Storm the most talked about sporting team in Australia

Melbourne Storm describe themselves on Twitter as "Melbourne's number one rugby league club" but the 2020 premiers can claim to be Australia's most talked-about sporting team on the social media platform. 

The Storm's incredible journey to the Telstra Premiership grand final was well-documented throughout the year with the players, their families and coaching staff forced to relocate to the Sunshine Coast.

In a time of uncertainty, it was the Storm who gave an insight into life inside the bubble at Twin Waters resort from humour to stark reality.

Whether it was footage of Storm coach Craig Bellamy attempting to change a tyre, the zoom call for Cooper Johns from parents Matty and Trish, or Ryan Papenhuyzen's field goal attempts at training 24 hours before slotting a match-winner against the Roosters, followers saw it all. 

The Storm finished the year more talked about than AFL powerhouse Richmond Tigers, who won back-to-back premiership flags in 2020.

"For Twitter's year in review, we pull a range of data including the most tweeted about handles and hashtags by Aussies, this includes the most tweeted about Aussie sports teams," Twitter's Head of Sports Partnerships, Olly Wilton, told NRL.com.

"Twitter's very own sports fandom research indicates that Victoria has the most sports-crazed fans in Australia.

"Without being able to attend physical matches during lockdown, sporting fans turned to the platform to stay in touch with their favorite players and to relive past games.

"Discussions around Josh Addo-Carr potentially returning to Sydney and murmurs of Cameron Smith retiring all contributed to the chatter around the Storm on the platform.

"In addition to this, Cameron Munster's stunning performance during the State of Origin saw Storm-related conversations continue even after the regular season."

Coming in at third were the Queensland Maroons, who defied the odds to secure an unlikely 2-1 series win against NSW in a three-games in three weeks event throughout November.

Despite the unconventional three-match series being played at the end of the NRL season, Aussie sports fans were still keen for Origin.

"Thankfully, the State of Origin series still managed to go ahead, albeit slightly later in the year than first planned, and fans flocked to Twitter to keep up with the action," Wilton said. 

The #NRL and #Origin hashtags finished in the overall top five.