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1999 Melbourne Storm season

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1999 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank3rd
Play-off resultPremiers
1999 recordWins: 16; draws: 0; losses: 8
Points scoredFor: 639; against: 392
Team information
CEOJohn Ribot
CoachChris Anderson
Captain
StadiumOlympic Park Stadium
Top scorers
TriesMatt Geyer (20), Robbie Ross (20)
GoalsMatt Geyer (81)
PointsMatt Geyer (242)
← 1998 List of seasons 2000 →

The 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 3rd out of 17 teams. Melbourne reached the 1999 NRL grand final and defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons, claiming their first premiership.

Stability in playing talent and continued off-field support from Melbourne's core supporters, produced a continued improvement in 1999. Injury took away Scott Hill and Robbie Kearns for much of the season. Melbourne's fullback Robbie Ross, winger Matt Geyer and front-row forwards Rodney Howe and Glenn Lazarus were all selected to play for New South Wales in the 1999 State of Origin series.

In their final home game at Olympic Park, the Storm lost to the North Sydney Bears and having had a bye in the last round and they had no opportunity to lift their form before fronting the St. George Illawarra Dragons in their first final. The Storm ultimately lost this game to the Dragons by 34-10 and looked set for a repeat of the 1998 exit.

Despite lacking confidence,[1] Melbourne Storm outlasted the Canterbury Bulldogs by 24–22 to reach the preliminary final against Parramatta Eels. The Eels had let a place in the Grand Final slip out of their grasp in the same match in 1998, and were tipped to be much hungrier for a win than the Storm. Parramatta took a hold on the match, but the Storm did not relent and thanks to some last-ditch tackling stayed in the game. A late try to the Storm saw them win by 18-16 and secure a re-match against the Dragons for the title.

The Storm had lost twice to the Dragons already in 1999 and by the time Melbourne was behind by 0–14 at half time, it was more than apparent that St. George - Illawarra were going to take the premiership in their first ever season.[2] There was nothing in the Storm's performance to indicate that a comeback was possible.[3]

But Melbourne Storm recovered from their poor start with inspiring[4] efforts from Paul Marquet, Brett Kimmorley and Tawera Nikau. Into the final minutes of the game the Dragons led 18-14 but were forced to drop out from their own line. On the fifth tackle Kimmorley kicked high into the Dragons' corner. As the Storm's winger Craig Smith caught the ball over the try-line he was knocked unconscious in a head-high tackle by Jamie Ainscough and lost the ball.

Referee Bill Harrigan deferred to the video referee and the replay clearly showed that if not for the illegal tackle Smith would have scored a try. A penalty try was awarded giving the Storm's Matt Geyer a conversion from in front of the posts to take Melbourne Storm to a 20-18 lead and the title.[5]

Draw and Results

[6]

Round Opponent Result Mel. Opp. Date Venue
1 Penrith Panthers Win 32 10 5 Mar Olympic Park
2 Balmain Tigers Loss 6 16 13 Mar Leichhardt Oval
3 Brisbane Broncos Win 48 6 21 Mar QE2 Stadium
4 Canterbury Bulldogs Win 26 17 26 Mar Olympic Park
5 Cronulla Sharks Loss 16 20 4 Apr Olympic Park
6 Auckland Warriors Win 38 10 9 Apr Mt Smart Stadium
7 Parramatta Eels Loss 14 26 17 Apr Parramatta Stadium
8 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 52 6 24 Apr Olympic Park
9 Brisbane Broncos Win 28 18 2 May Olympic Park
10 Wests Tigers Win 62 6 8 May Lathlain Oval
11 Manly Sea Eagles Win 28 6 15 May Olympic Park
12 Bye
13 St. George Illawarra Dragons Loss 16 28 28 May Olympic Park
14 Canberra Raiders Loss 6 26 4 Jun Bruce Stadium
15 Newcastle Knights Loss 26 27 12 Jun Hunter Stadium
16 Sydney City Roosters Win 26 8 18 Jun Olympic Park
17 Manly Sea Eagles Win 19 18 27 Jun Brookvale Oval
18 Parramatta Eels Loss 6 20 2 Jul Olympic Park
19 Canterbury Bulldogs Win 24 20 10 Jul Stadium Australia
20 Canberra Raiders Win 30 10 16 Jul Olympic Park
21 Cronulla Sharks Win 26 18 25 Jul Toyota Park
22 Auckland Warriors Win 16 14 1 Aug Olympic Park
23 North Queensland Cowboys Win 30 24 7 Aug Dairy Farmers Stadium
24 Wests Tigers Win 44 14 15 Aug Olympic Park
25 North Sydney Bears Loss 20 24 22 Aug North Sydney Oval
26 Bye
Qualifying Final St. George Illawarra Dragons Loss 10 34 4 Sep Olympic Park
Semi Final Canterbury Bulldogs Win 24 22 12 Sep Sydney Football Stadium
Preliminary Final Parramatta Eels Win 18 16 18 Sep Sydney Football Stadium
Grand Final St. George Illawarra Dragons Win 20 18 26 Sep Stadium Australia

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Cronulla 24 18 0 6 2 586 332 +254 40
2 Parramatta 24 17 0 7 2 500 294 +206 38
3 Melbourne 24 16 0 8 2 639 392 +247 36
4 Sydney City 24 16 0 8 2 592 377 +215 36
5 Canterbury 24 15 1 8 2 520 462 +58 35
6 St. George Illawarra 24 15 0 9 2 588 416 +172 34
7 Newcastle 24 14 1 9 2 575 484 +91 33
8 Brisbane 24 13 2 9 2 510 368 +142 32
9 Canberra 24 13 1 10 2 618 439 +179 31
10 Penrith 24 11 1 12 2 492 428 +64 27
11 Auckland 24 10 0 14 2 538 498 +40 24
12 South Sydney 24 10 0 14 2 349 556 -207 24
13 Manly 24 9 1 14 2 454 623 -169 23
14 North Sydney 24 8 0 16 2 490 642 -152 20
15 Balmain 24 8 0 16 2 345 636 -291 20
16 North Queensland 24 4 1 19 2 398 588 -190 13
17 Western Suburbs 24 3 0 21 2 285 944 -659 10

Finals series details

Qualifying final
4 September 1999
St. George Illawarra Dragons 34 - 10
[7] 		Melbourne Storm
Tries: Blacklock (3)
Ainscough
McGregor
Wishart
Goals: Bartrim 4/4
Mackay 1/2 		Tries: Kearney
Moule
Goals: Geyer 1/3
Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 15,653
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Semi final
12 September 1999
Melbourne Storm 24 - 22
[8] 		Canterbury Bulldogs
Tries: Geyer (2)
Bai
Ross
Goals: Smith 4/5 		Tries: El Masri
Hughes
Sherwin
Silva
Goals: Halligan 3/4
Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 20,075
Referee: Steve Clark
Preliminary final
18 September 1999
Melbourne Storm 18 - 16
[9] 		Parramatta Eels
Tries: Kimmorley
Moule
Swain
Goals: Smith 3/3 		Tries: Kelly
Wagon
Goals: Schifcofske 4/5
Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 27,555
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Main article: 1999 NRL Grand final
Grand Final
26 September 1999
Melbourne Storm 20 - 18
[10] 		St. George Illawarra Dragons
Tries: Martin
Roarty
Smith
Goals: Smith 3/4
Geyer 1/1 		Tries: Blacklock
Fitzgibbon
McGregor
Goals: Bartrim 2/3
Fitzgibbon 1/1
Stadium Australia
Attendance: 107,558
Referee: Bill Harrigan

1999 Squad

List current as of 3 June 2017

(a) - 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.

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
Cap Nat. Player name Position First Melbourne Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club (a)
1 Papua New Guinea Marcus Bai WG 1998 Australia Gold Coast Chargers
2 Australia Russell Bawden PR 1998 Australia Brisbane Broncos
3 Australia Paul Bell CE 1998 Australia Perth Reds
5 Australia Scott Hill FE 1998 Australia Hunter Mariners
6 Australia Rodney Howe PR 1998 Australia Perth Reds
7 Australia Robbie Kearns PR 1998 Australia Perth Reds
8 Australia Brett Kimmorley HB 1998 Australia Hunter Mariners
9 Australia Glenn Lazarus PR 1998 Australia Brisbane Broncos
10 Australia Paul Marquet PR,SR 1998 Australia Hunter Mariners
11 Australia Aaron Moule WG,CE 1998 Australia South Queensland Crushers
12 New Zealand Tawera Nikau LK 1998 Australia Cronulla Sharks
13 Australia Ben Roarty PR,SR,LK 1998 Australia Melbourne Storm
14 Australia Robbie Ross FB 1998 Australia Hunter Mariners
15 Australia Craig Smith WG 1998 Australia Melbourne Storm
16 New Zealand Richard Swain HK 1998 Australia Hunter Mariners
17 Australia Danny Williams LK, SR, HK 1998 Australia North Sydney Bears
18 Australia Matt Geyer WG 1998 Australia Perth Reds
19 Australia Ben Anderson FE 1998 Australia Melbourne Storm
20 Australia Wayne Evans SR 1998 Australia Perth Reds
21 Australia Tony Martin WG, CE 1998 England London Broncos
23 Australia Wade Fenton SR, PR 1998 Australia Melbourne Storm
24 Papua New Guinea John Wilshere CE 1998 Australia Perth Reds
25 Australia Daniel Frame PR,SR 1998 Australia Perth Reds
26 New Zealand Matt Rua PR,SR 1998 Australia Melbourne Storm
28 New Zealand Stephen Kearney SR 1999 Australia New Zealand Warriors
29 Fiji Aseri Laing WG 1999 Australia Western Suburbs Magpies
30 New Zealand Tasesa Lavea FE 1999 Australia Melbourne Storm
31 Australia Brad Watts FB 1999 Australia Melbourne Storm
32 Australia Brett O'Farrell PR 1999 Australia Melbourne Storm

Awards and honours

Trophy Cabinet

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  6. ^ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#1999
  7. ^ NRL 1999 - Qualifying Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  8. ^ NRL 1999 - Semi Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  9. ^ NRL 1999 - Preliminary Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  10. ^ NRL 1999 - Grand Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  11. ^ "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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