Melbourne Storm

Following record attendances at State of Origin fixtures in Melbourne of 87,161 in 1994 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Australian Rugby League (ARL) had planned to establish a Melbourne-based team in the Premiership by 1998.[2] 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 of the ARL.[3] 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.[4]

The Melbourne club then went forward with signing players, mainly from folding Super League clubs Perth Reds and Hunter Mariners. 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 Rugby League Club was unveiled at a function at the Hyatt Hotel – Melbourne in February 1998.

In their first game, they defeated the Illawarra Steelers, 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 the Auckland Warriors.[6] They went on to make the finals, but were defeated by the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.[7]

In January 1999, CEO John Ribot negotiated a deal that saw Melbourne Storm games televised in China every weekend.[8] 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.

Melbourne's Premiership defence began relatively slowly losing their first four games of the 2000 NRL season, the club went on to make the finals (finishing 6th), but were eventually knocked out by Newcastle Knights in the quarter-finals. Between 2001 and 2002, the club's on field performances waned, resulting in a 10th-placed finish in 2002. Cracks were starting to appear between John 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,[9][10] and in addition, a new captain in Kiwi international skipper Stephen Kearney. Bellamy's strict coaching had an almost immediate effect and saw 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 which prevented them from reaching the grand final. This period also saw the arrival and rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith provided solid support to existing established players in Matt Orford and his forwards and also provided supporters with confidence of the club's future. A notable incident that occurred during 2004 was the 18-game suspension of Danny Williams following a king-hit on Wests Tigers' player Mark O'Neill. It was the longest suspension in Australian rugby league since 1987.[12]

By 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 team.[13]

Season 2006 saw the retirement of captain Robbie Kearns and the emergence of talented rookie halfback Cooper Cronk who took over the position from Matt Orford and in addition, the recruitment of hard-man Michael Crocker. The club also moved away from a single captain electing to use a rotating captains policy, in 2006 alone used five Captains including Cameron Smith for the first time. Contrary to expectation, 2006 was a standout year for the Melbourne team, winning their first Minor Premiership. Melbourne only lost four games in the season, making them outright leaders by four wins.[14] They went on to win their two finals matches, and were favourites in the 2006 NRL Grand Final, but lost 15–8 to the Brisbane Broncos, in a match where controversial refereeing decisions against Melbourne caused much media coverage.[15]

In 2007, the Storm finished the season Minor Premiers by finishing on top of the table again. They progressed through the finals series with wins over Brisbane, 40–0, and then Parramatta 26–10, in the Preliminary final. This secured a berth in the 2007 NRL Grand Final against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles which they won 34–8, with Greg Inglis winning the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground.

Storm players celebrating their Premiership win in 2007 (later disqualified by NRL)

Melbourne Storm warming up before a match in 2008

In 2008, foundation player Matt Geyer became the first player to play 250 games for the club.[16] Melbourne finished on top of the ladder after the 26 rounds of regular competition and 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. Cameron Smith was suspended for two matches for a grapple tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday in the match, seeing him miss the rest of the finals, and Craig Bellamy was fined $50,000 for making scathing remarks against the judiciary's decision. Melbourne convincingly beat the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28–0 to qualify for the Grand Final, but suffered the heaviest Grand Final defeat in league history, beaten 40–0 by Manly. Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Israel Folau all won awards at the Dally M Awards, and Slater and Smith finished equal second for the Dally M Medal.[17] Billy Slater was awarded the international player of the year Golden Boot award for 2008, following on from Cameron Smith in 2007.

In the 2009 season, Melbourne finished 4th on the ladder; they defeated Manly 40–12 in the first week of the finals and Brisbane 40–10 in the preliminary finals to qualify for a fourth straight grand final (the first since Parramatta from 1981 to 1984). Against Parramatta, who had finished eighth in the home-and-away season but had won ten of its last eleven matches, the Storm led at one stage by 16 points, before finishing 23–16 winners.[18] Slater won the Clive Churchill Medal, and they were named as the NRL Team of the Decade for the 2000s.[19] In the late 2000s the Melbourne Storm were still running at a loss of up to $6M per season,[20] however despite this, they were voted the state of Victoria's most popular sports team by a national Roy Morgan Poll in October 2009.[21]

In 2010, a number of changes were made to senior management of the club, firstly Brian Waldron resigned his position as CEO to take up the same position at the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team,[22] he was replaced by Chief Operating Officer, Matt Hanson. In April, following the Salary cap revelations, Matt Hanson was then stood down and Ron Gauci appointed.

On field, 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.[23]

The Storm's home ground from 2010, AAMI Park

On 22 April 2010 the club admitted that it had breached the NRL salary cap between 2006 and 2010 by running a dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL ignorant of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap. As a result of the breach, NRL Chief Executive David Gallop, stripped the club all titles earned in this period including their 2007 and 2009 Premierships, heavily fined the club, deducted all premiership points achieved to that point and barred them from receiving any more for the rest of the season. The club had won enough matches to make the finals, but automatically finished in last place due to the penalties. Melbourne did have something to celebrate in 2010 with the opening of their new home ground AAMI Park in May. The stadium was expected to be used right from the beginning of the season, however, construction delays postponed the opening.

Following the salary cap scandal the club needed to shed a number of players and rebuild. The managed this successfully and over the next two years the Storm returned to the top of the ladder. In 2011 the club won what, after the salary cap penalties, was considered the club's first Minor Premiership and that season also included a club record twelve consecutive wins, however, Melbourne fell just short the Grand Final, losing the preliminary final against New Zealand. Billy Slater won the Dally M Medal, and Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith also won awards on Dally M Medal night.

In 2012 the club started very strongly with nine consecutive wins, the club's best start to a season up to that time. A five-game losing streak between Rounds 16 and 21 (the club's second worst losing streak to that time) saw them fall from the top of the ladder. However, from Round 22 forward they recovered their winning form and finished the regular season with five straight wins, ending the regular season in second place on the table. Storm began their finals campaign with a 24–6 win over South Sydney Rabbitohs. Storm played its fifth Preliminary Final in six years, this time defeating Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–12 at AAMI Park. Following this they went on to claim their second official Premiership defeating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 14 – 4 in the Grand Final.

The Storm began its 2013 season with a trip to England where they defeated the Leeds Rhinos 18–14 in the World Club Challenge, to be crowned World Champions.[24] Upon their return to Australia, the Storm began the home and away season where it left off in 2012 winning their first seven games, this combined with games won in late 2012 set a new new club record for the most consecutive wins, with the streak ending at 15 games with a loss in Round 8. On 21 May 2013 the Storm announced that, News Limited had sold the club to Holding M.S. Australia Pty Limited, an organisation made up of internationally experienced and successful businessmen. This change included replacement of the News Ltd Board and Executive, which included the replacement of Chairman Stephen Rue with Bart Campbell and CEO Ron Gauci with Mark Evans. News Limited had owned the Storm since its inception in 1997.[25] On 9 June 2013 Captain Cameron Smith played his 250th game for the club.[26] The Storm managed to finish 3rd in 2013; however, successive losses to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights in the finals saw the Storm miss the Preliminary Finals for the first time since 2005 (excluding 2010).

The 2014 season saw a number of milestones achieved, both Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk played their 250th games and Craig Bellamy reached 300 games as coach.[26] In mid 2014 the Storm also announced a new feeder partnership with the Sunshine Coast Falcons. This would complement their existing relationship with Brisbane Easts with a view to establishing a permanent footprint in the Sunshine Coast Area.[27]

2015 began successfully for the Storm with the club finding itself on top of the ladder by Round 7. In April Storm CEO Mark Evans announced that he was returning to England and completed his tenure as CEO in June of that year.[28] Dave Donaghy was announced as his replacement.[29] In round 19 a major milestone was achieved with Cameron smith playing his 300th game becoming only the 24th player in history to do so. In August 2015 the storm announced that they would create an Academy on the Sunshine Coast to develop and nurture developing talent in the region with a view to progressing through the Storm ranks. Part of the establishment of this Academy meant that the Melbourne Storm Under 20s Team would play all of its home games at the new facility from 2016 onward.[30]

The 2016 season began well for the Storm finding themselves in third place on the ladder after 10 rounds. In Round 5 they scored their 300th NRL win and in Round 9, Craig Bellamy coached his 350th NRL game. On 23 May the Melbourne Storm announced that it had been one of three successful bidders and the only NRL club to gain a licence to field a Netball side in a new expanded Australian Netball League to commence in 2017. The Storm were nominated by Netball Australia as a preferred bidder for one of three new team licences under their expansion plans and on 17 August 2016 it was announced that the new team will be called Sunshine Coast Lightning[1] and be based on the Sunshine Coast at the Storm sports Academy and in effect be a second Queensland Team. The announcement is to establish the Storm as not just a Rugby League club but a sporting and community club.

"Melbourne Storm have partnered with the University of the Sunshine Coast for this project and we're both very proud and excited to have reached the preferred bidder stage for a licence in the new National Netball League,"

— Dave Donaghy, 2016[31]

At the conclusion of the 2016 NRL season the Melbourne Storm finished in first place claiming their second legitimate Minor Premiership. They qualified for the NRL Finals series winning their first two finals and thus making it through to the 2016 NRL Grand Final against the Cronulla Sharks. The game was a very hard-fought match, as the game hung in the balance until the dying second but the Sharks hung on to win.

2017 was another successful year for the Melbourne Storm, the club's 20th season in the NRL. Following on from the heartbreak of losing the Grand final in 2016, the club went from strength to strength recruiting well in the off season and dominated the 2017 NRL season to finish in first place earning them their third legitimate minor premiership. The Storm won 20 and lost 4 games throughout the season making it their most dominant season in 10 years. Cameron Smith also broke a number of league, club and personal records throughout the 2017 season including the NRL games record for the most games played, league record for the most wins as a captain, a personal best for the most points in a game and also scored his 2000th career point and 1000th career goal, the first time any player has achieved this. The Storm continued their success into the 2017 NRL finals and won their first two, a home Qualifying final against the Parramatta Eels 18–16 and a home Preliminary Final against Brisbane Broncos 30–0 to qualify them for their second consecutive Grand Final. The 2017 NRL Grand Final was played against the North Queensland Cowboys, which Melbourne Storm dominated to earn them their 3rd official Premiership 34 – 6. Billy Slater won his second Clive Churchill medal. In December 2017, the NRL announced the formation of a women's competition with Melbourne Storm expressing their interest in applying for a licence to participate in the inaugural NRL Women's season.[32]

Following the club's Premiership in 2017, the Storm hosted the 2018 World Club Challenge at AAMI park in February and also defeated the Leeds Rhinos to win the title 38–4. 2018 was also a special year for the club as it celebrated its 20th Anniversary and in March announced their team of the first 20 years during a gala evening at Crown Casino.[33] Continuing on from the success in 2017, the Storm once again played very well throughout the year ultimately being pipped for the Minor Premiership on points difference. The Storm once again made the Grand final, however, lost to the Sydney Roosters to end the season Runner-up.

In 2019, the club returned to the top of the table winning the Minor Premiership finishing six points ahead of the Sydney Roosters, however, their finals campaign was not as successful with ultimately exiting the finals after a defeat in the Preliminary Final once again to the Roosters.[34] Club Captain Cameron Smith also achieved a number of significant milestones throughout the 2019 season including captaining his 300th game, becoming the game's highest points scorer and also playing his 400th NRL game – the first NRL player to do so.

The Storm were looking to continue their success into 2020 but 2020 became somewhat of an extraordinary year. The global COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia in late February forcing all games behind closed doors and then a total suspension and reorganization of the season. After the situation in Victoria deteriorated in June, the Storm were forced to relocate to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to complete their season.[35] Melbourne would go on to finish second on the table at the end of the 2020 regular season behind Minor Premiers Penrith, before beating Penrith in the 2020 NRL Grand Final to win their fourth official premiership, and cementing their status as one of the most successful clubs of the modern NRL era.[36]

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.[37] 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 of lightning, power and storm. The club then became known as the Melbourne Storm.[3]

The Storm were always going to go with the colours of their state, Victoria (navy blue with a white 'V'), but club consultant at the time, Peter McWhirter of the JAG fashion house, suggested that they should also have purple and gold to make their merchandise more attractive.[3] Therefore, the official colours of the Storm are Navy Blue and Purple – Main colours with White and Yellow as Minor colours.

All four of these colours appeared in the logo until it was changed in 2017 with the colour Yellow being removed as of 2018. In the home jersey, the colours have varied over the years. Between 1998 and 2004 these four colours appeared on various designs but between 2005 and 2009, gold was completely removed and silver introduced. Between 2010 and 2012, gold returned, silver was omitted and purple became the dominant colour in the jersey. For 2013 a new design was announced featuring a deeper V, with more navy blue in the jersey. Gold disappeared again along with most of the white, and the lightning bolts were changed to purple. During 2015 the jersey changed again, for the first time not featuring a V at all, but the V returned somewhat along with the lightning bolts in 2016 with a manufacturer change. In 2018 and 19 the club wore a traditional V uniform and all colours were present, however, for 2020 the jersey has returned to an all navy blue and purple jersey.

Between 1998 and 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. It also helped supporters new to the game identify the players. In 2001, Melbourne gained its first major sponsor in Adecco,[38] which 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 players' names and displayed Adecco's logo on the back. Since then the Storm have had varying sponsors adorning the jersey.

The club's original logo of "Storm Man" riding over storm clouds and throwing a bolt of lightning was in place from the club's inception through to the end of the 2017 season when, as part of the club's 20th Anniversary, the Storm introduced a new logo used throughout the 2018 season.[39] The logo was a shield based logo with the storm man featured above the words "Melbourne Storm 20 Years". As the celebrations concluded, the club rebranded and replaced the 20th Anniversary logo with another new logo.[40] The current Logo is a derivation of the 20-year logo featuring no shield and a more bold "Melbourne Storm" and the club has also dropped the colour Yellow from the logo.

• Melbourne Storm – Logos
• 
  1998–2017
• 
  2018
• 
  2019–present

¹ This table lists the official Melbourne Storm Club Captains, however, there have been 23 playing captains as of the 2020 season. For a complete list see List of Melbourne Storm records.

² The Rotating Captains throughout the 2006/2007 seasons were: David Kidwell, Scott Hill, Cameron Smith, Matt Geyer, Michael Crocker, Cooper Cronk, Matt King and Dallas Johnson.

Complete list of all Melbourne Storm players:

Complete list of all Melbourne Storm players to have played representative games:

The first Melbourne Storm team to take to the field in Round 1 of the 1998 NRL season[56]

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, and then board member Frank Stanton (all 3 were members of the 1982 Kangaroo tour "Invincibles", Brentnall and Ribot as players with Stanton the coach). The trio were joined by The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) journalist Steve Mascord.[57]

As part of their 20-year celebrations in 2018, Melbourne Storm announced their team of the first 20 years at a gala night at Crown Casino on 2 March 2018. The 17-man line-up is made up of the greatest players to have pulled on the purple jersey over the last two decades. The team selection panel included Storm football director Frank Ponissi, chief executive Dave Donaghy, inaugural chief executive John Ribot, former assistant coach Greg Brentnall, journalist Roy Masters and current coach Craig Bellamy.[33][58]