1998 Melbourne Storm season

1998 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank	3rd
Play-off result	Semi Final Loss
1998 record	Wins: 17; Draws: 1; Losses: 6
Points scored	For: 546; Against: 372
Team information
Chairman	John Ribot
Coach	Chris Anderson
Captain	Glenn Lazarus (18 Games) Tawera Nikau (9 Games)
Stadium	Olympic Park
Avg. attendance	12,716
High attendance	20,522 (Round 4)
Top scorers
Tries	Scott Hill & Marcus Bai (14)
Goals	Craig Smith (51)
Points	Craig 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 by Round 15 had climbed to the top of the 20-team ladder. They finished the regular season in 3rd place but were knocked out in the preliminary final by eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.

The Melbourne Storm's first-up performance across season 1998 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 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[]

• 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]
• June 26 – Rodney Howe is revealed as the third NRL player in 1998 to test positive to a banned substance.^[2]
• 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.
• July 9 – 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.
• Major Preliminary Semi 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. Before the game, Melbourne announce their first ever jersey sponsorship deal with the Honda logo appearing on player's sleeves.
• Minor Semi Final – Melbourne win their first finals game, defeating Canberra Raiders 24-10 to advance to the third week of the five-week finals series.
• Elimination Preliminary Final – Eventual premiers Brisbane Broncos knock Melbourne out of the 1998 NRL finals, in a game played at the Sydney Football Stadium.
• 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
Round 1	Ben Roarty	NRL debut
Round 2	Robbie Ross	50th game
Round 2	Matt Geyer	Storm debut
Round 4	Wayne Evans	Storm debut
Round 4	Ben Anderson	NRL debut
Round 7	Tony Martin	Storm debut
Round 13	Anthony Bonus	Storm debut
Round 13	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
Major Prelim Semi	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	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Source
7 February	Trial	Adelaide Rams	North Hobart Oval, Hobart	Win	26	22	[5][4]
28 February	Trial	Canberra Raiders	Lavington Sports Ground, Albury	Loss	16	34

Regular season[]

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Report
14 March	1	Illawarra Steelers	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	Win	14	12	S Hill (2)	C Smith 3/3		[6]
22 March	2	Western Suburbs Magpies	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney	Win	26	16	M Bai, P Bell, R Kearns, R Ross, D Williams	C Smith 3/8		[7]
28 March	3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Shark Park, Sydney	Win	26	18	R Bawden (2), M Bai, S Hill, R Swain	C Smith 3/5		[8]
3 April	4	North Sydney Bears	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	24	16	M Bai, S Hill, P Marquet, C Smith	C Smith 4/5		[9]
10 April	5	Auckland Warriors	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Loss	12	16	M Bai, P Bell	C Smith 2/2		[10]
19 April	6	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	Win	32	22	M Bai, J Carlaw, R Howe, B Kimmorley, T Nikau, R Ross	C Smith 4/6		[11]
25 April	7	Penrith Panthers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	22	14	J Carlaw (2), P Bell, R Kearns	C Smith 3/6		[12]
1 May	8	Western Suburbs Magpies	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	54	16	R Ross (2), R Bawden, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet, B Roarty, D Williams	C Smith 9/10		[13]
8 May	9	St George Dragons	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Loss	14	18	R Bawden, D Williams	C Smith 3/4		[14]
15 May	10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Win	14	6	P Bell, A Moule	C Smith 3/3		[15]
24 May	11	Illawarra Steelers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Draw	14	14	G Lazarus, R Ross	C Smith 3/3		[16]
31 May	12	Gold Coast Chargers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	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		[17]
7 June	13	Balmain Tigers	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	Win	25	16	R Bawden (2), A Moule, B Roarty	B Kimmorley 2/4, T Martin 2/2	B Kimmorley	[18]
13 June	14	Adelaide Rams	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	24	4	S Hill (2), M Bai, B Roarty	J Wilshere 3/4, B Kimmorley 1/1		[19]
20 June	15	North Queensland Cowboys	Malanda Stadium, Townsville	Win	10	8	R Bawden	C Smith 3/4		[20]
27 June	16	Auckland Warriors	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Loss	21	24	S Hill, T Martin, T Nikau, R Ross	C Smith 2/5	B Kimmorley	[21]
3 July	17	Brisbane Broncos	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Loss	16	34	M Bai, B Kimmorley, R Ross	C Smith 2/3		[22]
10 July	18	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	22	12	P Bell, W Evans, T Martin, C Smith	C Smith 2/2, B Kimmorley 1/2		[23]
17 July	19	North Sydney Bears	North Sydney Oval, Sydney	Loss	10	34	J Carlaw, R Swain	B Kimmorley 1/2		[24]
24 July	20	Newcastle Knights	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	32	16	M Bai (3), S Hill, B Kimmorley, R Swain	B Kimmorley 4/7		[25]
2 August	21	Sydney City Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Win	32	20	P Bell, T Brady-Smith, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet	B Kimmorley 4/6		[26]
7 August	22	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	20	10	D Williams (2), M Bai, P Bell	B Kimmorley 2/4		[27]
14 August	23	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney	Loss	4	8	T Nikau	T Martin 0/1		[28]
21 August	24	Canberra Raiders	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Win	16	12	S Hill, B Kimmorley, T Martin	B Kimmorley 2/3		[29]

Source:^[30]

Finals[]

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Ladder[]

1998 NRL season v t
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

1998 Coaching Staff[]

• Head Coach: Chris Anderson
• Assistant Coaches: Greg Brentnall & Steve Anderson
• Football Manager: Michael Moore
• Head Physiotherapist:
• Head Trainer: Steve Litvensky
• Trainer: Aaron Salisbury

1998 Squad[]

List current as of 21 July 2021^[34]

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
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
21		Tony Martin	WG, CE	1998	London Broncos
22		Anthony Bonus	PR	1998	Parramatta Eels[d]
23		Wade Fenton	SR, PR	1998
24		John Wilshere	CE	1998	Perth Reds
25		Daniel Frame	PR,SR	1998
26		Matt Rua	PR,SR	1998
27		Tristan Brady-Smith	WG	1998	Perth Reds
		Ryan Baker	SR	Yet to debut
		Ryan Gundry	PR	Yet to debut
		Chris McCausland	FE	Yet to debut
		David Palavi	HK	Yet to debut

Inaugural Team[]

The first Melbourne Storm team to take to the field in Round 1 of the 1998 NRL season^[35]

Melbourne Storm

Inaugural Team						Interchange		Coach
1 Robbie Ross – FB  2 Craig Smith – WG  3 Aaron Moule – CE  4 Paul Bell – CE  5 Marcus Bai – WG  6 Scott Hill – FE  7 Brett Kimmorley – HB  8 Rodney Howe – PR  9 Danny Williams – HK 10 Robbie Kearns – PR 11 Paul Marquet – SR 12 Ben Roarty – SR 13 Tawera Nikau – LK						14 Glenn Lazarus (c) 15 Richard Swain 16 Russell Bawden 17 John Carlaw		Head coach Chris Anderson 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.

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	–	–
Robbie Kearns	–	–	–	New South Wales	Australia
Glenn Lazarus	Australia	–	New South Wales	New South Wales	–

Statistics[]

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

• Statistics sources:^[36][37]

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. 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.

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[]

References[]