The Melbourne Storm dynasty has been unparalleled in modern Australian sport, particularly those which prioritise competition parity. Success has come and gone for plenty of powerhouses but none have enjoyed the longevity of the Storm, who have been contending for titles for the past 16 years and counting.
It will go down as one of the most remarkable periods any club has put together in Australian rugby league, second only to St George of the 1950s and 1960s. The club has survived salary-cap scandals and rule changes designed to eradicate their strengths, ownership changes and player retirements, and it has done so without missing a beat. Premiership windows seemingly open and close for every club in every salary-capped sport – with the exception of the Melbourne Storm and the New England Patriots.
Not many would compete for a title straight after the departure of all-time greats such as Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. The Storm reached a decider the year after Cronk left, won the minor premiership the year after Slater retired before winning the title 12 months later, and then went on to break all kinds of records en route to the minor premiership in the season following Smith’s retirement.
Premature forecasts of Melbourne’s demise have been commonplace over the last decade and longer. So far all the prognostications have been proven wrong. The Storm have been in the top four every year since 2006 bar two and have won a multitude of premierships and minor premierships. Finally, though, the cracks might finally be appearing. Are we in the last days of Rome?
The Storm have certainly shown a capacity to put controversy to the side, but that controversy has rarely involved off-field issues like that of late last year, when Cameron Munster and Brandon Smith were sanctioned for ‘bringing the game into disrepute’. The sanctions came after undated videos emerged on social media appearing to show the players and several other men in a room with what appeared to be a white substance on a table. Storm said at the time that pair had not made any admissions about the substance and could not remember much of the incident. While it was hardly an incident unique to rugby league, this was relatively new terrain for the Storm.
Another unwanted issue is the inclusion of the Dolphins in 2023. One of Melbourne’s strengths has been their ability to replenish, allowing very good non-playmakers to walk and getting plenty out of their no-frill replacements. Dale Finucane, Josh Addo-Carr and Nicho Hynes all left in the off-season and Melbourne still started the campaign as the premiership favourites.
The Dolphins, however, have highlighted – rightly – the Storm as the template to build off and look to be trying to buy a slice of that famed Storm culture. Felise Kaufusi, Jesse Bromwich and Kenny Bromwich – three starters – have all signed with the Dolphins while the new franchise has gone hard in targeting Storm halves pairing Munster and Jahrome Hughes. With star hooker Brandon Smith confirmed to be heading to the Roosters, the Storm are now at risk of being gutted by a new club with $9m to spend and a desire to prioritise culture.
Compounding the uncertainty is the future of Craig Bellamy. As arguably the greatest coach of all time and unquestionably the most important figure at the Storm, he has built the culture. He attracts players. He keeps players. He is the Storm.
He has many times said he planned to retire and on every occasion could not pull the trigger. The club have been through this saga before. They hope to be going through it again in 10 years time. Watching him celebrate his 500th game on Friday, a surprising golden-point nail-biter that lacked much of the typical Storm ruthlessness, there seemed to be a genuine possibility that Bellamy will walk away from the top job. Surrounded by family, including his sister who he said had been to only “two or three NRL games”, there seemed to be more than an inkling that Bellamy may be prepared to move on from the rigours of head coaching.
Melbourne have won both their games this season – both while missing key personnel – but have hardly looked anything like the Storm of last year. Teams do not peak in the opening two rounds. Harry Grant and Munster missed the opener while Brandon Smith went down in the first minute. Smith, Christian Welch, George Jennings and Tui Kamikamica headed the list of outs this week. Combinations take time, players need experience. There is no reason to be firing on all cylinders.
This week, though, they were squaring off against last year’s grand finalists. They had an astonishing record to protect and were celebrating the 500th game of the man that essentially built the club. Melbourne cruised to a 14-0 lead and looked like they could have been up 30 before completely switching off. Most concerning were the small things. Justin Olam failing to ground a ball he really should have. They missed 39 tackles. Made 18 errors.
The Storm, of course, won on the back of a Ryan Papenhuyzen field goal. They are unbeaten. The empire is not crumbling yet but signs over the past six months have not been good for Melbourne, and their on-field play will hardly ease those concerns.
