeling that former CEO Brian Waldron was to blame and not the players.[36]

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is the club's number one female ticket holder, said that supporters would be shocked and saddened, but hoped that they would stand by the club as it rebuilt. Storm chairman Dr Rob Moodie apologised to the fans, many of whom publicly removed their Storm colours and dumped them in disgust.[37]

We are devastated. This is the lowest day for our club. We have betrayed the trust of the Australian people. We haven't played by the rules.

— Dr Rob Moodie, The Courier Mail

Betting agencies received an "old fashioned betting sting" as some punters found out about the salary cap allegations before they became common knowledge, as the Storm were at $4.20 favourites to win the title at the time and $251 to win the wooden spoon. TAB Sportsbet has claimed it will be due to pay out at least $500,000 before betting was suspended.[38]

Melbourne sports industry experts John Poulakakis (Chief commercial officer, Melbourne F.C.) and Martin Hirons (Melbourne sport business consultant) were reported in The Age, saying it could take little more than four weeks to two months to recover the $2 million it is believed to have already lost in sponsorship [39].

By April 30 the Age was reporting a surge in club membership of 700 over the 5 days since the scandal erupted, with members who had previously revoked their memberships contacting the club to have them reinstated.[40]

The matter was referred to ASIC and the Victoria Police on July 15. [41] The matter has also been referred to the Australian Tax Office and the Victorian State Revenue Office.

Season summaries

P=Premier, R=Runner-Up, M=Minor Premier, F=Finals Appearance, W=Wooden Spoon, S=Stripped of title
(Brackets represent Finals games)
Competition Games
Played		 Games
Won		 Games
Drawn		 Games
Lost		 Ladder
Position		 P R M F W Coach Captain[42] Details
1998 NRL Season
 24 (3) 17 (1) 1 6 (2) 3 / 20
X
Chris Anderson
Glenn Lazarus
Melbourne Storm 1998
1999 NRL Season
 24 (4) 16 (3) 0 8 (1) 3 / 17
X
X
Melbourne Storm 1999
2000 NRL Season
 26 (1) 14 1 11 (1) 6 / 14
X
Robbie Kearns
Melbourne Storm 2000
2001 NRL Season
 26 11 1 14 9 / 14
Chris Anderson
Mark Murray
Robbie Kearns
Rodney Howe
Melbourne Storm 2001
2002 NRL Season
 24 9 1 14 10 / 15
Mark Murray
Rodney Howe
Melbourne Storm 2002
2003 NRL Season
 24 (2) 15 (1) 0 9 (1) 5 / 15
X
Craig Bellamy
Stephen Kearney
Melbourne Storm 2003
2004 NRL Season
 24 (2) 13 (1) 0 11 (1) 6 / 15
X
Melbourne Storm 2004
2005 NRL Season
 24 (2) 13 (1) 0 11 (1) 6 / 15
X
Robbie Kearns
Melbourne Storm 2005
2006 NRL Season
 24 (3) 20 (2) 0 4 (1) 1 / 15
X
S
X
various
Melbourne Storm 2006
2007 NRL Season
 24 (3) 21 (3) 0 3 1 / 16
S
S
X
Melbourne Storm 2007
2008 NRL Season
 24 (4) 17 (2) 0 7 (2) 1 / 16
X
S
X
Cameron Smith
Melbourne Storm 2008
2009 NRL Season
 24 (3) 14 (3) 1 9 4 / 16
S
X
Melbourne Storm 2009
2010 NRL Season
 17 9 0 8 16 / 16
X
Melbourne Storm 2010

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 Murdoch 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.[10]

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.[10] 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 2010, gold has returned and silver omitted, also purple has now become the dominant colour in the jersey for the first time.

Rivalries

St George Illawarra Dragons [43]. 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 Mundine 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[citation needed] 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 move of Brisbane assistant coach Craig Bellamy to Melbourne has also been attributed to fueling the rivalry.

"When Bellamy left here and went to Melbourne, the rivalry with them went up a notch then... their record is good against us."

— Darren Lockyer, 26 September 2009 [44]

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.

"A lot of people talk about us and Manly, but I think all the boys for whatever reason would say we take more satisfaction out of beating the Broncos...we love playing them...there is always plenty of feeling and intensity in the games...it probably wouldn't feel like September if we weren't playing them at some stage."

— Cameron Smith, 26 September 2009 [45]

The Brisbane Broncos defeated the Storm 15–8, under controversial circumstances,[46] 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, whom the Storm defeated 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.[47]

I haven't been a part of the matches previous to this year which built that rivalry but you certainly get a sense that interest in the game and the level of excitement and enthusiasm from the players goes up,"

— Brett Finch, 8 September 2009 [48]

Stadium and attendances

Melbourne have played the vast majority of their home matches at the city's Olympic Park 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.[13] 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.[49]

Olympic Park Stadium during a Toyota cup match.

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 [49] still their highest season average. 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[16] 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 12,474 per home game for the 2008 season.[49] A home attendance record of 33,427 was set in 2007 for the Preliminary Final against Parramatta, at Telstra Dome.

The Storm played their last game at Olympic Park in round 25, 29 August 2009, with a 36–4 thrashing of the Sydney Roosters.[50] For the 2010 Telstra NRL Premiership season, the Storm's first three home games (rounds four, six and seven) were played at Etihad 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.[51]

Stadium records

Statistics and records summary

Coaches and captains

Players

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players

Representative players

Main article: List of Melbourne Storm representatives

2010 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.

No. Position Player

Adam Blair – SR Jesse Bromwich – PR Hep Cahill – LK Dane Chisholm – FE 73 Cooper Cronk – HB Matt Duffie – WG Louis Fanene – SR Brett Finch – FE Ryan Hinchcliffe – HK 62 Ryan Hoffman – SR 79 Greg Inglis – CE William Isa – CE 107 Sam Joe – CE 109 Sinbad Kali – PR Luke Kelly – HB John Kite – PR Rory Kostjasyn – HK 90 Jeff Lima – PR

No. Position Player

Todd Lowrie – LK Luke MacDougall – WG 99 Sika Manu – SR 105 Dane Nielsen – WG Bryan Norrie – PR Justin O'Neill – CE 106 Kevin Proctor – SR 94 Anthony Quinn – WG Billy Rogers – LK 60 Billy Slater – FB 55 Cameron Smith (C) – HK Chase Stanley – CE 102 Aiden Tolman – PR Atelea Vea – SR 76 Brett White – PR Gareth Widdop – FB James Woolford – HK

Source: Storm 2010 Squad

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 Brentnall, foundation CEO John Ribot, Daily Telegraph journalist Steve Mascord and board member Frank Stanton.[56]

No. Position Player

1 Billy Slater – FB 2 Matt Geyer – WG 3 Matt King – CE 4 Greg Inglis – CE 5 Marcus Bai – WG 6 Scott Hill – FE 7 Brett Kimmorley – HB 8 Glenn Lazarus – PR (captain) 9 Cameron Smith – HK

No. Position Player

10 Robbie Kearns – PR 11 Dallas Johnson – SR 12 Stephen Kearney – SR 13 Tawera Nikau – LK 14 Rodney Howe – positions 15 David Kidwell – positions 16 Ryan Hoffman – positions 17 Cooper Cronk – positions

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.[57] The club's supporter group, the "Graveyard Crew", make an Aussie-rules-style banner for the team to run through in important matches.[58]

Prominent fans

See also

References

  1. ^ Roy Morgan Website
  2. ^ Roy Morgan Website
  3. ^ http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.aspx?s=draw-results
  4. ^ Masters, Roy "Proposed model is not the answer for rugby league" League HQ 2009-12-04
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "Explosive files detailing secret payments to Melbourne Storm players exposed". Heraldsun website (www.heraldsun.com.au). Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Thunderstruck- News Ltd shelves plans to sell Storm". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Storm clearing in proud Melbourne". Foxtel website <foxtel.com.au>. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  9. ^ Roy Masters (20 November 1994). "Plan for super league gone awry". The Sunday Age. Australia: Fairfax. p. 19. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 344. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 345. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Cockerill, Ian (3 October 1999). "Eye of the Storm". The Sunday Age. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ a b Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 346. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan. The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney. p. 347. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |unused_data= (help); Text "accessyeaublishers (Australia) Pty Ltd" ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Masters, Roy (17 September 1999). "Ribot de Bressac has the last laugh over Storm in China". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 40. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  16. ^ a b Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 349. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Collis, Ian and Whitaker, Alan (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Sydney: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 350. ISBN 174110075–5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Gould, Phil (21 December 2003). "NRL expansion talk excites Gold Coast". The Sun-Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ a b c "Danny Williams suspension". Cite error: The named reference "a" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Broncos edge Storm for NRL title". BBC News. 1 October 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  21. ^ Stevenson, Andrew (3 October 2006). "Rugby league – the game they play in Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 16 December 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  22. ^ web|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24321231-23214,00.html%7Ctitle=Orford wins Dally M
  23. ^ "Melbourne Storm wins NRL grand final". The Australian. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  24. ^ Storm team of the decade – Local News – News – General – Daily Liberalhttp://www.melbournestorm.com.au
  25. ^ What to do with the Melbourne Storm?
  26. ^ Walter, Brad "Deal allows News to sell Storm as going concern", 15 December 2009 brisbanetimes.com.au
  27. ^ Melbourne Storm CEO Brian Waldron quits to join Melbourne Rebels | Herald Sun [http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2009/948/ Roy Morgan Website
  28. ^ Storm World Champions | Herald Sun [http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2009/906/
  29. ^ a b Kent, Paul (24 April 2010). "The Dossier that ruined a sporting giant". The Advertiser. p. 1.
  30. ^ Tabakoff, Nick (24 April 2010). "Taxman has all teams in sight". The Advertiser. p. 7.
  31. ^ http://www.nrl.com/telstrapremiership/draw/tabid/10235/default.aspx NRL Fixtures – NRL Draw – NRL.comhttp://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.aspx?s=draw-results]
  32. ^ Honeysett, Stuart (23 April 2010). "Shocking end to the Melbourne Storm era". The Australian. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  33. ^ Rakic, Josh (23 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  34. ^ O’Halloran, Jess (25 April 2010). "New Storm Brewing". The Sunday mail. p. 15.
  35. ^ Munro, Ian (23 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm stripped of everything". The Age. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  36. ^ Firkin, Katherine (23 April 2010). "Fans are feeling the pain of Melbourne Storm's penalty". Herald Sun. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  37. ^ DeKroo, Karl (22 April 2010). "How Melbourne Storm bought its way to the top with salary cap rort". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  38. ^ Hamilton, Adam (23 April 2010). "Spoon-fed punters skin bookmakers". The Herlad Sun. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  39. ^ "Sponsorship deals tipped to come Storming back". The Age <www.theage.com.au>. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  40. ^ "Melbourne Storm membership surge". The Age. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  41. ^ Storm salary cap rort report handed to police
  42. ^ a b Storm Captains and Coaches
  43. ^ http://illawarra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/haunted-dragons-facing-storm-graveyard/844398.aspx,
  44. ^ Lockyer, Darren (21 December 2003). "Enemy No.1 in Melbourne Storm sights". The Sun-Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  45. ^ Smith, Cameron (21 December 2003). "Enemy No.1 in Melbourne Storm sights". The Herald Sun. The Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  46. ^ NRL Grand Final Review [http://www.watoday.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/proposed-model-is-not-the-answer-for-rugby-league-20091203-k8su.html "Proposed model is not the answer for rugby league"
  47. ^ rleague.com – The World of Rugby League [http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/storm-stripped-2-nrl-premierships-3484867
  48. ^ Finch, Brett (8 September 2009). "Rivalry stokes Cameron Smith". The Herald Sun. The Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  49. ^ a b c "Rugby League Tables / Attendances Melbourne". Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  50. ^ The Graveyard claims its final victim @ Melbourne Stormhttp://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/explosive-files-detailing-secret-payments-to-melbourne-storm-players-exposed/story-e6frfgbo-1225857632667
  51. ^ Festival of Rugby League announcement @ Melbourne Stormhttp://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/thunderstruck--news-ltd-shelves-plans-to-sell-storm-20100423-tj5k.html
  52. ^ "Rugby League Tables / Game Records / Melbourne". Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  53. ^ Win Loss records
  54. ^ a b Storm player statistics
  55. ^ "Rugby League Tables / Scorers / Melbourne". Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  56. ^ "Melbourne Storm Official Site Team of the Decade". Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  57. ^ Heming, Wayne (30 October 2009). "Brisbane Broncos voted Australia's most popular football team". foxsports.com.au. AAP. Retrieved 31 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  58. ^ Healey, Kelvin (1 October 2006). "Calm start for Storm". Sunday Herald Sun. News Limited. Retrieved 17 December 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  59. ^ Elliott, Tim (19 November 2006). "Mr. Maverick". The Sun-Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 6 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  60. ^ Morton, Jim (6 January 2007). "Diggers has mission to burn Welsh bombers". Australia: AAP Sports News. Retrieved 5 October 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  61. ^ Media Centre – The Hon Julia Gillard MP – Melbourne Storm, John Howard, Work Choices, Iraq, Budget speculationhttp://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,20797,27036013-5018866,00.html?from=public_rss
  62. ^ Golly, Molly! – Sport – theage.com.auhttp://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&docID=news941120_0033_9393
  63. ^ http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/nightline-blog/marty-fields/20090830-f3un.html
  64. ^ Lewis, Daniel (24 September 2005). "Heart of the city". smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald, The. Retrieved 27 September 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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