1998_Melbourne_Storm_season

1998 Melbourne Storm season

1998 Melbourne Storm season

Rugby league team season


The 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Premiership and their first season was a major surprise to many, with the new team reaching the top of the ladder in Round 15 and finishing the regular season in 3rd place, only one win behind minor premiers Brisbane. Adopting coach Chris Anderson's new "flat-line" attack, the big Storm forwards laid a platform for their young halves Scott Hill and Brett Kimmorley to wreak havoc on opposing teams. Melbourne's front-rowers Glenn Lazarus, Robbie Kearns and Rodney Howe were all selected to play for New South Wales in the 1998 State of Origin series. A late season injury to captain Lazarus combined with a lack of Finals experience saw the Storm knocked out in the play-offs. The club though had proven they were to be taken seriously, and they had easily produced the best debut season of any new team in the game's history.[1]

Quick Facts NRL Rank, Play-off result ...

Season summary

  • Pre season – Bookmakers install Melbourne as the $2.50 favourite to win the inaugural NRL wooden spoon. On 7 February wearing white jerseys, Melbourne win their first trial match against Adelaide Rams in Hobart in front of 2,500 fans.[2] Brett Kimmorley scored the first try in club colours.[3]
  • 12 February – At the club's season launch, John Ribot reveals the official uniform of navy blue jerseys with a stylised white and purple chevron design, worn with navy blue shorts and socks.[4]
  • Round 1 – Melbourne upset Illawarra Steelers to record their inaugural premiership victory, with Scott Hill scoring the club's first tries. Storm are only the fourth non-foundation team to win on debut, and only the second to win away from home.[2]
  • Round 4 – A record crowd of 20,522 watch unbeaten Melbourne play their first home game at Olympic Park, with chaotic scenes outside the ground, fans are allowed to sit on the running track after half time.
  • Round 5 – Auckland Warriors inflict the Storm's first defeat of the season.
  • Round 11 – Melbourne and Illawarra Steelers play out a 14-all draw, with referee Paul Simpkins dropped after a number of errors in the game.[2]
  • Round 12 – Melbourne record the biggest win by a debut team in premiership history, thrashing Gold Coast Chargers 62–6 in that club's heaviest defeat in their history.
  • Round 13 – Brett Kimmorley kicks the club's first field goal, in a 25–16 win over Balmain Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.
  • Round 15 – After defeating North Queensland Cowboys, Melbourne finish the weekend on top of the NRL ladder for the first time.[3]
  • 26 June – Rodney Howe is revealed as the third NRL player in 1998 to test positive to a banned substance.[2][5]
  • Round 16 – A controversial try after the final siren to Tony Tatupu hands the Auckland Warriors a 24–21 victory at Olympic Park.
  • Round 17 – Brisbane Broncos defeat Melbourne 34–16 in front of a crowd of 35,119, the highest attendance to watch Melbourne, and the second highest crowd in the 1998 regular season.
  • 9 July – Rodney Howe is suspended for 22 matches by the ARL drugs tribunal for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Howe was accused of taking the anabolic steroid stanozolol to aid the recovery of a knee injury.[2]
  • Round 20 – Marcus Bai scores the first hat-trick in club history in a win against 1997 ARL Premiers Newcastle Knights, to cement a top four spot on the NRL ladder.
  • Round 23 – In diabolical weather conditions, with the Belmore Sports Ground field resembling a swimming pool, Melbourne are almost held scoreless for the first time, with a late try to stand-in captain Tawera Nikau the only points for the Storm.
  • Round 24 – Melbourne secure a home final by finishing third on the NRL ladder, ending the regular season with a 16–12 win over Canberra Raiders.
  • 27 August – Chris Anderson wins the Dally M Coach of the Year award, with Marcus Bai (wing) and Tawera Nikau (lock) making the Team of the Year.
  • Preliminary qualifying final – Without captain Glenn Lazarus due to injury, a second half masterclass from Brad Fittler hands Melbourne a 12–26 loss in their NRL finals debut.[5] Before the game, Melbourne announce their first ever jersey sponsorship deal with the Honda logo appearing on player's sleeves.
  • Elimination quarter final – Melbourne win their first finals game, defeating Canberra Raiders 24–10 to advance to the third week of the five-week finals series.[5]
  • Elimination semi final – Eventual premiers Brisbane Broncos knock Melbourne out of the 1998 NRL finals, in a game played at the Sydney Football Stadium. Melbourne putting in their worst performance of the season[5]
  • 19 September – Storm feeder team Norths Devils win the 1998 Queensland Cup Grand Final, featuring a number of players who played for Melbourne in 1998.

Milestone games

More information Round, Player ...

Jerseys

1998 home jersey

Melbourne's inaugural jerseys were navy blue jerseys with a stylised white and purple chevron design, with gold trim and collars, worn with navy blue shorts and socks. Until late in the season, there were no advertising logos, except that of manufacturer Nike. Unusually, Melbourne carried on the Super League innovation of having player names on the back of jerseys, ostensibly to assist new fans to identify players. The team wore the predominately blue jerseys in every game in 1998, except for the round 15 game against North Queensland Cowboys, when a predominately white jersey was worn with white shorts and socks.

Fixtures

Pre season

More information Date, Rd ...

Regular season

Result by round

More information Round, Ground ...
Source: Rugby League Tables
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

More information Date, Rd ...

Source:[34]

Finals

More information Melbourne Storm, 12 – 26 ...
Preliminary qualifying final
Sunday, 30 August
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 18,247
Referee: Paul McBlane

More information Melbourne Storm, 24 – 10 ...
Elimination quarter final
Saturday, 5 September
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 12,592
Referee: Steve Clark

More information Brisbane Broncos, 30 – 6 ...
Elimination semi final
Sunday, 13 September
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 20,354
Referee: Bill Harrigan

Ladder

More information Pos, Team ...

1998 Coaching Staff

1998 squad

List current as of 21 July 2021[35]

More information Cap, Nat. ...

Inaugural Team

The first Melbourne Storm team to take to the field in Round 1 of the 1998 NRL season[36]

More information Inaugural Team, Interchange ...

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 1998.

More information Player, State of Origin 1 ...

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 1998 NRL season.

More information Name, Appearances ...

Scorers

Most points in a game: 18 points

  • Round 4 – Craig Smith (9 Goals) vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Most tries in a game: 3

  • Round 20 – Marcus Bai vs Newcastle Knights

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 62 points

  • Round 12 vs Gold Coast Chargers

Lowest score in a winning game: 10 points

  • Round 15 vs North Queensland Cowboys

Greatest winning margin: 54 points

  • Round 12 vs Gold Coast Chargers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4

  • Round 1 – Round 4
  • Round 12 – Round 15

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 21 points

  • Round 16 vs Auckland Warriors

Lowest score in a losing game: 4 points

  • Round 23 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Greatest losing margin: 24 points

  • Round 19 vs North Sydney Bears
  • Elimination Preliminary Final vs Brisbane Broncos

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

  • Round 16 – Round 17

Feeder team

Upon entry to the NRL, Melbourne Storm signed an affiliation agreement with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils to act as a feeder club and to provide Melbourne players who were not selected to play first grade a match each weekend. Players would fly to Brisbane each week after training in Melbourne to play Queensland Cup. The arrangement bore immediate results as the side coached by Mark Murray won the minor premiership. Featuring a number of players who had played for Melbourne in 1998, Norths Devils would go on to win the 1998 Queensland Cup Grand Final 35–18 against Wests Panthers.

More information Pos, Team ...

Awards and honours

Notes

  1. Players are listed with the cap number as they appear on the Melbourne Storm honour board. Additional squad members do not have a cap number.
  2. This column denotes the previous RL club the player was signed to and played first grade RL for. If they are yet to debut then this is stipulated. If they were merely signed to the club but did not play then it is not counted.
  3. Reserve grade 1997, previous first grade experience with North Sydney Bears in 1994
  4. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs reserve grade 1997
  5. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs juniors 1997
  6. Released end of 1996 ARL season
  7. Woy Woy Roosters
  8. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles reserve grade 1997
  9. Perth junior, played for Australian Schoolboys rugby league team in 1997
  10. Perth Reds junior in 1997

References

  1. "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. Middleton, David (October 1998). Rugby League 1999. Sydney: Harper Sports. ISBN 0732267773.
  3. 2002 Melbourne Storm Info Guide. Melbourne Storm. p. 112.
  4. "Melbourne Storm – How we got here". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 October 1999. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  5. Prichard, Greg. "That Hollow Feeling". Big League. Vol. 79, no. 31. Sydney, New South Wales: Pacific Publications Pty Ltd. pp. 62–64.
  6. "1998 NRL Country Carnival Results". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2000. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. "Storm roars off to claim its first win". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 8 February 1998. p. 8.
  8. "Storm off on right foot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. 8 February 1998. p. 85.
  9. Crawley, Paul (1 March 1998). "Raiders, Broncos take the honours". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 95.
  10. "NRL 1998 – Round 1". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  11. "NRL 1998 – Round 2". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  12. "NRL 1998 – Round 3". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  13. "NRL 1998 – Round 4". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  14. "NRL 1998 – Round 5". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  15. "NRL 1998 – Round 6". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  16. "NRL 1998 – Round 7". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  17. "NRL 1998 – Round 8". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  18. "NRL 1998 – Round 9". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  19. "NRL 1998 – Round 10". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  20. "NRL 1998 – Round 11". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  21. "NRL 1998 – Round 12". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  22. "NRL 1998 – Round 13". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  23. "NRL 1998 – Round 14". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  24. "NRL 1998 – Round 15". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  25. "NRL 1998 – Round 16". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  26. "NRL 1998 – Round 17". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  27. "NRL 1998 – Round 18". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  28. "NRL 1998 – Round 19". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  29. "NRL 1998 – Round 20". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  30. "NRL 1998 – Round 21". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  31. "NRL 1998 – Round 22". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  32. "NRL 1998 – Round 23". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  33. "NRL 1998 – Round 23". Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  34. "Storm players (1998)". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 January 1999. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  35. "NRL 1998 Round 1". Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  36. "1998 Melbourne Point Scorers". afltables.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  37. "Melbourne Storm – NRL 1998". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  38. "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.

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