The Melbourne side was born out of the Super League storm. As teams crumbled and disappeared around them, they came to the fore with a side ready to challenge for the title.
The Storm needed early success to justify its place in the soon to be 14-team competition. The team not only did well, it won the competition in 1999 – their second season. Though if anyone thinks that the Melbourne team were not guaranteed a place from 2000 and beyond, they were living in a false reality.
Seasons 2001 and 2002 were disappointing, but signing Craig Bellamy for the 2003 season was a masterstroke. During his tenure we have seen a dominance over the code that rarely happens. It is akin to the Dogs and Eels of the 1980s and Brisbane Broncos of the 1990s.
One wonders if their dominance will continue now that Cooper Cronk has left and Billy Slater and Cameron Smith are a season or two away from retirement.
There were many naysayers when the Storm began. Many fans were still angry from the Super League war. Fans were mad that their team either merged, died or was expelled to make way for an upstart. However, having Melbourne in the competition adds value to the league.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
The club has suffered bad days. Many enthusiasts wondered whether they would continue to exist. Firstly, it was the continuing losses the club made in its early years. Many pundits queried News Limited and wondered how long they would support a loss-making venture.
Secondly, the salary cap drama took away two titles from the 2007 and 2009 seasons. I’m curious to see who thinks that they should get these titles back. Arguments could be made that other teams may have been cheating the cap as well. Personally I am not bothered either way.
Regardless of the salary cap drama, the club persevered. In 2012 the side won the grand final. In 2016 they lost the grand final to Cronulla-Sutherland before winning the 2017 decider over the North Queensland Cowboys. The 2018 season should be interesting as they undertake it without the execution of Cooper Cronk. Is Melbourne’s dominance coming to an end?
With the club’s success it has gained a foothold in AFL-obsessed Melbourne. The Storm organisation has been smart. They have not had a ridiculous ambition to overtake the popularity of the AFL. That would be similar to climbing Mount Everest with a broken leg. However, they realised that Aussie Rules is akin to a religion in Victoria, so they decided to set up their own church.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
The Storm go out of their way to welcome new fans. They have embraced what has worked so well for the AFL: memberships. In 2017 the Melbourne Storm were ranked fourth for membership numbers with 20,296 fans actively paying to support their team. I do not doubt that this number will continue to rise.
Let’s put this number into perspective. The club, which has just over 20 years of existence, is fourth in member support. They are doing very well or all other clubs are underperforming in this area. I think it is probably a combination of both.
To further prove that they have cemented a niche market in Australia’s second-largest city, they were second for home crowd averages, with 18,000-odd fans. Yes, I know they have AAMI Park, a great stadium to watch the game, but it is still impressive.
The 2017 season was not one of the best for crowds for the NRL, and I feel sorry for the teams that got lumped with the Friday night 6pm time slot. Yet these numbers do tell you something: the Melbourne Storm are here to stay. Whether they remain the superpower in the game only time will tell.
If you are a Melbourne Storm fan, appreciate the dominance that you have sustained. As a neutral, I wish the club the greatest of success regarding finances, membership numbers and home crowd averages. I just hope that the team’s on-field successes do not come at the cost of my own team.
Joshaz
Guest
The Storm aren't worth it. They've had the best three player combination for a generation, and have still spent beyond the cap to afford others around them in order to dominate, and keep the big three. The result is sustained success, but do Victorians even half care? And if they do, is it only on the condition Melbourne are Top 2-4 every single year with superstars in key positions? Fans in rugby league heartland would give anything to see their teams win, but instead, we got a continued Melbourne experiment, which we still are not sure is viable in spite of all the success on the field (and the cheating to have that success).
Peter Phelps
Guest
Keep your stolen premierships, the Storm will win enough titles in the next decade to make those stolen premierships mere rounding. 2018 - Year of the STORM
Peter Phelps
Guest
Melbourne Storm membership for 2018 has just passed 18,000. They are currently third highest members behind the Broncos and Rabbits who are both around 25,000 2018 - Year of the STORM - back to back premierships here we come.
Taree Raider
Guest
Is Craig Bellamy a very good coach or a coach of very good players? I don't know, but I do know that when Craig coached NSW, without his QLD stars he didn't achieve any results. Subjectively looking at it, you would think knowing Smith, Cronk & Slater so well would have been a tremendous advantage to him whilst in charge of NSW. Is he a coach of very good players? Even with such a base to work from, the Storm under Craig have always tried and had to cheat to win. Wrestling, Chicken Wings immediately spring to mind. Not to mention the Salary Cap breaches, which Craig obviously knew nothing about. Has he ever been publicly challenged about his knowledge of it? He was not sanctioned by the NRL so he must be inocent. Having Smith, Slater, Inglis & Cronk on the payroll at the same time may have been an indicator that things weren't right. If Craig openly challenges the rules of play, would he condone challenging the rules of player payment? But despite the cheating of the rules, Craig openly does not accept having the overpaid team's (cheats) Premierships taken away from him or the Club. They openly state that they won those Premierships & still celebrate them. Yes, you did win the Grand Final on the day, but the team was cheating. If that isn't rubbing every other NRL fans noses in it I don't know what it is. For that reason alone I dislike the Melbourne Storm more than any other team.
Justin Kearney
Guest
My comments about the ARL/NRL’s commitment to Victoria is based on the fact the total funding across SA, Vic, Tas, WA and NT was only 3 million dollars per annum as recently as 3 years ago. Compare that to the AFLs commitment to Qld and NSW and it’s laughable. Poor old tassie got $30000 a year when I was involved.
Peter Phelps
Guest
Both Channel 9 and the NRL have a case to answer though maybe in the NRL's case, a cronic cash shortage may well have been the issue. Never the less, I believe the storm should have been given a little leeway in its first few years. Channel 9 were quite simply a disgrace. They rarely showed games into Victoria, and when they did, they couldn't get it off fast enough. I remember one GF in which the Storm won being taken off air the minute the final hooter went so they could show a repeat of Everybody love Raymond. No after match commentry, no presentation of the shield, no after match speeches, no parade nothing. Hostile environment due to AFL is one thing but when you are also battling against the media that is supposed to be on your side, then it starts to get ridiculous.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I predicted about five years ago that the storm would slip because the big three were running on old legs. I got shown up badly then and swore never again. Certainly not while Smith, Slater and Bellamy are still going strong. No club stays at the top forever but I'm not going to predict the Storms decline. When it does come, they're a club that's run well and I can't imagine any down period lasting more than a season or two. If they stagger the exits of Cronk, Smith, Slater and Bellamy there's no reason why there will be a big down turn. There's a couple of comments above about the NRLnot supporting the storm. I'm not so sure about that, but imagine how much deeper their inroads into Melbourne could have been with a bit more support from Channel 9.
Peter Phelps
Guest
Exactly, The NRL has its eyes firmly fixed on propping up falling attendances and replacing shabby suburban grounds in Sydney and ignoring the big prize elsewhere. Perth is ripe for the taking and with proper support could be another big success story. Anyone with half a business brain can see that the big dollars aren't made in a shrinking market. With a fixed size, single tier NRL system and a paranoid aversion to expansion then the only conclusion you can reach is that there are too many clubs in Sydney and some will need to merge, close or relocate.
Justin Kearney
Guest
The storm have done an amazing job in what was a hostile environment with virtually no support from the NRL. Interest in league has never been higher, crowds have grown and participation has also grown markedly. You just have to wonder what else may have happened if the NRL had properly supported the Club.
duecer
Guest
It is very true that if you have a well performing team, then they will get a boost at the gate, as has been proven with the Swans and the Storm. Let's see what happens if either team has a few lean years. The Storm really have had a fantastic run and it looks likely to continue, but, as with any team, a few bad years and crowds will tumble - just look at the Lions in the AFL.
madmax
Guest
Yeah right lololol.............
Ken
Guest
Peter Sterling every year lol , the last 5 years he always goes “ the storm with a aging roster won’t make the 8” and every year he is wrong lol .
Peter Phelps
Guest
All clubs rise and fall but in different spheres. The low point for the great clubs like broncos, storm, roosters might be dropping out of the top 4. The high point for other clubs like the warriors, panthers, titans might be getting into the eight. It all depends on your perspective. Don't expect the storm not to be playing finals footy for some considerable time yet.
Peter Phelps
Guest
"i feel the storm dynasty is over." Been hearing that quite regularly for about six years now, ain't happened yet !
Dogs Boddy
Roar Rookie
Short answer "YES". But not next season, maybe the one after that. Or the one after that. But fall they must, as all teams do. I honestly can't see any other team really dominating the way the Storm did this year for a while to come yet, but stranger things have happened.
groundzero
Guest
i feel the storm dynasty is over. an the ben hunt, james graham, led dragons has just began
Peter Phelps
Guest
They have known that they are on borrowed time with smith, slater, cronk for a few years and in fact they have probably held onto them longer than they would have anticipated. They knew about Cronk leaving for most of last season and bellamy wouldn't be the man he is if he didn't have this one well and truly covered. If that is croft, expect him to be firing on all cylinders by finals time. Roosters may get the minor prem in 2018 but I am sticking with Melbourne for the big one.
Garth Lambourn
Guest
Yes unfortunately they will be a force again. Their system is so good. Hate the Storm but can’t help admiring what they do and produce.
Nat
Roar Guru
You would be a brave man to write off the Storm from contenders just from the loss of Cronk. Brodie Croft, as understudy for Cronk for the last 2 yrs, is already better than average at half. Just look at Munster. From good Q Cup player to Qld and Aust rep within a couple of years due to the Storm influence. So having Smith inside, Munster and Slater outside, Croft will fill the gap very proficiently in season1 then expertly by 2 & 3. I will be surprised if they're not top 4 in 2018.
Peter Phelps
Guest
Melbourne's success on the gates/memberships front in the heart of AFL territory and where every home game represents major travel for away fans is a clear reason why we have to have more clubs outside of sydney. Expand, relocate, merge or whatever but for the good of the game, we need clubs in Perth and Adelaide as well as a second team in Brisbane.