2001 Melbourne Storm season explained

Year:	2001
Team Colour:	6C0094
Font Colour:	ffd700
League:	NRL
League Rank:	9th
League Wins:	11
League Draws:	1
League Losses:	14
Points For:	704
Points Against:	725
Ceo Title:	Executive Director
Coach Title:	Coach
Captain:	Robbie Kearns (23 Games) Rodney Howe (2 Games) Robbie Ross (1 Game)
Avg Attendance:	11,969
High Attendance:	15,470 (Round 21)
Top Tries:	Matt Orford (15) Aaron Moule (15)
Top Goals:	Matt Orford (78)
Top Points:	Matt Orford (216)
List:	yes
List Link:	List of Melbourne Storm seasons

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

• Round 1 – 15,070 fans watch the first ever rugby league game played indoors, as Melbourne go down 10-14 against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Colonial Stadium. Referee Tim Mander, the touch judges and video referees are dropped after the round for failing to send off Storm 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, 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 – 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.
• 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.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 20 November – Melbourne turn their back on Colonial Stadium, making the move back to Olympic Park for the 2002 season.

Milestone games

Round	Player	Milestone
Round 1		Storm debut
Round 1		Storm debut
Round 1		NRL debut
Round 4	Paul Whatuira	Storm debut
Round 5	Richard Swain	100th game
Round 5	Henry Perenara	Storm debut
Round 11	Marcus Bai	100th game
Round 14	Paul Sheedy	NRL debut
Round 15	Scott Hill	100th game
Round 18		100th game
Round 23	Russell Bawden	100th game
Round 24	Semi Tadulala	NRL debut

Jerseys

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

Pre Season

Date		Opponent	Venue	Result			Tries	Goals	Field goals
27 January	Trial	Penrith Panthers	Lavington Sports Ground, Albury		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			30	40	M Orford (2), B Roarty, J Langi, B Watts, R Ross	T Lavea (3)		^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

Regular season

Matches

Date		Opponent	Venue	Result			Tries	Goals	Field goals
18 February	1		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		10	14	M Bai	T Lavea 3/3		^[10]
24 February	2		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		28	32	B Roarty (2), M Bai, B Watts, D Williams	T Lavea 2/3, M Orford 2/3		^[11]
3 March	3		WIN Stadium, Wollongong		20	16	B Watts (2), M Bai, M Orford	T Lavea 2/5		^[12]
11 March	4		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		34	24	M Geyer, S Hill, J Langi, M Orford, M Rua, P Whatuira	T Lavea 5/7		^[13]
18 March	5		Leichhardt Oval, Sydney		10	40	R Kearns, R Swain	T Lavea 1/2		^[14]
25 March	6		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		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 Stadium, Sydney		18	42	J Langi, A Moule, H Perenara	M Orford 3/3		^[16]
8 April	8		ANZ Stadium, Brisbane		16	18	M Bai, M Orford, H Perenara	M Orford 2/3		^[17]
13 April	9		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		52	18	A Moule (4), M Bai (2), R Bawden, S Hill, S Kearney	M Orford 8/10		^[18]
22 April	10		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		22	23	M Bai, M Orford, M Rua, P Whatuira	M Orford 3/5		^[19]
29 April	11		Penrith Park, Sydney		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		Ericsson Stadium, Auckland		40	20	A Moule (2), S Bell, S Hill, M Orford, R Ross, D Williams	M Orford 6/8		^[21]
19 May	13		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		32	28	M Geyer (2), R Bawden, A Moule, P Robinson, R Ross	M Orford 4/7		^[22]
27 May	14		Sydney Showground, Sydney		28	26	M Bai, R Bawden, S Bell, M Geyer, P Robinson	M Orford 3/6		^[23]
2 June	15		Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville		24	38	S Bell (2), M Geyer (2), S Kearney, A Moule, H Perenara	M Orford 5/8		^[24]
17 June	16		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		34	28	M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, S Hill, F Moala, H Perenara	M Orford 5/6		^[25]
23 June	17		Toyota Park, Sydney		18	40	S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M Orford	M Orford 1/4		^[26]
5 July	18		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		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		Marathon Stadium, Newcastle		16	48	M Bai, F Moala, M Orford	M Orford 2/4		^[28]
20 July	20		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		10	54	A Moule, M Orford	M Orford 1/2		^[29]
29 July	21		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		32	28	M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, F Moala, M Orford, R Swain	M Orford 4/6		^[30]
4 August	22		NorthPower Stadium, Gosford		12	20	F Moala, M Orford	M Orford 2/4		^[31]
12 August	23		Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney		28	50	S Kearney (2), S Bell, F Moala, P Robinson	M Orford 4/5		^[32]
20 August	24		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		28	24	R Ross (2), R Bawden, S Bell, T Lavea	M Orford 4/6		^[33]
27 August	25		Colonial Stadium, Melbourne		24	24	S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M Orford, H Perenara	M Geyer 1/2, M Orford 1/3		^[34]
1 September	26		Bruce Stadium, Canberra		6	32	D Williams	M Orford 1/1		^[35]

Source:^[36]

Ladder

See main article: 2001 NRL season.

2001 Coaching Staff

• 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

List current as of 10 August 2021^[37]

width=5%	Cap	width=1%	Nat.	width=30%	Player name	width=15%	Position	width=10%	First Storm Game	width=35%	Previous First Grade RL club
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

Losses

• Kevin Carmichael to Norths Devils
• Chris Essex to Released
• Wayne Evans to Northern Eagles
• Wade Fenton to Released
• Brett Kimmorley to Northern Eagles
• John Lomax to Retirement
• Paul Marquet to Newcastle Knights
• Tony Martin to London Broncos

Gains

• Junior Langi from St George Illawarra Dragons
• Matt Orford from Northern Eagles
• Henry Perenara from Auckland Warriors
• Paul Whatuira from Auckland Warriors

Team of the Century

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.

Representative honours

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

Player					Midseason Tests	October Test	2001 Kangaroo tour
						Papua New Guinea
Russell Bawden			Queensland
	Country
		New South Wales
					New Zealand
		New South Wales			Australia	Australia	Australia
					New Zealand
	City
					New Zealand
					New Zealand
					New Zealand

Statistics

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

• Statistics sources:^{[38] [39]}

Name	Appearances	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Points
	21	11	0	0	44
	23	4	0	0	16
	20	11	0	0	44
	26	14	2	0	60
	20	6	0	0	24
	17	1	0	0	4
	26	4	0	0	16
	23	1	0	0	4
	10	2	0	0	8
	19	1	16	0	36
	10	6	0	0	24
	21	15	0	0	60
	9	0	0	0	0
	26	15	78	0	216
	21	6	0	0	24
	2	0	0	0	0
	23	4	0	0	16
	20	3	0	0	12
	14	6	0	0	24
	25	3	0	0	12
	2	0	0	0	0
	26	5	0	0	20
	1	0	0	0	0
	7	3	0	0	12
	6	2	0	0	8
	21	5	0	0	20
26 players used	—	128	96	0	704

Scorers

Most points in a game: 24 points

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

Most tries in a game: 4

• Round 9 - Aaron Moule vs Northern Eagles

Winning games

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

• Round 18 vs Wests Tigers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 3

• Round 11 - Round 13

Losing games

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

• Round 5 - Round 8

Feeder Team

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.

See main article: 2001 Queensland Cup.

Awards and honours

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

• Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Richard Swain^[40]
  • • 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

• The Weakest Link Sports Special Winner

Rodney Howe.^{[41] [42]}

Notes and References

1. https://archive.today/20130630061144/http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne2002_sc.html
2. Web site: Melbourne Storm History . melbournestorm.com.au . . 7 March 2018.
3. Book: Middleton . David . Rugby League 2002 . 2002 . Harper Sports . Sydney . 0732274664.
4. Book: 2002 Melbourne Storm Info Guide . Melbourne Storm.
5. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 16 . Rugby League Project . 9 August 2021.
6. News: Barrow . Tim . Orford a real impact player . . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 28 January 2001 . Sydney, New South Wales . 57.
7. News: Beikoff . Katrin . Eagle returns to nest - Charm before the Storm for Bret . . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 2 February 2001 . Sydney, New South Wales . 123.
8. News: Vernon . Ben . Orford takes the points, not Storm . Herald-Sun . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 3 February 2001 . Melbourne, Victoria . 81.
9. News: Ritchie . Dean . Kimmorley sinks his former mates . . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 3 February 2001 . Sydney, New South Wales.
10. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 1. 10 August 2021.
11. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 2. 10 August 2021.
12. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 3. 10 August 2021.
13. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 4. 10 August 2021.
14. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 5. 10 August 2021.
15. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 6. 10 August 2021.
16. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 7. 10 August 2021.
17. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 8. 10 August 2021.
18. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 9. 10 August 2021.
19. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 10. 10 August 2021.
20. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 11. 10 August 2021.
21. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 12. 10 August 2021.
22. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 13. 10 August 2021.
23. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 14. 10 August 2021.
24. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 15. 10 August 2021.
25. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 16. 10 August 2021.
26. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 17. 10 August 2021.
27. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 18. 10 August 2021.
28. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 19. 10 August 2021.
29. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 20. 10 August 2021.
30. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 21. 10 August 2021.
31. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 22. 10 August 2021.
32. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 23. 10 August 2021.
33. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 24. 10 August 2021.
34. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 25. 10 August 2021.
35. Web site: NRL 2001 - Round 26. 10 August 2021.
36. Web site: Rugby League Tables - Melbourne. 10 August 2021.
37. Web site: Storm Team List (2001) . melbournestorm.com.au . 10 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010616171619/http://www.melbournestorm.com.au:80/mn_players.asp . 16 June 2001.
38. Web site: 2001 Melbourne Point Scorers. afltables.com. 10 August 2021.
39. Web site: Melbourne Storm - NRL 2001. rugbyleagueproject.org. 10 August 2021.
40. Web site: NRL Honour Board . melbournestorm.com.au . . 10 February 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928161940/http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.aspx?s=nrl-honour-board . 28 September 2013 .
41. Book: 2002 Melbourne Storm Info Guide . . 123.
42. Web site: Recent news | AFANA.