- Draw and Results
- Ladder
- Finals series
- 1998 Squad
- Awards and honours Melbourne Storm Awards Night Dally M Awards Night
- References
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}{{Use Australian English|date=June 2013}}{{Infobox rugby league team season | year = 1998 | team_colour = #6C0094 | font_colour = #ffd700 | league = NRL | league_link = NRL | league_rank = 3rd | league_wins = 17 | league_draws = 1 | league_losses = 6 | points_for = 546 | points_against = 372 | playoff_result = Semi Final Loss | CEO_title = CEO | CEO = John Ribot | coach_title = Coach | coach = Chris Anderson | captain = Glenn Lazarus | stadium = Olympic Park Stadium | avg_attendance = | high_attendance = | top_tries = Scott Hill & Marcus Bai (14) | top_goals = Craig Smith (51) | top_points = Craig Smith (110) | prev_season = None | next_season = 1999 | list = yes | list_link = Melbourne Storm#Season summaries }}The 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Telstra 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] Draw and Results[2] Round | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
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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 |
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1 | {{leagueicon|Brisbane Broncos|16}} Brisbane | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 | 2 | {{leagueicon|Newcastle Knights|16}} Newcastle | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 | 3 | {{leagueicon|Melbourne Storm|16}} Melbourne | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 | 4 | {{leagueicon|Parramatta Eels|16}} Parramatta | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 | 5 | {{leagueicon|North Sydney Bears|16}} North Sydney | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 | 6 | {{leagueicon|Sydney Roosters|16}} Sydney City | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 | 7 | {{leagueicon|Canberra Raiders|16}} Canberra | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 | 8 | {{leagueicon|St. George Dragons|16}} St. George | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 | 9 | {{leagueicon|Canterbury|16}} Canterbury | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 | 10 | {{leagueicon|Manly Sea Eagles|16}} Manly-Warringah | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 | 11 | {{leagueicon|Cronulla|16}} Cronulla-Sutherland | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 | 12 | {{leagueicon|Illawarra Steelers|16}} Illawarra | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 | 13 | {{leagueicon|Balmain|16}} Balmain | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 | 14 | {{leagueicon|Penrith|16}} Penrith | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 | 15 | {{leagueicon|Auckland|16}} Auckland | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 | 16 | {{leagueicon|North Queensland|16}} North Queensland | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 | 17 | {{leagueicon|Adelaide|16}} Adelaide | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 | 18 | {{leagueicon|South Sydney Rabbitohs|16}} South Sydney | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 | 19 | {{leagueicon|Gold Coast Chargers|16}} Gold Coast | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 | 20 | {{leagueicon|Western Suburbs|16}} Western Suburbs | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 | {{Nrl1998ladderprogression}}Finals seriesMelbourne 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. {{Rugbyleaguebox |bg = #eeeeee | date = Major Prelim Semi Final 30 August 1998 | team1 = Melbourne Storm | team2 = Sydney City Roosters | score = 12 - 26 [3] | points1 = Tries: Bai Marquet Goals: Smith 2/3| points2 = Tries: Barnett Elsegood Fittler Gourley Goals: Cleary 5/6 | stadium = Olympic Park Stadium | attendance = 18,247 | referee= Paul McBlane }} {{Rugbyleaguebox |bg = #eeeeee | date = Minor Semi Final 5 September 1998 | team1 = Melbourne Storm | team2 = Canberra Raiders | score = 24 - 10 [4] | points1 = Tries: Martin (2) Bai Geyer Hill Goals: Kimmorley 2/6| points2 = Tries: Mullins Stuart Goals: Furner 1/1 McNamara 0/1| stadium = Olympic Park Stadium | attendance = 12,592 | referee= Steve Clark }} {{Rugbyleaguebox |bg = #eeeeee | date = Elimination Preliminary Final 13 September 1998 | team1 = Brisbane Broncos | team2 = Melbourne Storm | score = 30 - 6 [5] | points1 = Tries: Renouf (2) Campion Carroll Lee Lockyer Goals: Lockyer 3/6| points2 = Tries: Geyer Goals: Kimmorley 1/2| stadium = Sydney Football Stadium | attendance = 20,354 | referee= Bill Harrigan }} 1998 SquadList 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. {{details|List of Melbourne Storm players}}Cap | Nat. | Player name | Position | First Storm Game | Previous First Grade RL club (a) |
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1 | {{flagicon|PNG}} | Marcus Bai | WG | 1998 | AUS}} Gold Coast Chargers | 2 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Russell Bawden | PR | 1998 | AUS}} Brisbane Broncos | 3 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Paul Bell | CE | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 4 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | John Carlaw | CE | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 5 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Scott Hill | FE | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 6 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Rodney Howe | PR | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 7 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Robbie Kearns | PR | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 8 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Brett Kimmorley | HB | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 9 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Glenn Lazarus | PR | 1998 | AUS}} Brisbane Broncos | 10 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Paul Marquet | PR,SR | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 11 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Aaron Moule | WG,CE | 1998 | AUS}} South Queensland Crushers | 12 | {{flagicon|NZL}} | Tawera Nikau | LK | 1998 | AUS}} Cronulla Sharks | 13 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Ben Roarty | PR,SR,LK | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 14 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Robbie Ross | FB | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 15 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Craig Smith | WG | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 16 | {{flagicon|NZL}} | Richard Swain | HK | 1998 | AUS}} Hunter Mariners | 17 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Danny Williams | LK, SR, HK | 1998 | AUS}} North Sydney Bears | 18 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Matt Geyer | WG | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 19 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Ben Anderson | FE | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 20 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Wayne Evans | SR | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 21 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Tony Martin | WG, CE | 1998 | ENG}} London Broncos | 22 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Anthony Bonus | PR | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 23 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Wade Fenton | SR, PR | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 24 | {{flagicon|PNG}} | John Wilshere | CE | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 25 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Daniel Frame | PR,SR | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds | 26 | {{flagicon|NZL}} | Matt Rua | PR,SR | 1998 | AUS}} Melbourne Storm | 27 | {{flagicon|AUS}} | Tristan Brady-Smith | WG | 1998 | AUS}} Perth Reds |
Awards and honours{{Col-begin}}{{Col-2}}Melbourne Storm Awards Night- Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Robbie Kearns[6]
- Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Ben Roarty
- Clubman of the Year: Robbie Kearns
- Mick Moore Chairmans Award: Chris Anderson
{{Col-2}}Dally M Awards Night- Dally M Coach of the Year: Chris Anderson
- Dally M Winger of the Year: Marcus Bai
- Dally M Lock of the Year: Tawera Nikau
{{Col-end}}References1. ^{{cite web|title=Melbourne Storm History |url=https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/about/storm-history/ |work=melbournestorm.com.au |publisher=Melbourne Storm |accessdate=7 March 2018}} 2. ^http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#1998 3. ^NRL 1998 - Major Prelim Semi Final. Rugby League Project 4. ^NRL 1998 - Minor Semi Final. Rugby League Project 5. ^NRL 1998 - Elimination Preliminary Final. Rugby League Project 6. ^{{cite web|title=NRL Honour Board |url=http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.aspx?s=nrl-honour-board |work=melbournestorm.com.au |publisher=Melbourne Storm |accessdate=10 February 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928161940/http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.aspx?s=nrl-honour-board |archivedate=28 September 2013 |df= }}
{{Melbourne Storm}}{{1998 in rugby league}} 2 : Melbourne Storm seasons|1998 NRL season by club |