Dear Members,
It’s been an exciting start to the NRL season – both for Storm and the entire competition.
As clubs take a moment to pause for the Representative Round, I thought it was an opportune time to recap on the first part of the season and share with our members some important information from around the Club:
Football performance
Firstly, congratulations to the Football department for being 7-2, heading into this weekend’s bye.
To hold a 4-1 record at AAMI Park and 3-1 record away has been an outstanding start to the season in what is proving to be a very even competition.
As has been well documented, our depth has been tested already this season with an unprecedented run of injuries to our outside backs. In the first nine rounds we’ve had eight different backline combinations using a total of 11 players. The resilience of our group and the ongoing development of our young players who have been able to come in and perform their role for the team is evident.
I was delighted the Club announced last week the re-signings of Tim Glasby and Christian Welch as well as the signing of Ryan Morgan today from the Eels. In relation to other players and contracts, there are a whole range of conversations occurring at the moment and as I’ve said before we don’t discuss contracts publicly. What I can say though is that this area is of utmost importance for the Club and we are committed to establishing a squad capable of sustaining continued elite performance while remaining salary cap compliant.
Representative weekend
We wish all the best to our players and staff involved in various representative teams this weekend. With Jesse Bromwich and Cameron Smith captaining New Zealand and Australia respectively, it’s the first time since 2000 that one club has supplied both Test captains opposing each other, making our duo only the second pair from the one club to do this in Australia-New Zealand Test history.
It’s yet another milestone our members can be proud of by supporting Storm.
Membership
Off-field, we’ve already achieved a record membership, with more than 16,000 members now a part of the purple pride.
It’s a fantastic effort to have reached this in April and it’s a great show of faith from members to the Club. Thank you for your support.
We will continue our push towards 20,000 members, with a strong finish to the season with games at AAMI Park against the Roosters, Rabbitohs, Broncos and Sharks, so please encourage your friends and family to get along and experience the No.1 match day in the NRL.
ANZAC Day
We have been overwhelmed with the response from our members and the public to our ANZAC Day game match experience.
It was always our intention to showcase our respect for ANZAC Day and our admiration for our active and returned servicemen and women. At the same time it was also an opportunity for us to be creative and innovative in this space on the night and we were thrilled with the feedback we received from the NRL community.
Queensland Double Header
Our next home game is against the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium as part of the NRL Double-Header - a marquee fixture on the NRL’s calendar, which will be played in front of a crowd of over 50,000.
I’m confident that will make it the biggest non-finals crowd in the NRL this year.
The decision to relocate this game was made prior to the Cowboys winning the 2015 premiership with this match-up previously being one of the lowest drawing games since the Club moved to AAMI Park.
Similarly to Napier last year, this is another opportunity to grow our Club and brand and to showcase the Storm style of football – we all know Melbourne does rugby league better!
The revenue generated from this once-a-year fixture will assist the Club to fund its football program which always strives to stay ahead of the pack.
Rugby League in Victoria
Storm is playing a lead role in the growth of Rugby League in Victoria. We hope to have some exciting initiatives to share in this space, from pathways to relationships with Touch Football. The Victorian Academy Under-16s and Under-18s both made the Quarter Finals of the Cyril Connell and Mal Meninga Cups’ in late April. This is an enormous achievement and we are very proud of all those involved.
With the Representative Round upon us, I hope you enjoy watching our players in action as well as spending time with your family and friends in this Storm free weekend.
Thank you for your support of our Club so far this season, the race to the finals will be a close one, let’s continue to support our great team.
Go Storm!
Dave Donaghy
CEO – Melbourne Storm
Dave will be joining Storms fans for a Facebook Q & A
When: Tuesday May 10, 1pm
Where: Storm Facebook Page
