Will 2020 finally be the end of the Melbourne Storm dynasty?

Hey Thomas, I have listened to and read from dooms dayers like yourself about the Storm forever. I had a cuppa with Storm Footy boss Frank Ponissi at Geelong Grammar during the club's pre-season in 2015 when I was set to join the Talent Identification and Recruitment team. I mentioned to Frank that every member of the media in Sydney had written the Storm off after the previous season's 6th position. "It doesn't have to be that way", I said to Frank, who did not hesitate to nod his head in agreement. That year the Storm went on the finish 4th. Since then the Storm has gone on win the Minor Premiership three of the next four years and were runners up on the other occasion with the highlight the 2017 Grand Final win. Every year the Storm had been written off. Last Tuesday Matt Tripp was made the club's new Chairman. Anyone that has had anything to do with Matt or has studied his illustrious Business Resume will know that everything he does is all about winning and being the best. Be a brave man to underestimate them again, especially with Craig Bellamy as Coach.

Sorry Walter Even with the finger on the sideline incident the Storm were outplayed that night, just like the Raiders were outplayed in the final.

The same category as the Sharks. You mean absolute champions?? Sorry mate there is only room for one and we already have that one stitched up ;)

With over 25k memberships and good gates every week they have quite a bit to fall. Besides, in my experience, storm fans are every bit as passionate about their team as any other club. I don't know, maybe they have a disaster and lose 10,000 members, that would put them in the same category as the Sharks.

"narrowly lost to Raiders in first finals, " Ricky Stuart and the Raiders fans are very vocal in letting you know about how they were robbed in the GF with a six again call but lets not forget that the narrow loss to the Raiders in the first round was down to some awful officiating that saw two Refs and a Touch Judge sacked for the rest of the season. Without that debacle, it is likely that Melbourne get to the GF and then a very different story emerges.

I didn't read too much into that first game about a Storm decline, only that Manly had a very good team and they proved it coming within a penalty of a prelim and doing it without Turbo. The fact that Storm then went on to hammer Manly 36-6 at Brookie, narrowly lost to Raiders in first finals, beat the Eels 32-0 in the second and then lose to the eventual premiers tells me there's no problem with self belief. Their main problem was a rookie fullback and a switch in 7s so having a spine that hadn't trained together going into the finals series. I think that shouldn't be an issue this year. I think the first game against Manly will be a good test for both sides as I expect them both to be at the pointy end of the season again.

Manly beat the Storm at Storm park last season in a great spectacle with Cam Smith on board and it felt at the end of the game to me it was a turning point in the Storms history. They looked a touch bewildered at the end of the game and I reckon it rocked their self belief to a degree. It's not a scientific analysis by any stretch but it's clearly what I felt at the time and they weren't as dominant in the finals as many expected. I see that most expect them to fire again this season and it is possible but I believe their confidence will erode further when they lose a few matches. In saying that they have been way ahead of all the other clubs over the long term but that can create the illusion that it's a permanent thing. The history is mounting that Cameron Smith is the major factor , to me anyway.

"can a team survive in Melbourne if they become perennial cellar dwellers for a decade?" The obvious answer is NO. Hence why the NRL will NEVER let that happen.

You underestimate the influence of the NRL

Yes but manly had a number of injuries that night which started off their horrendous injury toll into the finals that aided melbourne as well as the wet weather which favoured the storm tactics. A dry track that night and who knows. Turbo may not have slipped and torn his peck for a start.

One of the things Melbourne have been very good at is unearthing talent and getting players that were perhaps under rated at other clubs and make them better. The hooker stocks are the best in the comp if Harry Grant is half the player he has shown thus far. Outside backs are another story- Josh Addo Carr will be a huge loss, and to a lesser extent Suli who despite getting out the gate like a house on fire had his moments and minor brain explosions. Justin Olam could be a star of the future and a younger version of Will Chambers. The problem with the Storm is that unlike many sides that go through losing streaks and have to tinker with combinations, the Storm cannot possibly accommodate all of the players that might be 1st grade starters elsewhere. Let's hope both the wingers give it 110% this year and we will have a chance at the trophy

I think you might be predicting a demise that won't happen. The Storm seem to have had a happy knack of finding terrific wingers so the loss Vunivalu and JAC may not be as serious as it appears. The keys for me are how Jahrome Hughes and Brandon Smith go this season. Papi &Munster are clearly terrific footballers, so if Hughes & B Smith can take on more of the responsibilities that Cam Smith currently provides, they could have one of the best spines in the comp - still. If they have that and Bellamy is still developing okay players into very good footballers who can play the Melbourne system, I see no reason why the Storm won't continue on it's merry way.

Maybe he will

I doubt that we will ever find out, my bet is that Bellamy knows it and will retire the same day Smith does.

Interesting. I guess we will find out. I would say that other Bellamy coached teams without Smith are a very small sample size. They are either: - during State of Origin, when Melbourne traditionally miss a whole lot more than just Smith - one off's with little preparation, like their famous thrashing at the hands of Manly in the grand final where Smith was suspended - in State of Origin, when he was up against all of his big players, plus an all time great team and by his own admission learnt a lot about what not to do when coaching in the rep arena. The true test will be when Smith hangs up his boots, Bellamy has time to plan for it and then tests his plan over a season or two.

Tough call. I've been waiting for the Storm to drop off for 5 years now due to the age of their big 3, or their retirements, or their injuries, or their departures. Instead they made four grand finals, won two premierships and 3 minor premierships. Yes eventually every great team falls, just ask the Saints, the Bunnies, the Eels or the Raiders. Will 2020 be the last great hurrah, possibly. Bellamy will do his best to make sure that doesn't happen though, and even if they dropped off by 50%, that just means they will start playing like everyone else. The most interesting question will be can a team survive in Melbourne if they become perennial cellar dwellers for a decade or so like the Titans or Knights. Up Up

I think the loss of Suli, JAC and Cam next year will definitely have an effect on the team. There is no way you can replace any of those 3 and the Storm will take some time to replace them, same as replacing Cronk and Slater. I do think they will need to go to market and I will for the first time in a very long time have to dish out some money for some quality outside backs as the hooker position is well stocked. With the rule changes on taking out the attacking player in the air they will be looking at wingers in the Tupou/Suli mould.

Bellamy has proved time and time again that he can't win without Smith in his team. Smith has won a heap of stuff without Bellamy, Bellamy hasn't won anything without Smith. Smith has made every coach he played for look great, even Mal Meninga.

one can only hope, i have been waiting for this day for 15 years

It would be reasonable to expect some sort of drop after 2020 with the loss of big names that we will see at the end of this year. However with Bellamy at the helm, I would not expect that drop to be very far or for very long.