S27E11 Preview – Don't you know it's Magic?
The magic fabric of our dreaming
Parramatta head to Melbourne to play at AAMI Park for the first time since the stupidity of the round 3 match in 2022… sorry I’m being handed a note…
No old matches this week, because I’ve got a high horse to ride.
Magic Rounds of the past
In the preview for Magic Round last year, I had a look back at the previous matches played by Melbourne at this event.
Of course the first magic round sparked the arrival of Ryan Papenhuyzen in his fifth NRL match.
The review of the Magic Round match last year probably isn’t worth revisiting.
This will be the fifth Magic Round and looking at the schedule of events around Suncorp Stadium, the law of diminishing returns has clearly kicked in. Thankfully for any Storm fans heading north, Melbourne has been pushed back into the Sunday 4pm time slot so fans might actually get to see the match rather than enduring drunk and disinterested Queenslanders constantly getting up during play to get more beers.
Selling out
It’s now the eighth time that the extremely wealthy owners of the Melbourne Storm have sold out fans in Victoria, chasing the dollars on offer for selling a home game away from Melbourne. This fuckery started in 2015, two years into the current owners tenure, when they sold the home match against the Dragons to McLean Park in Napier. Taking the Storm across the Tasman was not popular at the time, especially when the club wore a specially-designed jersey by Tohu Harris that inexplicably used red in the design.
Attracting over 14,000 fans to the match, then-CEO Dave Donaghy was full of praise about the experience:
The people and town of Napier were extremely accommodating and helped us feel at home during our time in Hawkes Bay which made for a great experience.
As a Club we will be conducting a thorough review of the exercise and will come to a decision for 2016 once that review is complete.
When plans are finalised, our members will be the first to know.
The Storm instead turned to Queensland, first denying that Cairns would host a match in far north Queensland.
Ostensibly to “service their South East Queensland members” the Storm sold a home game in each of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons, hosting a Queensland team at Suncorp Stadium in a Saturday evening double-header with Manly hosting the Brisbane Broncos. The first year attracted a packed out crowd, with numbers dropping 10,000 fans each subsequent season.
Queensland-based Storm members used to get this game included in their membership, meaning SEQ Storm fans could attend up to three games, albeit at a premium price point compared to buying tickets from the Broncos and Titans. That additional benefit ceased when Magic Round was created in 2019 with the marquee event excluded.
Insultingly for Melbourne-based fans the club continued to sell 11 match season tickets for inflated prices when previously fans were guaranteed 12 home matches. Running the numbers, here’s a table of couple of the Storm’s season ticket options down the years:
Adjusting for inflation, the general admission adult price for a full season ticket in 2024 would be spot on… for 12 matches with a similar amount of add-ons provided. The category 1 reserved seat might actually be comparatively value for money with 11 matches, but only if the similar amount of add-ons were provided. Spoiler alert: they’re not.
Importing a concept
As a concept, the Super League’s Magic Weekend has merit. In a culture where small but vocal crowds might be the norm, it’s usual to have some travelling fans across what is a tiny country in comparison to Australia. From afar, I can see the point of gathering the rugby league community into a large football stadium in a different city,1 especially in areas without a Super League team.2
Imported to Australia where the tyranny of distance and cost of travel is far too real, Magic Round offered the NRL a sugar hit of larger crowds, and political spin after locking Queensland out of the conversation to host the NRL Grand Final.3
But rather than adding an extra round of matches to account for the event,4 each season eight clubs give up a home match to the NRL, which for fans of Melbourne (and the Warriors) after the pandemic seems rather insulting. Especially when there are three clubs based in SEQ since the expansion to Redcliffe, giving rugby league fans there plenty of opportunities to attend NRL matches.
What’s the point?
For the 15 seasons that News Ltd controlled the Melbourne Storm, the deep pockets of Rupert Murdoch allowed the club to run at a loss.5 The club’s funding coming mostly from the annual reparations payment that the NRL provided to News Ltd for winning the Super League war. The independence agreement signed to form the ARLC had provisions for continued funding of the Storm even after News relinquished control of the club, selling the club to the current owners. Those owners coming in with the idea of turning a profit, which according to the Financial Review was achieved as early as 2017-18.6
It seems like the owners were more than happy to stay on the Queensland gravy train, signing up to lose a home game for Magic Round whilst the event stays in Brisbane. From what I understand the appearance fee is somewhere in the low six figures. If that’s the case, it would be interesting if the club ever put the 12th home match out to tender to see if a venue within driving distance to AAMI Park might like to host a match. Or even host all 12 matches at AAMI Park as the main tenant of the venue.7
This will be especially true if Melbourne are coerced into the NRL’s Las Vegas folly as early as 2025. Would love to know how the owners could justify a further reduction to ten home games when they have failed to do so with 11.
The way forward from here is to keep pressuring the club to return the 12 home matches to Melbourne by filling AAMI Park as often as possible. It would be acceptable for the Storm and the Warriors (in the same vein) to be away teams at Magic Round, especially when it is inevitably moved from Brisbane.8
Stat attack
Melbourne have played three previous matches on 19 May all in the DPRV — beating Canberra 32–28 indoors in 2001, beating the Roosters 26–2 at Olympic Park in 2007, and losing to Manly 24–4 in 2018.9
Melbourne won both matches against Parramatta in 2023, ending a four match losing streak against the Eels.
This will be the fourth time Melbourne have played Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium — the Storm won in 2019 at Magic Round, and the 2020 qualifying final; but lost in August 2021 in the match that ended the club’s record winning streak at 19 consecutive victories.
Melbourne have won 28 of 37 matches played at Suncorp Stadium, while Parramatta have won twice from six matches in the NRL era played at the venue against teams not named Brisbane.
Melbourne have defeated Parramatta seven times from seven NRL finals matches including the 2009 NRL Grand Final.10
Wyatt Raymond will be in charge of his second match featuring the Melbourne Storm this season, having held the whistle for the Storm’s win over the Bulldogs in round 6.
Team line-up
Sualauvi Fa’alogo
Will Warbrick
Reimis Smith
Nick Meaney
Xavier Coates
Cameron Munster
Tyran Wishart
Christian Welch
Harry Grant ©
Josh King
Shawn Blore
Eliesa Katoa
Trent Loiero
Jack Howarth
Tui Kamikamica
Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Alec MacDonald
Grant Anderson
Joe Chan
Bronson Garlick
Dean Ieremia
Chris Lewis
Referee: Wyatt Raymond (Bunker: Gerard Sutton)
Preview
Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels
— Suncorp Stadium, 4:05pm Sunday 19 May 2024
Xavier Coates is back. The Grant Anderson Experience has been shelved. Of course Jahrome Hughes is still out, as is Ryan Papenhuyzen; but that just means it’s more of Tyran Wishart and Sua Fa’alogo.
After returning from injury via the bench last week, Tui Kamikamica is more than likely to move into the starting line up this week, with Christian Welch likely to go back to the interchange role. That rotation seems to work best for Melbourne, allowing Josh King to play the first half before he takes a breather during the second half.
Happy to see Jack Howarth named in a jersey number less than 17 for the first time in his Storm career. Hopefully he can get a longer stint on the field.
Looking over at the team that doesn’t matter, they’re won just three games this season, all at their roofless home ground. Somehow Brad Arthur still has his job, but perhaps that’s because their halfback Fabio Grosso Mitchell Moses is still out with a foot injury and their captain Clint Gutherson has a knee injury. Wait, a fullback and a halfback missing through injury… which team is this again? Parramatta will be going with Dylan Brown and Daejarn Asi in the halves. Asi featured heavily for the Eels in their win over the Bears in NSW Cup last week.
The middle forwards are my focus this week after they weren’t exactly beaten up by the Sharks, but were somewhat ineffective. For Munster, Wishart and Fa’alogo to be able to weave their own brands of magic, they need time and space. The means getting over the advantage line and aiming for a fast play-the-ball. Fa’alogo certainly lifted the crowd with every touch last week, with a little more confidence in his passing this week, he could be set to explode at Lang Park.
It would be nice to run up a score on the Eels similar to the 2019 match, but at this point of the season, taking a win and no more injuries will do just nicely.
Finally, it was amusing that Melbourne bothered to take Harry Grant’s dangerous contact charge to the NRL Judiciary. Taking the early guilty plea for a $1,000 fine — or fighting the charge and being fined $1,500 if guilty, while spending more than that on legal fees… on principle? Winning makes Grant Atkins, Adam Gee and Graham Annesley look foolish — priceless. Comedy all around.
What else is going on?
It’s the official opening of the State Rugby League / NRL Victoria centre this weekend at Seabrook Reserve in Broadmeadows. The Storm will hold their captain’s run / open training at the venue from 10:30am. More details here.
The Storm Jersey Flegg Cup team have a bye this weekend, with only a few matches taking place to account for washed out games earlier this season. The NSW Cup are having their knock-off version of Magic Round at North Sydney Oval this weekend, with the hosts up against Souths at 5pm on Saturday.
In the Queensland Cup, the Tigers will look to atone for their horror outing last weekend, facing off against ninth-placed Souths Logan Magpies at Coorparoo on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, with that match available on Kayo and 9Now. The Falcons will be getting on the ferry to North Stradbroke Island on Sunday to play the Wynnum Manly Seagulls at 3pm.
Your correspondent will be heading to John Cain Arena to see the Vixens likely defeat the Lightning in the Super Netball on Saturday at 5pm. The Lightning’s 2024 squad hasn’t worked so far this season and will be hard-pressed against the undefeated Vixens. It will be interesting to see how Diamonds captain Liz Watson is received by the Melbourne crowd after leaving the Vixens after last season.
Especially after the end of the Premier League season.
Except when they hold it in Manchester or Leeds. 🙄
An aside on this: if Queensland wants to host the NRL Grand Final again, just build an 80,000 seat stadium. Perhaps one that could host an Olympic Games and be retrofitted to host oval and rectangular sports after the five rings circus leaves town. Maybe somewhere in the Victoria Park area given the site restraints at the Gabba and Lang Park.
Like what the Super League did back in the day, and the AFL have done with their Gather Round.
A commonality among all NRL clubs with the exception of the Brisbane Broncos.
The annual reports of Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club Limited, Valimanda Pty Ltd (the original company holding the licence to play in the NRL) and Holding M.S. Australia Pty Ltd are publicly available for purchase, but are dry as fuck. From what I can gather, the Storm have been profitable for a few years now, banking profits even through the pandemic.
I love to roil Melbourne Victory fans with this fun fact — they only need to look at the sign out the front to know the order of importance of the four (soon to be three) tenant clubs.
Either through greed (NRL) or because of the five ring circus.
One of only two occasions Melbourne have been held tryless in a match played in Melbourne.
Regular reminder that Fui Fui Moi Moi’s foot was in touch when he “scored” during the second half.