Melbourne Storm 2005-2015: what will happen?

[ComicStoreGuy]

Here was your question, "Melbourne Storm 2005-2015: what will happen?"

As a person who has played both the Rugby codes and lived half my life in Sydney and half in Melbourne, I, foolishly it seems, thought you might be interested in my gut-feeling on what is likely to happen over the next decade. I, politely, offered my thoughts on what I think might happen rather than the alternative of claiming to be able to tell you what will happen. Sorry that you didn't get the response you hoped for......it won't happen again'

Grow the up, dufuss, he has every right to express an opposing view, it's called bigfooty. If you can't handle the heat, get off the forum.

 

[Aucklander]

Will they achieve premiership success?

Yes.

Will they grow their crowds to 20,000 at their fancy new boutique stadium?

Possibly, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and all the things we've talked about before.

Will Melbournians be watchig all Storm games on FTA tv?

Hard to say. Much will depend on the future. There is no reason why future Melburians can't be different to the current ones.

Will Billy Slater achieve superstar status in Melbourne before he retires?

Absolutely. He's probably the most exciting footballer playing any code in Melbourne.

If non-Storm Grand Final attract half a million viewers will the next Storm side to make it to a Grand Final achieve 1 million viewers in Melbourne on a Sunday night?

Can't see why not.

Will the NRL/ARL invest in grassroots football in Victoria and bask in the glory of a Victorian making it into the Storm starting side?

Maybe and no.

Will the NRL grant salary cap concessions to their only true expansion side?

I hope not.

 

[littleduck]

Aren't you "hoping" the major competitor to your beloved AFL declines?

/QUOTE]


Here was your question, "Melbourne Storm 2005-2015: what will happen?"

As a person who has played both the Rugby codes and lived half my life in Sydney and half in Melbourne, I, foolishly it seems, thought you might be interested in my gut-feeling on what is likely to happen over the next decade. I, politely, offered my thoughts on what I think might happen rather than the alternative of claiming to be able to tell you what will happen. Sorry that you didn't get the response you hoped for......it won't happen again'

I'm interested in your opinion. I look forward to hearing more of them. I just dont see any evidence of decline and tend to place the decline arguments into the "beloved AFL" fans wishful thinking box. I dont see any of the 4 football codes in decline. All appear to be growing and that is set to continue. IMO.

Looking on the positive side, my family and friends will get a huge laugh on reading your claim that the (highly respected) Australian rules code is my "beloved AFL".

Apologies for thinking you to be a Mexican. You could well be a Sydneysider?

 

[finders]

Apologies for thinking you to be a Mexican. You could well be a Sydneysider?

Whats with the "mexican" jibe? No Im not paraniod about RL in Melbourne just telling as it is and always will be so stop dreaming of something that is NEVER going to happen.
Australian Football is too entrenched and embedded in the Victorian sporting fabric for any other code to get off the ground. Take Soccer for instance its been around for over 100 years in Melbourne and even with the influx of more that a million soccer fans as migrants since WW2 it has been a dismal failure and I cant see this new A league doing much better.

 

[PA HOG]

[ I'm interested in your opinion. I look forward to hearing more of them.QUOTE]


I appreciate your post littleduck and have shoved my nose back into place





Our opinions change over the years and I'm at the stage of life where rubbishing other codes is tiresome. I have been in a position to mix with elite athletes, especially those from two of the football codes and I'm glad to have seen the respect most of them have for players from other codes. As a couch potato nowadays, I feel lucky that I've got four football codes to watch on the TV.



The RL crowd figures and records puzzle me. As a kid in Sydney you had to go very early to SCG league tests to ensure you got in, let alone get a seat. There were hundreds of people who used to sit on the green "tin" roofs of the stands. As you know, the tests don't have the attraction of State of Origin these days...... that doesn't seem right! (in the "olden days" you had to work hard to earn a Kangaroo jumper... to get a chance to touch one was a thrill. Now you can buy one at the corner store; nothing stays the same forever, does it.)



Rugby tests at the SCG were a different story. You could turn up five minutes before the game and get a seat. Maybe that's why they went to Concord, to have less empty seats. Look at the support now for say an NZ v OZ test. Now if you graphed crowd numbers over the last fifty years and projected them into the future then the Rah Rahs would surely come out in front; but there are too many other factors which come in to the equation.





The few Storm games I've attended in Melbourne have been entertaining and I have no desire to see them fold.

Their future in Melbourne probably depends on the condition of the money pot over the next few years and, frankly, I don't know much about that.





Enjoy your Rugby League mate. Go Storm!

 

[littleduck]

Apologies for thinking you to be a Mexican. You could well be a Sydneysider?

Whats with the "mexican" jibe? No Im not paraniod about RL in Melbourne just telling as it is and always will be so stop dreaming of something that is NEVER going to happen.
Australian Football is too entrenched and embedded in the Victorian sporting fabric for any other code to get off the ground. Take Soccer for instance its been around for over 100 years in Melbourne and even with the influx of more that a million soccer fans as migrants since WW2 it has been a dismal failure and I cant see this new A league doing much better.

Fair points, but words like NEVER seem a bit too strong. I think a solid and profitable niche market can be established. The 3 major stumbling blocks are venue, FTA exposure, and getting into schools. The venue will no longer be a problem soon, and some minor improvements in the level of FTA coverage are expected during the next tv rights deal. I also read in todays paper about a major secondary school in Melbourne now offering Rugby League as their #1 sport alongside Aussie Rules and offering scolarships and will even enter a side in the national Arrive Alive Cup competition. So the game is moving forward on all fronts and because of that I believe there is every reason to believe th Melbourne Storm are growing their brand and the game in their Mexican outpost and add value to the national competition.

 

[littleduck]

Our opinions change over the years and I'm at the stage of life where rubbishing other codes is tiresome. I have been in a position to mix with elite athletes, especially those from two of the football codes and I'm glad to have seen the respect most of them have for players from other codes. As a couch potato nowadays, I feel lucky that I've got four football codes to watch on the TV.

Absolutely mate!! I now enjoy following the Broncos, the Lions, the Reds, and soon the Roar. In my view the ultimate in sports following is to appreciate all professional football codes that set up shop in your local area. We are both true sports followers. Methinks the one-code supporters are missing out.

The RL crowd figures and records puzzle me. As a kid in Sydney you had to go very early to SCG league tests to ensure you got in, let alone get a seat. There were hundreds of people who used to sit on the green "tin" roofs of the stands. As you know, the tests don't have the attraction of State of Origin these days...... that doesn't seem right! (in the "olden days" you had to work hard to earn a Kangaroo jumper... to get a chance to touch one was a thrill. Now you can buy one at the corner store; nothing stays the same forever, does it.)

Rugby tests at the SCG were a different story. You could turn up five minutes before the game and get a seat. Maybe that's why they went to Concord, to have less empty seats. Look at the support now for say an NZ v OZ test. Now if you graphed crowd numbers over the last fifty years and projected them into the future then the Rah Rahs would surely come out in front; but there are too many other factors which come in to the equation.

In my view the biggest reason for that change is that the ARU decided about a decade ago that they going to heavily promote the Wallabies brand name as the flagship brand for Rugby Union. It's been an outrageous success and the Wallabies now have brand recognition in all parts of Australia and have considerable brand equity. The Wallabies success has been a major reason for Rugby growth nationwide. Below the level of the Wallabies, RU has the well known Reds Brumbies & Waratahs in their heartland areas. Below that level, there is a great big black hole.

On the other hand, RL has developed a highly popular domestic competitions which is the day2day flag carrier for the sport. This means RL does not promote the Kangaroos as heavily as RU promotes the Wallabies.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

What will happen to the Storm?


I think they will get bigger and better, once the Vic media gets over the fact that the Storm are here to stay, they will eventually become Victoria's goldern child, that could take atlest another decade, but it will happen.

They seem to love putting 1 over Sydney, so why wouldn't they get on the band wagon?

The swans have been around for 23-4 years, it took 15-20 to get anywhere, the storm will get there just like the swans.

 

[Pantsless]

The swans have been around for 23-4 years, it took 15-20 to get anywhere, the storm will get there just like the swans.

I'd like to see how the Storm would go if they were forced to pay the NRL $4,000,000 not once, but twice, in between 1998 and 2008.

 

[PA HOG]

What will happen to the Storm?


I think they will get bigger and better, once the Vic media gets over the fact that the Storm are here to stay, they will eventually become Victoria's goldern child, that could take atlest another decade, but it will happen.

For your sake I hope you're right because you obviously love the game and the notion of a Victorian team.

Do you foresee any teams being relocated/removed from/added to the NRL competition by 2015?

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

For your sake I hope you're right because you obviously love the game and the notion of a Victorian team.

Do you foresee any teams being relocated/removed from/added to the NRL competition by 2015?

I think we will see new teams, i have no idea where or which state they will be in, the NRL can't keep knocking back these teams that want in.

Hell if a man with Billions of $$$$ and other men with Millions of $$$ wants in, why not? They got all that money for being smart, they must think it's smart to put that money in RL.

If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

Something tells me we will see a Perth team in RL again oneday.

 

[MaroonBoy]

A fascinating thread...Simon Castle's piece in The Age just about said it all. You'd think a premiership in 1999 would have done something to cement the code in Melbourne but in fact average crowds are probably 30-50% less today than they were six years ago. At this rate of decline, by 2015 there'll be no one going to see them in Melbourne because the 'franchise' (how I hate that term!) would have been relocated.

I find all this talk about a new boutique stadium in Melbourne for the rectangle codes somewhat amusing. Back when Kennett and Samuel were mooting the construction of Docklands (now Telstra Dome), one of the big selling points was suppose to be that the ground could be configured for rugby, league and soccer fixtures. The more things change....

 

[Fire Storm]

--Stop grapple tackling. Unrealistic in the short term, but I'm sure given a decade or two...

Get your hand off it Hurbie.

 

[hustler85]

the storm will not be around by 2015....
they will either have folded or will be relocated....
i like to think the latter is the most favourable.....
league will never work in victoria, and i think we have to come to terms with that, even as a diehard league supporter.
those in the AFL are states are born and bred on AFL, as we are in the northern states on league and union....

 

[littleduck]

the storm will not be around by 2015....
they will either have folded or will be relocated....
i like to think the latter is the most favourable.....
league will never work in victoria, and i think we have to come to terms with that, even as a diehard league supporter.
those in the AFL are states are born and bred on AFL, as we are in the northern states on league and union....

Thats nonsense mate. There is much value in having an NRL side in Melbourne in terms of attracting national sponsors etc. I get annoyed at this "give up" attitude when we havent really tried that hard. Giving up is exactly what we shouldnt be doing. We should be identifying the problems and working to make improvements in those areas... such as tv exposure, venue quality, juniors, etc... small gains each year in these areas must add up to a big change over time. By 2015 Melbourne will have embraced the Storm in much the same way the Swans and Lions now represent Sydney and Brisbane.

 

[hustler85]

Thats nonsense mate. There is much value in having an NRL side in Melbourne in terms of attracting national sponsors etc. I get annoyed at this "give up" attitude when we havent really tried that hard. Giving up is exactly what we shouldnt be doing. We should be identifying the problems and working to make improvements in those areas... such as tv exposure, venue quality, juniors, etc... small gains each year in these areas must add up to a big change over time. By 2015 Melbourne will have embraced the Storm in much the same way the Swans and Lions now represent Sydney and Brisbane.

about melbourne embracing the storm, well thats wishful thinking, it aint guna happen regardless of how hard the NRL try...
they have tried, and the storm have even won premierships, yet they r still so unsuccessful down there....
tv exposure is not hapening, bc it is not what the public wants, and it has been proven that juniors dont wish to play league, same as hardly any juniors playin afl up here....

 

[littleduck]

about melbourne embracing the storm, well thats wishful thinking, it aint guna happen regardless of how hard the NRL try...
they have tried, and the storm have even won premierships, yet they r still so unsuccessful down there....
tv exposure is not hapening, bc it is not what the public wants, and it has been proven that juniors dont wish to play league, same as hardly any juniors playin afl up here....

thats all rubbish.

i like this bit "tv exposure is not hapening, bc it is not what the public wants"...

do you think the brisbane public wanted AFL before the Lions got put on their tv screens?

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

do you think the brisbane public wanted AFL before the Lions got put on their tv screens?

I didn't think they wanted them still

 

[Hurbie]

You WON'T be getting $45million a season from your FTA rights deal and the only person to quote a figure was Shane Richardson, who quoted $40 million is what "he" hoped for. So rule out a 200% increase. As for funding each team's salary cap, why do that when you could put that money to better use in junior development?

Only $5 Million away...and that deal could start as early as July...I reckon the rest could be covered by the Saturday night Football Ch7 wants...

 

[Hicham]

You WON'T be getting $45million a season from your FTA rights deal

lol Hurbie. Good catch.

Quoted for future reference

$40M and counting...

 

[littleduck]

In defence of r-ando, I assume he was referring to the status quo of 2 x NRL FTA games per round and all rep games not getting to $45 mil on its own, whereas the current offer of $40 mil includes an additional game, ie 3 x NRL FTA games per round. However, it should be noted while there is an extra NRL game in the mix, the proposal recognises the # of rounds will be reduced from 26 to 22.

 

[monnersfan]

I also read in todays paper about a major secondary school in Melbourne now offering Rugby League as their #1 sport alongside Aussie Rules and offering scolarships and will even enter a side in the national Arrive Alive Cup competition.

Major secondary school? Hate to break it to you, but you wouldn't find anyone who would consider Altona SC a major school in any sense. Altona is amongst the most-underresourced government schools in Victoria, located in a low socio-economic industrial area that isn't growing at a high rate.

It will be very interesting to see how this program develops, as Altona may get tired of playing intra-school matches insomuch that no other schools in Victoria have pledged to implement similar programs. This means that they'll have noone to play against within a 6-7 hour drive.

As always, the problem with your code's development in Victoria is a lack of amateur support. There are 11 (count 'em) RL clubs in Victoria, and that's if you include the Storm. With all the extra-curricular offerings at modern schools, it is still more likely for a student to participate in sport on weekends than focus on a sport (several trainings per week) for their school team, with the exception of elite private school sport. Thus, the lack of amateur clubs is holding RL back.

As hard as it might be to admit, Australian football is built upon a much sounder foundation in Qld & NSW simply because of the greater spread and number of amateur clubs growing community support for the sport there. Looking at the numbers, there are more amatuer Aussie rules clubs in each of Northern NSW, North Queensland and the NSW South Coast (all traditional RL heartlands) than there are in all of Victoria - and these regions are hardly ever reported as focus areas of AFL development.

Just to fill you in with a personal story of RL in Victoria, I'll tell you about my local, Naughton's Hotel on Royal Parade, Carlton. In late 2003 it was bought by a group of Storm players with the intention of making it a boutique venue where RL supporters could congregate after matches and enjoy their sport. So, what was once a popular watering hole for patrons on their way to Carlton matches at Princes Park had a league makeover, showing replays of matches.

I lived opposite Naughton's at the time, and the reduction in patrons frequenting the place after its makeover was staggering. My university friends all wouldn't go near the place because it had lost its charm - photos of college football & rowing teams from a century ago replaced by league jerseys etc. The Storm players (couldn't name them, as I don't know a single player) only kept the place for ~9 months, before the current manager refurbished the hotel. The resurgence in its popularity has been pretty staggering, and once again its a lively hub of student and professional activity during the week. There's no point to this story more than to show that there is a great aversion to RL in Melbourne. Few academics and students in my department have an interest in sport in any form (half are from the UK, US & northern Europe), but they all nominally follow the AFL if only for the social interaction of the department tipping competition and finals drinks each year. However, that they were so put off by Naughton's conversion to RL is probably indicative of the general attitude of Melburnians - sports followers and not - towards the code.

 

[littleduck]

Major secondary school? Hate to break it to you, but you wouldn't find anyone who would consider Altona SC a major school in any sense. Altona is amongst the most-underresourced government schools in Victoria, located in a low socio-economic industrial area that isn't growing at a high rate.

It will be very interesting to see how this program develops, as Altona may get tired of playing intra-school matches insomuch that no other schools in Victoria have pledged to implement similar programs. This means that they'll have noone to play against within a 6-7 hour drive.

As always, the problem with your code's development in Victoria is a lack of amateur support. There are 11 (count 'em) RL clubs in Victoria, and that's if you include the Storm. With all the extra-curricular offerings at modern schools, it is still more likely for a student to participate in sport on weekends than focus on a sport (several trainings per week) for their school team, with the exception of elite private school sport. Thus, the lack of amateur clubs is holding RL back.

As hard as it might be to admit, Australian football is built upon a much sounder foundation in Qld & NSW simply because of the greater spread and number of amateur clubs growing community support for the sport there. Looking at the numbers, there are more amatuer Aussie rules clubs in each of Northern NSW, North Queensland and the NSW South Coast (all traditional RL heartlands) than there are in all of Victoria - and these regions are hardly ever reported as focus areas of AFL development.

Just to fill you in with a personal story of RL in Victoria, I'll tell you about my local, Naughton's Hotel on Royal Parade, Carlton. In late 2003 it was bought by a group of Storm players with the intention of making it a boutique venue where RL supporters could congregate after matches and enjoy their sport. So, what was once a popular watering hole for patrons on their way to Carlton matches at Princes Park had a league makeover, showing replays of matches.

I lived opposite Naughton's at the time, and the reduction in patrons frequenting the place after its makeover was staggering. My university friends all wouldn't go near the place because it had lost its charm - photos of college football & rowing teams from a century ago replaced by league jerseys etc. The Storm players (couldn't name them, as I don't know a single player) only kept the place for ~9 months, before the current manager refurbished the hotel. The resurgence in its popularity has been pretty staggering, and once again its a lively hub of student and professional activity during the week. There's no point to this story more than to show that there is a great aversion to RL in Melbourne. Few academics and students in my department have an interest in sport in any form (half are from the UK, US & northern Europe), but they all nominally follow the AFL if only for the social interaction of the department tipping competition and finals drinks each year. However, that they were so put off by Naughton's conversion to RL is probably indicative of the general attitude of Melburnians - sports followers and not - towards the code.

Fair enough, but do you think if you bought a fashionable pub anywhere near Brisbane CBD and made it an AFL pub/club then anything different would occur?

 

[Surandy]

ideally we'd like to see:
-- a few Victorian players in the team

Jake Webster: born here in Melbourne
Jeremy Smith: an Altona Roosters junior for about 3 years before his family moved to Queensland

 

[littleduck]

Jake Webster: born here in Melbourne
Jeremy Smith: an Altona Roosters junior for about 3 years before his family moved to Queensland

Fair enough, I'll rephrase... Get some Vics into the team AND promote the fact that some Vics have made it to the highest level!

Seriously, the Melbourne Storm lack the television media exposure which is fundamental to growing any expansion team from any code, includnig aussie rules.