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2001 Melbourne Storm season

The 2001 Melbourne Storm season was the 4th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2001 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 9th place. ^[1]

The 2001 season was the least successful in the Storm's history, missing the play-offs for the first time. After making a decision to move base from Olympic Park to the larger Colonial Stadium, the club seemed to lack the support, atmosphere and composure they had built up. It reflected in the team's on field performances, losing four of their first six homes games and 7 from their opening 10 overall. Amidst this time the Storm was rocked when coach Anderson quit the club after the 42-18 loss to Parramatta in Round 7.

Along with Richard Swain and Matt Orford, replacement coach Mark Murray lifted the Storm from their bad beginning. Melbourne won seven of their next ten games to reach 6th place on the ladder.

But the bad start had taken its toll, and with the 2001 finals in sight they won only two more games. A last round loss to Canberra saw the Storm finish outside the Top 8.

The 2001 season continued to mark the endurability of Kiwi Test hooker Richard Swain. He was on the field for every minute of the Storm's season and had yet to miss a game for Melbourne in the club's history. ^[2]

Season Summary[edit]

• Round 1 – 15,070 fans watch the first ever rugby league game played indoors, as Melbourne go down 10-14 against Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsatColonial Stadium. Referee Tim Mander, the touch judges and video referees are dropped after the round for failing to send off Storm prop forward Rodney Howe for a reckless high tackle on Steve Price. Howe is suspended for six games after pleading guilty to the charge.
• Round 6 – Despite a ruling from the NRL, the Colonial Stadium roof stays open for Melbourne's game against Newcastle Knights.
• 2 April – Head coach Chris Anderson quits after a poor start to the season and rumours of a falling out with club management. It had been reported that Anderson was interested in replacing outgoing Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coach John Lang.^[3] Norths Devils coach Mark Murray is installed as caretaker coach.
• 9 April – Storm owners News Limited indicate that the company was willing to sell its 50% share of the North Queensland Cowboys, but had no intention of deserting Melbourne.
• Round 9 – On Good Friday, halfback Matt Orford outpoints former Melbourne halfback Brett Kimmorley in the former Storm halfback's first game in Northern Eagles colours against Melbourne. Aaron Moule equals the club record with four tries in the game.^[4]
• 23 April – Former head coach Chris Anderson is appointed head coach of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks from the 2002 season.
• 24 May – Fullback Robbie Ross undergoes surgery on a chronic hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for six weeks. In his place, Melbourne select former Australian Schoolboys rugby union halfback Paul Sheedy.^[3]
• Round 14 – Richard Swain plays his 100th consecutive first grade game.
• Round 16 – Tasesa Lavea becomes the first Melbourne player to be an unused interchange player in club history.^[5]
• 1 July – The Sunday Mail reports that the Queensland Government has confirmed that it has held talks with the Melbourne Storm about relocating to Brisbane and basing itself at Lang Park.^[3]

• Round 18 – Melbourne celebrate their 100th game of premiership football with a record-breaking 64-0 win over Wests Tigers at Colonial Stadium. The 64 points is Melbourne's greatest winning margin, it was the first time holding the opposition to nil; while Matt Orford sets a new club record with 10 goals in the game. Richard Swain becomes the first player to have played in 100 games for the club, featuring in every game played since 1998.
• 12 July – Penrith Panthers sign Storm forward Ben Roarty on a two-year contract from the 2002 NRL season.
• Round 20 – Conceding a new club record of 54 points, Melbourne are thrashed by premiership fancy Parramatta Eels 10-54, with Jason Taylor equaling the Australian rugby league points scoring record of Daryl Halligan.
• Round 21 – The retractable seats at Colonial Stadium are brought in for the first time for a Storm game. It is rumoured that the costs to bring the seats in and replace damaged turf is in excess of $1m. Marcus Bai scores his 50th try for the club, the first player to reach that milestone.^[4]
• Round 24 – Melbourne maintain slim hopes of a place in the top eight with a narrow 28-24 victory over last-placed Penrith in a Monday night match at Colonial Stadium.
• Round 25 – A controversial 24-all draw with New Zealand Warriors seals the top eight door shut for Melbourne, meaning the club will miss the NRL finals for the first time. Referee Tim Mander is admonished for directing Matt Geyer to take a conversion kick two metres closer to the sideline than from where the Storm's final try was scored.^[3]
• Round 26 – Richard Swain becomes the first player to make 1000 tackles in a season. Swain also completes the marathon achievement of being the only forward to have played every minute of every game throughout the season.^[3]
• 20 November – Melbourne turn their back on Colonial Stadium, making the move back to Olympic Park for the 2002 season.

Milestone games[edit]

Jerseys[edit]

Melbourne's jerseys were again manufactured by Fila and carried the same design as the 1999-2000 home jersey. A new purple away jersey design with white and silver thunderbolts was worn in select games, with navy shorts and purple socks. For the first time, the jerseys displayed a front sponsor, with a white Adecco logo in a red box on the home jersey, with just the white logo on the purple away jersey.

Fixtures[edit]

Pre Season[edit]

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
27 January	Trial	Penrith Panthers	Lavington Sports Ground, Albury	Won	40	18	B Roarty (2), B Martin, P Robinson, T Whatuira, M Bai, D Williams, B Watts	M Orford (3), T Lavea		[6]
2 February	Trial	Northern Eagles	Brookvale Oval, Sydney	Lost	30	40	M Orford (2), B Roarty, J Langi, B Watts, R Ross	T Lavea (3)		[7][8][9]

Regular season[edit]

Result by round[edit]

Matches[edit]

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
18 February	1	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Lost	10	14	M Bai	T Lavea 3/3		[10]
24 February	2	North Queensland Cowboys	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Lost	28	32	B Roarty (2), M Bai, B Watts, D Williams	T Lavea 2/3, M Orford 2/3		[11]
3 March	3	St George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	Won	20	16	B Watts (2), M Bai, M Orford	T Lavea 2/5		[12]
11 March	4	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	34	24	M Geyer, S Hill, J Langi, M Orford, M Rua, P Whatuira	T Lavea 5/7		[13]
18 March	5	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	Lost	10	40	R Kearns, R Swain	T Lavea 1/2		[14]
25 March	6	Newcastle Knights	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Lost	28	36	S Hill, A Moule, M Orford, R Ross, R Swain	T Lavea 3/4, M Geyer 1/1		[15]
31 March	7	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	Lost	18	42	J Langi, A Moule, H Perenara	M Orford 3/3		[16]
8 April	8	Brisbane Broncos	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Lost	16	18	M Bai, M Orford, H Perenara	M Orford 2/3		[17]
13 April	9	Northern Eagles	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	52	18	A Moule (4), M Bai (2), R Bawden, S Hill, S Kearney	M Orford 8/10		[18]
22 April	10	Sydney Roosters	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Lost	22	23	M Bai, M Orford, M Rua, P Whatuira	M Orford 3/5		[19]
29 April	11	Penrith Panthers	Penrith Park, Sydney	Won	14	58	M Orford (2), D Williams (2), S Bell, M Geyer, S Hill, B Roarty, R Ross, M Rua, R Swain	M Orford 7/11		[20]
12 May	12	New Zealand Warriors	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Won	40	20	A Moule (2), S Bell, S Hill, M Orford, R Ross, D Williams	M Orford 6/8		[21]
19 May	13	Canberra Raiders	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	32	28	M Geyer (2), R Bawden, A Moule, P Robinson, R Ross	M Orford 4/7		[22]
27 May	14	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Sydney Showground, Sydney	Lost	28	26	M Bai, R Bawden, S Bell, M Geyer, P Robinson	M Orford 3/6		[23]
2 June	15	North Queensland Cowboys	Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville	Won	24	38	S Bell (2), M Geyer (2), S Kearney, A Moule, H Perenara	M Orford 5/8		[24]
17 June	16	St George Illawarra Dragons	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	34	28	M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, S Hill, F Moala, H Perenara	M Orford 5/6		[25]
23 June	17	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Toyota Park, Sydney	Lost	18	40	S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M Orford	M Orford 1/4		[26]
5 July	18	Wests Tigers	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	64	0	M Geyer (3), A Moule (2), R Howe, F Moala, M Orford, H Perenara, B Roarty, R Swain	M Orford 10/11		[27]
15 July	19	Newcastle Knights	Marathon Stadium, Newcastle	Lost	16	48	M Bai, F Moala, M Orford	M Orford 2/4		[28]
20 July	20	Parramatta Eels	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Lost	10	54	A Moule, M Orford	M Orford 1/2		[29]
29 July	21	Brisbane Broncos	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	32	28	M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, F Moala, M Orford, R Swain	M Orford 4/6		[30]
4 August	22	Northern Eagles	NorthPower Stadium, Gosford	Lost	12	20	F Moala, M Orford	M Orford 2/4		[31]
12 August	23	Sydney Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Lost	28	50	S Kearney (2), S Bell, F Moala, P Robinson	M Orford 4/5		[32]
20 August	24	Penrith Panthers	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Won	28	24	R Ross (2), R Bawden, S Bell, T Lavea	M Orford 4/6		[33]
27 August	25	New Zealand Warriors	Colonial Stadium, Melbourne	Draw	24	24	S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M Orford, H Perenara	M Geyer 1/2, M Orford 1/3		[34]
1 September	26	Canberra Raiders	Bruce Stadium, Canberra	Lost	6	32	D Williams	M Orford 1/1		[35]

Source:^[36]

Ladder[edit]

2001 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Parramatta Eels	26	20	2	4	839	406	+433	42
2	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	26	17	3	6	617	568	+49	37
3	Newcastle Knights (P)	26	16	1	9	782	639	+143	33
4	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	26	15	2	9	594	513	+81	32
5	Brisbane Broncos	26	14	1	11	696	511	+185	29
6	Sydney Roosters	26	13	1	12	647	589	+58	27
7	St. George Illawarra Dragons	26	12	2	12	661	573	+88	26
8	New Zealand Warriors	26	12	2	12	638	629	+9	26
9	Melbourne Storm	26	11	1	14	704	725	-21	23
10	Northern Eagles	26	11	1	14	603	750	-147	23
11	Canberra Raiders	26	9	1	16	600	623	-23	19
12	Wests Tigers	26	9	1	16	474	746	-272	19
13	North Queensland Cowboys	26	6	2	18	514	771	-257	14
14	Penrith Panthers	26	7	0	19	521	847	-326	14

2001 Coaching Staff[edit]

• Head coach: Chris Anderson until 2 April 2001
• Head coach: Mark Murray from 2 April 2001
• Assistant coach: Anthony Griffin
• Football Manager: Greg Brentnall
• Physiotherapist: Greg Gibson
• Head Trainer: Steve Litvensky
• Strength and conditioning Coach: Aaron Salisbury

2001 Squad[edit]

List current as of 10 August 2021^[37]

Cap [a]	Nat.	Player name	Position	First Storm Game	Previous First Grade RL club [b]
1		Robbie Ross	FB	1998	Hunter Mariners
3		Aaron Moule	WG, CE	1998	South Queensland Crushers
5		Marcus Bai	WG	1998	Gold Coast Chargers
6		Scott Hill	FE	1998	Hunter Mariners
8		Rodney Howe	PR	1998	Perth Reds
9		Danny Williams	LK, SR, HK	1998	North Sydney Bears
10		Robbie Kearns	PR	1998	Perth Reds
12		Ben Roarty	PR, SR, LK	1998	Melbourne Storm
15		Richard Swain	HK	1998	Hunter Mariners
16		Russell Bawden	PR	1998	Brisbane Broncos
18		Matt Geyer	WG	1998	Perth Reds
26		Matt Rua	PR, SR	1998	Melbourne Storm
28		Stephen Kearney	SR	1999	New Zealand Warriors
30		Tasesa Lavea	FE	1999	Melbourne Storm
31		Brad Watts	FB	1999	Melbourne Storm
32		Brett O'Farrell	PR	1999	Melbourne Storm
34		Fifita Moala	WG	2000	Melbourne Storm
35		Brook Martin	WG	2000	Melbourne Storm
37		Glen Turner	SR	2000	Melbourne Storm
38		Peter Robinson	SR	2000	Melbourne Storm
41		Brenton Pomery	PR	2000	Wests Tigers
42		Junior Langi	CE	2001	St George Illawarra Dragons
43		Matt Orford	HB	2001	Northern Eagles
44		Steven Bell	CE	2001	Melbourne Storm
45		Paul Whatuira	CE	2001	Auckland Warriors
46		Henry Perenara	LK	2001	Auckland Warriors
47		Paul Sheedy	FB	2001	Melbourne Storm
48		Semi Tadulala	WG	2001	Melbourne Storm
-		Nic Henderson	SR	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
-		Tai Lavea	FB	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
-		Marty Turner	HB	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
-		Jason Wrigley	PR	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm

Player movements[edit]

Team of the Century[edit]

In conjunction with the celebrations for Melbourne's 100th game in round 18 against Wests, Melbourne ran a "team of the century" promotion to honour the best 17 players over the first 100 games of the club's existence. The team was announced during half time of the round 21 game against Brisbane.^[4]

Representative honours[edit]

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2001.

Statistics[edit]

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2001 NRL season.

• Statistics sources:^[38][39]

Scorers[edit]

Most points in a game: 24 points

• Round 18 - Matt Orford (1 try, 10 Goals) vs Wests Tigers

Most tries in a game: 4 ^[e]

• Round 9 - Aaron Moule vs Northern Eagles

Winning games[edit]

Highest score in a winning game: 64 points

• Round 18 vs Wests Tigers

Lowest score in a winning game: 20 points

• Round 3 vs St George Illawarra Dragons

Greatest winning margin: 64 points ^[f]

• Round 18 vs Wests Tigers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 3

• Round 11 - Round 13

Losing games[edit]

Highest score in a losing game: 28 points

• Round 2 vs North Queensland Cowboys
• Round 6 vs Newcastle Knights
• Round 23 vs Sydney Roosters

Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points

• Round 26 vs Canberra Raiders

Greatest losing margin: 44 points

• Round 20 vs Parramatta Eels

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 4 ^[e]

• Round 5 - Round 8

Feeder Team[edit]

Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Making the finals for the fourth straight season, Norths Devils finished fourth, but were eliminated in the first week of the 2001 Queensland Cup finals.

2001 Queensland Cup
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
4	Norths Devils	20	11	3	6	2	558	446	+112	29

Awards and honours[edit]

Melbourne Storm Awards Night[edit]

• Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Richard Swain^[40][4]
• Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Steven Bell
• Melbourne Storm Clubman of the Year: Stephen Kearney
• Mick Moore Chairman's Award: Richard Swain

Other Awards[edit]

• The Weakest Link Sports Special Winner; Rodney Howe.^[41][42]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]