1998 Melbourne Storm season

1998 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank3rd
Play-off resultSemi-final Loss
1998 recordWins: 17; draws: 1; losses: 6
Points scoredFor: 546; against: 372
Team information
ChairmanJohn Ribot
CoachChris Anderson
Captain
StadiumOlympic Park
Avg. attendance12,716
High attendance20,522 (Round 4)
Top scorers
TriesScott Hill & Marcus Bai (14)
GoalsCraig Smith (51)
PointsCraig Smith (110)
List of seasons 1999 →

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]

Season summary

This is an historic occasion for rugby league.
Everybody in rugby league believed the game would one day come to Melbourne and I'm just proud to be part of the organisation which finally made that hope come through.

John Ribot, Melbourne Storm launch, 1998[11]
  • 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.[12][13] It was reported that Ribot was looking to sell up to 51% of his ownership in the club back to News Limited in order to "share around the bills."[14] Ribot later said that his intention was always to form a consortium to run the club.[15] At the launch, former News Limited chairman Ken Cowley was appointed the Storm's foundation chairman.[11]
  • 28 February – In their final preseason match in front of 6,000 spectators at Albury, Melbourne were level at 12-all against the Canberra Raiders at half time, before the experienced Raiders team scored a 34–16 victory.[16] Five-eighth Scott Hill suffered an arm injury in the match, but was later cleared of serious injury.[17]
  • Round 1 – Melbourne upset Illawarra Steelers to record their inaugural premiership victory, with Scott Hill scoring the club's first tries. Hill's second try, converted by winger Craig Smith with two minutes remaining in the match, gave Melbourne their first lead of the match.[18] The Storm were only the fourth non-foundation team to win on debut, and only the second to win away from home.[6][19][20] Brett Kimmorley would later receive a warning letter from the NRL Judiciary following a high tackle on Illawarra's Craig Wilson, while Aaron Moule suffered a dislocated shoulder which kept him out for two months.[21]
  • Round 3 – Melbourne extend their undefeated start to the season, earning a 26–18 win against the 1997 Super League runners-up Cronulla Sharks. Interchange forward Russell Bawden scored two tries in the match, while hooker Danny Williams was reported for a reckless tackle on Dean Treister.[22][23] Williams was later suspended for three matches.[24]
  • 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 due to overcrowding.[25][26][27] Paul Marquet scored the first try for the club at their redeveloped home venue.[28]
  • Round 5 – On Good Friday, Auckland Warriors inflict the Storm's first defeat of the season in a 16–12 victory in Auckland.[29] Melbourne had led early after referee Bill Harrigan missed a forward pass from Tawara Nikau to Marcus Bai for the Storm's first try.[30] The Storm had a chance late in the match to steal the win after the Warriors were penalised, only for Melbourne to lose possession.[31]
  • 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.[6]
  • 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.[7]
  • 26 June – Rodney Howe is revealed as the third NRL player in 1998 to test positive to a banned substance.[6][32]
  • 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.[6]
  • 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 forward) making the Team of the Year.[33] Brett Kimmorley finished second behind Newcastle halfback Andrew Johns in the count for the Dally M Medal.[34]
  • 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.[32] 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.[32]
  • 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[32]
  • 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

Round Player Milestone
Round 1 See inaugural team Storm debuts
Ben Roarty NRL debut
Round 2 Robbie Ross 50th game
Matt Geyer Storm debut
Round 4 Wayne Evans Storm debut
Ben Anderson NRL debut
Round 7 Tony Martin Storm debut
Round 13 Anthony Bonus Storm debut
Wade Fenton NRL debut
Round 14 John Wilshere Storm debut
Round 15 Daniel Frame NRL debut
Round 16 Matt Rua NRL debut
Round 19 Chris Anderson 200th NRL game coached
Round 20 Tristan Brady-Smith Storm debut
Preliminary qualifying final Paul Marquet 150th game

Jerseys

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

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
7 February Trial Adelaide Rams North Hobart Oval, Hobart Won 26 22 J Wilshere (2), T Brady-Smith, B Kimmorley, M Bai M Geyer 3/5 [35][13][36][37][38]
28 February Trial Canberra Raiders Lavington Sports Ground, Albury Lost 16 34 S Hill, R Swain, P Marquet M Geyer 2/3

Regular season

Result by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324
GroundAAAHAAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
ResultWWWWLWWWLWDWWWWLLWLWWWLW
Position1054444324333221222432243
Points2468810121414161719212325252527272931333335
Source: Rugby League Tables
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
14 March 1 Illawarra Steelers WIN Stadium, Wollongong Won 14 12 S Hill (2) C Smith 3/3 [39]
22 March 2 Western Suburbs Magpies Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney Won 26 16 M Bai, P Bell, R Kearns, R Ross, D Williams C Smith 3/8 [40]
28 March 3 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Shark Park, Sydney Won 26 18 R Bawden (2), M Bai, S Hill, R Swain C Smith 3/5 [41]
3 April 4 North Sydney Bears Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 24 16 M Bai, S Hill, P Marquet, C Smith C Smith 4/5 [42]
10 April 5 Auckland Warriors Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Lost 12 16 M Bai, P Bell C Smith 2/2 [43]
19 April 6 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Won 32 22 M Bai, J Carlaw, R Howe, B Kimmorley, T Nikau, R Ross C Smith 4/6 [44]
25 April 7 Penrith Panthers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 22 14 J Carlaw (2), P Bell, R Kearns C Smith 3/6 [45]
1 May 8 Western Suburbs Magpies Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 54 16 R Ross (2), R Bawden, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet, B Roarty, D Williams C Smith 9/10 [46]
8 May 9 St George Dragons Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 14 18 R Bawden, D Williams C Smith 3/4 [47]
15 May 10 South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Won 14 6 P Bell, A Moule C Smith 3/3 [48]
24 May 11 Illawarra Steelers Olympic Park, Melbourne Draw 14 14 G Lazarus, R Ross C Smith 3/3 [49]
31 May 12 Gold Coast Chargers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 62 6 S Hill (2), R Ross (2), M Bai, R Bawden, B Kimmorley, P Marquet, T Martin, T Nikau, D Williams T Martin 6/8, B Kimmorley 2/3 [50]
7 June 13 Balmain Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Won 25 16 R Bawden (2), A Moule, B Roarty B Kimmorley 2/4, T Martin 2/2 B Kimmorley [51]
13 June 14 Adelaide Rams Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 24 4 S Hill (2), M Bai, B Roarty J Wilshere 3/4, B Kimmorley 1/1 [52]
20 June 15 North Queensland Cowboys Malanda Stadium, Townsville Won 10 8 R Bawden C Smith 3/4 [53]
27 June 16 Auckland Warriors Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 21 24 S Hill, T Martin, T Nikau, R Ross C Smith 2/5 B Kimmorley [54]
3 July 17 Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium, Brisbane Lost 16 34 M Bai, B Kimmorley, R Ross C Smith 2/3 [55]
10 July 18 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 22 12 P Bell, W Evans, T Martin, C Smith C Smith 2/2, B Kimmorley 1/2 [56]
17 July 19 North Sydney Bears North Sydney Oval, Sydney Lost 10 34 J Carlaw, R Swain B Kimmorley 1/2 [57]
24 July 20 Newcastle Knights Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 32 16 M Bai (3), S Hill, B Kimmorley, R Swain B Kimmorley 4/7 [58]
2 August 21 Sydney City Roosters Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Won 32 20 P Bell, T Brady-Smith, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet B Kimmorley 4/6 [59]
7 August 22 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 20 10 D Williams (2), M Bai, P Bell B Kimmorley 2/4 [60]
14 August 23 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Lost 4 8 T Nikau T Martin 0/1 [61]
21 August 24 Canberra Raiders Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 16 12 S Hill, B Kimmorley, T Martin B Kimmorley 2/3 [62]

Source:[63]

Finals

Preliminary qualifying final
Sunday, 30 August
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm 12 – 26 Sydney City Roosters
Tries: 2
Bai
Marquet
Goals: 2
Smith (2/3)
 1st: 4–10
2nd: 8–16
Report
 Tries: 4
Barnett
Elsegood
Fittler
Gourley
Goals: 5
Cleary (5/6)
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 18,247
Referee: Paul McBlane
Elimination quarter final
Saturday, 5 September
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm 24 – 10 Canberra Raiders
Tries: 5
Martin  24', 74'
Geyer  2'
Hill  17'
Bai  35'
Goals: 2
Kimmorley  pen 5', 17' (2/6)
 1st: 20–0
2nd: 4–10
Report
 Tries: 2
Mullins  56'
Stuart  76'
Goals: 1
Furner  57' (1/1)
McNamara (0/1)
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 12,592
Referee: Steve Clark
Elimination semi final
Sunday, 13 September
15:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Brisbane Broncos 30 – 6 Melbourne Storm
Tries: 6
Renouf  50', 64'
Campion  26'
Lockyer  28'
Carroll  59'
Lee  73'
Goals: 3
Lockyer  29', 60', 74' (3/6)
 1st: 10–2
2nd: 20–4
Report
 Tries: 1
Geyer  77'
Goals: 1
Kimmorley  pen 14' (1/2)
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 20,354
Referee: Bill Harrigan

Ladder

Main article: 1998 NRL season
1998 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane Broncos (P) 24 18 1 5 688 310 +378 37
2 Newcastle Knights 24 18 1 5 562 381 +181 37
3 Melbourne Storm 24 17 1 6 546 372 +174 35
4 Parramatta Eels 24 17 1 6 468 349 +119 35
5 North Sydney Bears 24 17 0 7 663 367 +296 34
6 Sydney City Roosters 24 16 0 8 680 383 +297 32
7 Canberra Raiders 24 15 0 9 564 429 +135 30
8 St. George Dragons 24 13 1 10 486 490 −4 27
9 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 13 0 11 489 411 +78 26
10 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 13 0 11 503 473 +30 26
11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 12 1 11 438 387 +51 25
12 Illawarra Steelers 24 11 1 12 476 539 −63 23
13 Balmain Tigers 24 9 1 14 381 463 −82 19
14 Penrith Panthers 24 8 2 14 525 580 −55 18
15 Auckland Warriors 24 9 0 15 417 518 −101 18
16 North Queensland Cowboys 24 9 0 15 361 556 −195 18
17 Adelaide Rams 24 7 0 17 393 615 −222 14
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 5 0 19 339 560 −221 10
19 Gold Coast Chargers 24 4 0 20 289 654 −365 8
20 Western Suburbs Magpies 24 4 0 20 371 802 −431 8
Source: [64]
(P) Premiers

1998 Coaching Staff

1998 squad

List current as of 21 July 2021[65]

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
Cap[a] Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club[b]
1 Robbie Ross FB 1998 Hunter Mariners
2 Craig Smith WG 1998 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs[c]
3 Aaron Moule WG, CE 1998 South Queensland Crushers
4 Paul Bell CE 1998 Perth Reds
5 Marcus Bai WG 1998 Gold Coast Chargers
6 Scott Hill FE 1998 Hunter Mariners
7 Brett Kimmorley HB 1998 Hunter Mariners
8 Rodney Howe PR 1998 Perth Reds
9 Danny Williams LK, SR, HK 1998 North Sydney Bears
10 Robbie Kearns PR 1998 Perth Reds
11 Paul Marquet PR, SR 1998 Hunter Mariners
12 Ben Roarty PR, SR, LK 1998 Melbourne Storm[d]
13 Tawera Nikau LK 1998 Cronulla Sharks
14 Glenn Lazarus PR 1998 Brisbane Broncos
15 Richard Swain HK 1998 Hunter Mariners
16 Russell Bawden PR 1998 London Broncos
17 John Carlaw CE 1998 Hunter Mariners
18 Matt Geyer WG 1998 Perth Reds
19 Wayne Evans SR 1998 Perth Reds
20 Ben Anderson FE 1998 Melbourne Storm[e]
21 Tony Martin WG, CE 1998 London Broncos
22 Anthony Bonus PR 1998 Parramatta Eels[f]
23 Wade Fenton SR, PR 1998 Melbourne Storm
24 John Wilshere CE 1998 Perth Reds
25 Daniel Frame PR, SR 1998 Melbourne Storm[g]
26 Matt Rua PR, SR 1998 Melbourne Storm[h]
27 Tristan Brady-Smith WG 1998 Perth Reds
N/a Ryan Baker SR Yet to debut –[i]
N/a Ryan Gundry PR Yet to debut –[j]
N/a Chris McCausland FE Yet to debut –[j]
N/a David Palavi HK Yet to debut –[k]

Inaugural Team

The first Melbourne Storm team to take to the field in Round 1 of the 1998 NRL season[66]

Melbourne Storm
Inaugural Team Interchange Coach

Head coach


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 23 July 2020
Source(s): NRL 1998 Round 1

Representative honours

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

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm representatives
Player 1998 ANZAC Test State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 October Test Matches
Rodney Howe Australia New South Wales New South Wales N/a N/a
Robbie Kearns N/a N/a N/a New South Wales Australia
Glenn Lazarus Australia N/a New South Wales New South Wales N/a

Statistics

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

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm records
Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Ben Anderson 4 0 0 0 0
Marcus Bai 27 14 0 0 56
Russell Bawden 27 8 0 0 32
Paul Bell 25 7 0 0 28
Anthony Bonus 1 0 0 0 0
Tristan Brady-Smith 3 1 0 0 4
John Carlaw 24 6 0 0 24
Wayne Evans 17 1 0 0 4
Wade Fenton 2 0 0 0 0
Daniel Frame 7 0 0 0 0
Matt Geyer 11 2 0 0 8
Scott Hill 26 14 1 0 58
Rodney Howe 12 1 0 0 4
Robbie Kearns 26 4 0 0 16
Brett Kimmorley 27 5 22 2 66
Glenn Lazarus 18 1 0 0 4
Paul Marquet 27 5 0 0 20
Tony Martin 21 6 8 0 40
Aaron Moule 8 2 0 0 8
Tawera Nikau 27 4 0 0 16
Ben Roarty 25 3 0 0 12
Robbie Ross 21 9 0 0 36
Matt Rua 6 0 0 0 0
Craig Smith 17 2 51 0 110
Richard Swain 25 3 0 0 12
Danny Williams 20 6 0 0 24
John Wilshere 1 0 3 0 6
27 players used – 104 85 2 588

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.[69] 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.

Main article: 1998 Queensland Cup
1998 Queensland Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Norths Devils (P) 22 16 1 5 872 394 +478 33

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. ^ a b Perth Reds junior in 1997
  11. ^ Canberra Raiders junior, former Australian Schoolboys rugby union team player

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