1998 Melbourne Storm season
1998 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
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NRL | 3rd | |||
Play-off result | Semi Final Loss | |||
1998 record | Wins: 17; Draws: 1; Losses: 6 | |||
Points scored | For: 546; Against: 372 | |||
Team information | ||||
CEO | John Ribot | |||
Coach | Chris Anderson | |||
Captain | ||||
Stadium | Olympic Park Stadium | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Scott Hill & Marcus Bai (14) | |||
Goals | Craig Smith (51) | |||
Points | Craig Smith (110) | |||
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The 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Telstra Premierhsip 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 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]
Draw and Results
Round | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Illawarra Steelers | Win | 14 | 12 | 14 Mar | WIN Stadium |
2 | Western Suburbs Magpies | Win | 26 | 16 | 22 Mar | Campbelltown Stadium |
3 | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 26 | 18 | 28 Mar | Toyota Park |
4 | North Sydney Bears | Win | 24 | 16 | 3 Apr | Olympic Park |
5 | Auckland Warriors | Loss | 12 | 16 | 10 Apr | Mt Smart Stadium |
6 | Parramatta Eels | Win | 32 | 22 | 19 Apr | Parramatta Stadium |
7 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 22 | 14 | 25 Apr | Olympic Park |
8 | Western Suburbs Magpies | Win | 54 | 16 | 1 May | Olympic Park |
9 | St. George Dragons | Loss | 14 | 18 | 8 May | Olympic Park |
10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 14 | 6 | 15 May | Sydney Football Stadium |
11 | Illawarra Steelers | Draw | 14 | 14 | 24 May | Olympic Park |
12 | Gold Coast Chargers | Win | 62 | 6 | 31 May | Olympic Park |
13 | Balmain Tigers | Win | 25 | 16 | 7 Jun | Leichhardt Oval |
14 | Adelaide Rams | Win | 24 | 4 | 13 Jun | Olympic Park |
15 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 10 | 8 | 20 Jun | Dairy Farmers Stadium |
16 | Auckland Warriors | Loss | 21 | 24 | 27 Jun | Olympic Park |
17 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 16 | 34 | 3 Jul | QE2 Stadium |
18 | Manly Sea Eagles | Win | 22 | 12 | 10 Jul | Olympic Park |
19 | North Sydney Bears | Loss | 10 | 34 | 17 Jul | North Sydney Oval |
20 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 32 | 16 | 24 Jul | Olympic Park |
21 | Sydney City Roosters | Win | 32 | 20 | 2 Aug | Sydney Football Stadium |
22 | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 20 | 10 | 7 Aug | Olympic Park |
23 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Loss | 4 | 8 | 15 Aug | Belmore Oval |
24 | Canberra Raiders | Win | 16 | 12 | 21 Aug | Olympic Park |
Qualifying Final | Sydney City Roosters | Loss | 12 | 26 | 30 Aug | Olympic Park |
Semi Final | Canberra Raiders | Win | 24 | 10 | 5 Sep | Olympic Park |
Preliminary Final | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 6 | 30 | 13 Sep | Sydney Football Stadium |
Ladder
Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brisbane | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 |
2 | Newcastle | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 |
3 | Melbourne | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 |
4 | Parramatta | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 |
5 | North Sydney | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 |
6 | Sydney City | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 |
7 | Canberra | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 |
8 | St. George | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 |
9 | Canterbury | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 |
10 | Manly-Warringah | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 |
11 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 |
12 | Illawarra | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 |
13 | Balmain | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 |
14 | Penrith | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 |
15 | Auckland | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 |
16 | North Queensland | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 |
17 | Adelaide | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 |
18 | South Sydney | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 |
19 | Gold Coast | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 |
20 | Western Suburbs | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 |
Ladder progression
- Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 10.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brisbane Broncos | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
2 | Newcastle Knights | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
3 | Melbourne Storm | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 |
4 | Parramatta Eels | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 35 |
5 | North Sydney Bears | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
6 | Sydney City Roosters | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
7 | Canberra Raiders | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
8 | St. George Dragons | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
9 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
10 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
12 | Illawarra Steelers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
13 | Balmain Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
14 | Penrith Panthers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
15 | Auckland Warriors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
17 | Adelaide Rams | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
19 | Gold Coast Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
20 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Finals series
Melbourne surprised everybody by finishing 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi Final.
Major Prelim Semi Final 30 August 1998 |
Melbourne Storm | 12 - 26 [3] |
Sydney City Roosters |
---|---|---|
Tries: Bai Marquet Goals: Smith 2/3 |
Tries: Barnett Elsegood Fittler Gourley Goals: Cleary 5/6 |
Minor Semi Final 5 September 1998 |
Melbourne Storm | 24 - 10 [4] |
Canberra Raiders |
---|---|---|
Tries: Martin (2) Bai Geyer Hill Goals: Kimmorley 2/6 |
Tries: Mullins Stuart Goals: Furner 1/1 McNamara 0/1 |
Elimination Preliminary Final 13 September 1998 |
Brisbane Broncos | 30 - 6 [5] |
Melbourne Storm |
---|---|---|
Tries: Renouf (2) Campion Carroll Lee Lockyer Goals: Lockyer 3/6 |
Tries: Geyer Goals: Kimmorley 1/2 |
Players
1998 Squad
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Awards and honours
- Player of the year: Robbie Kearns[7]
- Rookie of the year: Ben Roarty
References
- ↑ http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/evolution-storm
- ↑ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#1998
- ↑ NRL 1998 - Major Prelim Semi Final. Rugby League Project
- ↑ NRL 1998 - Minor Semi Final. Rugby League Project
- ↑ NRL 1998 - Elimination Preliminary Final. Rugby League Project
- ↑ "NRL 1998 - Melbourne Storm Summary". Rugby League Project.
- ↑ "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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