Where Does The Melbourne Storm Dynasty Rank? (2017)

The Melbourne Storm’s emphatic 34-6 victory over the determined North Queensland Cowboys in the 2017 NRL grand final brought an end to the tenure of one of the greatest playmaking trios at club level, with Cooper Cronk leaving the club and long-term teammates Billy Slater and Cameron Smith.

So how does this Melbourne Storm dynasty compare to those of the past?

As far as longevity is concerned, the current Storm side began their dynasty in 2003 – when Craig Bellamy took over as coach, and Slater and Smith embarked on their rookie campaigns – making this their 15th season. Only two others have lasted longer: Brisbane’s 18 years from 1992-2009 and the phenomenal St George run of 23 straight seasons in finals football from 1951-1973.

No side comes close to the Dragons’ dynasty for most premierships won, as they collected 11 consecutive titles from 1956-66. The Souths side of 1923-35 scored seven titles, Balmain’s 1914-24 outfit bagged six premierships, as did the Broncos.

Melbourne rank much further down the dynasty list if you count their two titles stripped (2007 and ’09) for salary cap breaches, and rank equal second-last if you only consider the official titles won – their 2012 and ’17 premierships.

That St George side also appeared in the most deciders, with 14 grand final appearances in their 23-year run. The Souths side mentioned above played in 10 premiership finals, while the Roosters of 1930-42 played in nine. These are the only sides to played more deciders than this Storm outfit, who have been in seven, equal with three other dynasties.

The Dragons also claimed 12 minor premierships. The Storm are second, tied with the Balmain 1914-24 dynasty with six. The Storm have also only missed the finals once in the past 15 seasons – in 2010, when the NRL ruled the club would not be awarded competition points.

Then comes arguably the most important factor, win percentage. There have been 19 dynasties since 1908 to have had a run of at least nine seasons, winning at least one premiership and were victorious in at least 60 percent of all games played (regular season, play-offs and finals). These sides have won 75 of the 111 titles won since 1908.

Souths (1923-35) – 74.02%
St.George (1951-73) – 72.39%
Souths (1908-18) – 71.52%
Balmain (1914-24) – 70.07%
Souths (1949-57) – 69.78%
Melbourne (2003-17) – 68.10%
Easts (1930-42) – 68.02%
Manly (1966-78) – 67.63%
Manly (1990-98) – 67.13%
Souths (1965-74) – 66.67%
Parramatta (1975-86) – 66.24%
Canberra (1987-98) – 65.65%
Sydney City (1996-2004) – 63.90%
Balmain (1939-50) – 63.64%
Brisbane (1992-2009) – 63.56%
Easts (1972-83) – 63.27%
Manly (1980-88) – 62.56%
Manly (2005-14) – 61.98%
Newcastle (1995-2003) – 61.47%

During the salary cap era, this Melbourne side has clearly been the most dominant dynasty, playing in more grand finals, winning the second-most number of grand finals, claiming the most minor premierships, having the highest win percentage in finals football, and in total.

The figures show that this Storm side is the best dynasty the game has seen since the legendary St George Dragons’ incomparable era. And while many will argue otherwise – mostly those still holding strong indignation against the club for its salary cap rorting almost a decade ago – the figures don’t lie.

 
We have just been witness to the closest thing to (albeit it was a long way away from) the Dragons’ dynasty of the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s. Perhaps it’s time to sit back and realise that it took half a century for any team to get close to that side and give the Melbourne Storm the respect and gratitude for their achievements the club deserves.

****This article appeared on Commentary Box Sports website on October 3, 2017****

NRL Title Contenders: Melbourne Storm (2016)

The Storm have always been a side that most people have admired for their clinical attack and teamwork, mostly between the ‘Big Three’ of fullback Billy Slater, halfback Cooper Cronk and rake Cameron Smith.

However this season it has been their uncompromising defence which has carried them to the top of the ladder. Their 22-8 loss to the Raiders in Round 23 was the first time this year that the Storm had conceded more than 20 points in a game (they conceded 20 points twice). They’ve lost just four games in 2016, but have had some patchy moments in their last six games.

Why They Can Win

They have Cameron Smith. This man is so clutch he can win games whenever he wants, say from dummy-half, 30 metres out and needs to pot a field goal. Or perhaps needing to convert a try from the sideline and falls over as he is about to strike the ball, and it still goes over. He’s so cool, his blood has to be heated before it can be drawn. And even as he gets older, his form has barely wavered. 

Combine this with his toughness and amazing ability to avoid serious injury, and you have the backbone of an entire side.

Why They Can’t

Smith and Cronk. While the Storm have a brilliant top 17, they are lacking in depth players when it comes to the spine. The club was forced to rush Cameron Munster’s apprenticeship due to a horror run of injuries for their phenomenal custodian Billy Slater, however Munster has excelled. The back-up options for Smith and Cronk, though, aren’t anywhere near as good as Munster, let alone the men they’d replace. The Storm rely heavily on Smith’s control and Cronk’s planning. If either of them gets injured, or are effectively targeted by opposition defences, the side’s attacking ability becomes nullified very quickly.

Key Player

Jesse Bromwich. Arguably the best prop in the world right now, he’s the go-to man if the Storm’s attack is being shut down. The current Kiwi Test captain isn’t afraid of the dirty work and is a behemoth hitting the ball up, especially when the real hard yards are needed. His work with ball in hand has been able to give Smith and Cronk that little bit more extra time when they need it to pull off important plays. Bromwich’s work is vital to the Storm’s attack and momentum.

Squad Health

The Storm have been without Billy Slater since Round 1 due to a recurring shoulder complaint. Slater has opted to take the season off and get it fixed properly so that he can return fully fit in 2017. The only other injury of note is to Jordan McLean, who sustained an ankle injury in Round 17. He’s expected back in Round 25, just in time to get match-fit before the finals begin.

Finals Record

Melbourne has appeared in 37 finals matches, picking up 22 victories and 15 losses. However, since their salary cap scandal in 2010, they have appeared in 10 finals matches, winning five and losing five. Their recent run of post-season form isn’t very good either, with one win from their last five finals appearances.

Run Home

The Storm have a pretty rough run home, especially after their trip to Canberra saw them come home without the biscuits – although they comfortably accounted for bitter rivals Manly at Brookvale last weekend, 38-18. In Round 25 they host the Broncos and in Round 26 they play what potentially could be the game to determine the minor premiership against the Sharks at AAMI Park.

**This article appeared on the Commentary Box Sports website**

Salary Cap Needs A Major Revamp (2016)

In the wake of last week’s decision by the NRL to hand down $1 million fine to the Parramatta Eels and dock all 12 points they had accumulated for the year – among other punishments – for salary cap breaches dating back to 2013, there have been many pundits picking at the bones of the Parramatta board.

This piece is by no means a criticism of the sentence handed down, nor is it a defence of the Parramatta club. But the fact that such excessive breaches can occur not once, but twice since the Bulldogs were busted in 2002 is the issue that should have alarm bells ringing.

The fact Parramatta consciously decided to run such a scheme after what happened to the Storm is both brazen and stupid. The fact it took the NRL salary cap auditors over three years to find is concerning.

But perhaps this isn’t a black and white issue whereby clubs are breaking the rules. If we look back since the NRL began in 1998, we can see that there have been over 100 separate instances of the salary cap having been breached, big and small. So far the NRL has collected almost $8 million in fines since 1998.

The Bulldogs punishment was for breaches made from 2000-2002. In 2000, the NRL had handed the club a $50,000 fine for exceeding the cap. This raises the question: how did the auditors not see a problem then?

When Melbourne was busted in 2010 for breaches made since 2006 it shocked everyone. But Melbourne had received fines for breaching the cap in 2006 ($63,266), 2007 ($13,917) and 2009 ($15,000). Auditors had three opportunities there, yet still failed to find anything odd. It took a whistle-blower to reveal the scheme.

Now Parramatta has been done for breaches dating back to 2013. Not surprisingly, they had been found to have majorly breached the 2014 salary cap in an audit the following year, which saw the club fined $465,000, while there was strong talk they’d start the 2016 season with negative four competition points.

Parramatta was forced to make changes to the way the club was governed to appease the NRL. It’s laughable that the governance of the Parramatta club which the NRL was happy with is now being held responsible for the major breaches the club has made since 2013.

Every club has received fines for all forms of cap breaches since 1998, such as second-tier cap breaches, unregistered players and exceeding the top tier cap, among others.

There have been just five seasons since 1998 where a team hasn’t been intentionally cheating the cap in an intricate and excessive manner. Canterbury’s scheme was for 2000-2002, Melbourne’s for 2006-10 and Parramatta’s from 2013-16, each more intricate than the last.

 
It’s time to fix the salary cap, as it’s clearly riddled with loopholes. The auditing system and process needs a revamp, too. Teams will be less likely to cheat if they know the auditors can come at any time, more than once a year. Players get drug tested at no notice at all times of the day – there’s no reason why clubs shouldn’t be audited the same way.

**This article appeared on the Commentary Box Sports website**

The Halftime Spray #20 (2014)

Last weekend the Newcastle Knights staged a magnificent victory against the Melbourne Storm, scoring a try after the siren sounded to level the scores, before the boot of Kurt Gidley sealed the miraculous victory.

It prompted Craig Bellamy to go into a tirade against one of the two on-field referees, Ashley Klein, claiming Klein had some sort of vendetta against the Storm.

Bellamy said: "Ashley Klein obviously doesn't like the way we play our footy. We've had that many times when we've had him this year and the penalty count, it hasn't even been close. Every time we have Ashley we always seem to be on the wrong side of the penalty count and a fair way on the wrong side."

Craig, your abysmal sportsmanship aside, you are completely wrong, on several points.

If Klein doesn't like the way you play and has an issue with the Melbourne Storm, why is it that your team has won 14 of 24 games played under Klein's control?

Klein has officiated 6 of Melbourne's 20 games this year. They were:

Round 2 - Melbourne def Penrith 18-17. Melbourne won the penalty count 11-10

Round 4 - Canterbury def Melbourne 40-12. Penalties were drawn 7 all.

Round 8 - Warriors def Melbourne 16-10. Warriors won the penalty count 5-4

Round 12 - North Queensland def Melbourne 22-0. Cowboys won the penalty count 7-4

Round 16 - St George-Illawarra def Melbourne 24-12. Penalties were drawn 3 all.

Round 22 - Newcastle def Melbourne 32-30. Newcastle won the penalty count 11-3

Prior to last weekends game, Melbourne had won 1 penalty count, drawn 2 counts and lost 2 counts. They had received 29 penalties to their opponents 32, in games refereed by Klein this season.

Hardly 'a fair way on the wrong side.'

Melbourne has a long history of introducing ugly wrestling tactics to ball carriers to slow down the play the ball or disable opponents. So proficient were they that the NRL brought in laws against the crusher tackle and the chicken wing.

Melbourne's latest tactic has involved a defender lifting up one leg of an attacker as high as they can in an attempt to halt their momentum and turn them around.

Given how badly one of their lifting tackles went earlier the year on Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon, you would think the Storm would abandon this particular practice.

It's grubby, it's ugly, it makes the game look unattractive, it injures players and even laws have had to be made to restrict the usage of some of their tactics.

Klein has every right to not like their style of football.

And to learn that Klein has been punished and dropped to lower grades after Bellamy's outright lies is utterly disgraceful.

Bellamy's comments were no doubt a ploy to get referee's to officiate in a manner more favourable toward the Storm.

And that is as deplorable as Melbourne's wrestling tactics.