The annual ANZAC Day clash comes up on what is now a triple-header of different sports in Melbourne.1 With the Warriors in good form, a competitive match awaits… just like this blast from the past in 2001.2
S04E25 – Melbourne Storm vs New Zealand Warriors
This week’s replay watch is available on the NRL website as a full match replay. Played on a Monday night3 at Colonial Stadium, with the AFL having played games at the venue on the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. This was the peak period of the Docklands Stadium turf looking and playing like an absolute cow paddock. Surprisingly for a Monday night, this was Melbourne’s third highest crowd figure for the season away from Olympic Park, with 13,298 the posted figure.4
There was a lot on the line going into the match, with Melbourne needing a win to stay in the race for the 2001 NRL finals, and the Warriors just needing one more competition point to make the finals for the first time in their history.
Warren Smith, Laurie Daley and Russell Fairfax were on the commentary for Fox Sports, for what would be the last match at the venue until the 2007 NRL finals.5
That bright yellow banner was certainly a statement, we certainly don’t make them like that anymore.6 Watching this replay also triggered my core memory of Melbourne entering the field to Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's I Won’t Back Down followed by Carl Orff's O Fortuna just before kick off. I say bring them both back instead of the current bunch of pregame rituals.
In team news, Scott Hill would start in jersey 17, with Matt Geyer moving back out wide in the six jersey. Aaron Moule wasn't supposed to play in this game, but was included after Tasesa Lavea withdrew after flying to Brisbane for the birth of his child.7 Tim Mander would have control of this one with a young Shayne Hayne one of the touch judges with Steve Richards the other. Mick Stone had control of the buttons as the video referee.
Coming into the game, Melbourne had conceded 10 tries in two games, thrashed by the Roosters at the SFS, then winning a 28–24 shootout against Penrith the previous Monday night. The Warriors were riding a four match winning streak, only conceding a single try in two matches against the Sharks and Roosters.
Early on the Warriors started brightly, apart from an amusing moment when the winger Henry Fa'afili lost his bearings and stepped into touch. The Warriors offloads were causing Melbourne issues and it would lead to the first try as Shontayne Hape crossed the line after the Warriors put it through the hands. Hape would beat Fifita Moala and Robbie Ross easily, for the visitors to take a 6–0 just after just 10 minutes.8
With the Warriors seemingly offloading at will, they would enjoy all the possession and field position as Melbourne kept making mistakes. Ali Lauiti'iti was all over the top of Melbourne, and eventually the Storm cracked again with a Stacey Jones bomb kick giving Fa'afili the ability to out jump Geyer to score another easy try.9
David Myles would score the Warriors third try to take the score out to 16–0 and Melbourne were in danger of being blown out by the visitors.10 Melbourne were simply awful with the ball, but then Hill conjured a hole in the Warriors right edge and put Steve Bell over to make it 16–4 with Orford unable to add the two.
The game’s next moment came when Fifita Moala was knocked out in a tackled that was called “one of those things that happens.” Moala would be stretchered off after a lengthy delay, with Russell Bawden his replacement in what would be his second last Storm game.
Following the delay, Melbourne finally got a bit of a roll on in the forwards with a bit of possession and on the back of the pressure, Robbie Ross crossed over… this is how Ben Vernon of the Herald-Sun wrote about the moment in the match report:
Rugby league games can often hinge on one incident and so it was last night.
The Storm, down 16-0 by the midway point of the first half had struck back through centre Steve Bell and appeared to be back to within a converted try when fullback Robbie Ross crossed soon after.
But Ross, who conjured a miracle try from nothing to win the match against the Broncos three weeks ago, slaughtered a certain four-pointer to end the Storm's season.
Ross had crossed the line and needed only to ground the ball cleanly next to the posts but somehow lost the ball.
Mander went back to check, but the one handed put down by Ross went awry.
Everything turned a bit scrappy and disjointed as the half wore on, with Peter Robinson coming close to scoring when he was held up with five to go before half time.
Panic football set in as Melbourne just kept making mistakes, which seemed to extend to Tim Mander somehow missing a clear strip in the lead up to Hape scoring his second try to put the Warriors up 22–4 at half time with Melbourne on the ropes.
Early in the second half, Hape would be the next player stretchered off, with the Warriors running low on both players on the bench and interchanges available. A penalty for a high tackle by Rodney Howe on Kevin Campion saw Jones take the two to make it 24–4 with 35 minutes left.
Melbourne would start the comeback with a try to Aaron Moule in the left corner, coming on the back of a Warriors turnover, but Matt Orford would miss the conversion attempt. Melbourne were starting to get a roll on over the top of a tiring Warriors defence, but Jones would stem the tide with a 40-20 kick when Ross couldn’t field it cleanly in the field of play. Melbourne held firm in defence though, with Ross and Geyer working well to get out of the in-goal area from a Jones grubber.
Tensions would briefly spill over after Orford was collared after he kicked the ball, and Howe went for a cheapshot in defence with Mander telling him (as on field captain at the time) “you're going at 100 miles per hour, let's get some structure and settle it down.” From the set to, Melbourne aimed up and should have scored, but for Howe going the million dollar grubber instead of passing to the two man overlap. On the next set the Warriors swarmed Melbourne and forced a Hill turnover on the last.
Both teams now were suffering from a loss of composure with the Warriors called up for a forward pass as Melbourne swarmed, and Storm stuffing it up with no communication in possession. The pressure burst when a Robbie Kearns offload saw Orford able to push off Mark Tookey to score with the little Ox able to bounce through for a try which he converted 24–14.
Melbourne were very left side focussed for long periods of this game, and when Orford was sent to the sin bin with just over 10 minutes to go, it looked like it was curtains. The 12-man Melbourne threw everything at the Warriors and the next try came from some more Hill magic down the left with Boofa scoring under the posts, converting his own try to make it 24–20 with six minutes to go, as the crowd found even greater volume under the roof.
Caught in a rush, Melbourne had one set to save their season from a scrum 20m out. Henry Perenara would tie it up with a try on the right flank with 90 seconds left, with Geyer to attempt to win the game with the conversion. Perenara crashed over with Mick Stone awarding the try after quite a few replays. The delay in awarding the try led to the last bit of shenanigans for the day as Geyer's kick to win the game was ordered by Mander to be much closer to the sideline from where Perenara had actually scored.11 Geyer missed the kick with seven seconds left and Melbourne's season was over.
This would be the 10th draw of the 2001 NRL season, a statistical outlier that seemingly caused the brain worms that infected a certain administrator.
Melbourne – 24 (Bell 24’, Moule 50’, Orford 65’, Geyer 73’, Perenara 79’ tries; Orford 1/3, Geyer 1/2 goals)
New Zealand Warriors – 24 (Hape 10’, 38’, Fa'afili 14’, Myles 20’ tries; Jones 4/5 goals)
Stat pack
Melbourne have played 15 matches on 25 April, with the current traditional fixture against the Warriors starting in 2009. Melbourne defeated both Penrith (1998) and Canterbury (2000), and have a 9–2–1 record against the Warriors. Manly defeated Melbourne 12–10 on ANZAC Day in 2015.12
Melbourne and the Warriors have drawn twice in their previous 49 meetings – the game reviewed above in 2001, and the 2009 ANZAC Day match which finished 14–all in very rainy conditions at Olympic Park.
Last year Melbourne equalled their highest NRL score, scoring 70 points in a 70–10 demolition of the Warriors, with Ryan Papenhuyzen scoring 22 points and Xavier Coates scoring four tries.
19 players13 have played NRL games for both the Warriors and Storm.
Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad played 37 games for the Storm in the NRL Under 20s competition in 2014-15, scoring 16 tries.
Melbourne skipper Christian Welch (9 games) and halfback Jahrome Hughes (8) are among current Storm players never to have lost an NRL match to the Warriors.
Team line-up
Nick Meaney
Will Warbick
Remis Smith
Justin Olam
Xavier Coates
Cameron Munster
Jahrome Hughes
Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Harry Grant
Christian Welch ©
Trent Loiero
Elisa Katoa
Josh King
Bronson Garlick
Alec MacDonaldTom EisenhuthTariq Sims
Grant Anderson
Aaron Pene
Tyran Wishart
Jonah PezetJack HowarthTepai Moeroa
Preview
With the Warriors coming into Melbourne for the annual ANZAC Day match for the Michael Moore Trophy, it is extremely timely that the magnificent minds of The Rugby League Eye Test to have done a deep dive into what’s happening with the team from across the ditch. That stat about the Warriors trailing for the majority of the matches, but still finding ways to win late is especially concerning for Storm fans, especially with Melbourne displaying a bit of fragility and panic in recent times.
The club’s official website also did a nice run down on the history of the ANZAC Day clashes between the teams, with this week being the 50th matchup between the teams.
In team list news, Nick Meaney will return at fullback, with Nelson Asofa-Solomona also returning to replace the suspended Tui Kamikamica. Must admit I thought that they might give NAS another week off so that he is 100% fit for the trip to Queensland for Magic Round after the bye. For the Warriors, captain and Storm player ⚡️1️⃣4️⃣4️⃣ Tohu Harris returned from injury last week, with the rest of the lineup looking stable.
Shaun Johnston has looked revitalised in his 13th NRL season and his form has been one of the key reasons behind the Warriors rise under coach Andrew Webster. The battle of the Kiwi halfbacks will certainly be one to watch, especially after Jahrome Hughes had an off night against Manly. Indeed there will be a few Storm players smarting from their performance against the Sea Eagles, and it wouldn’t surprise if there’s a few looking over their shoulders with the club’s injury list shortening ahead of the bye weekend.
I doubt this one will be the demolition that was last year’s fixture, and with the very early forecast for possible showers, Melbourne will need to improve their ball handling if they are to score enough points to outlast the Warriors.
Editor’s Note: There will be a bonus content post before the game on Tuesday, as there was a whole section of this piece that was cut.
Collingwood play the Melbourne Storm’s own Sunshine Coast Lightning at 12:30pm at John Cain Arena, then there’s the AFL from 3:00pm at the MCG. Theoretically a sports fan could attend all three matches and catch The Last Post at all three commemoration ceremonies.
I can’t promise that I won’t go back to the 2001 matches again, but there was some interesting games that season that are easily accessible.
Melbourne would play a few Monday night games in 2001, a full six years before MNF would return as a regular part of the NRL schedule.
Which was about 700 people more than the Demon’s win over the Dockers the previous afternoon, probably because Dees fans wouldn’t dare attend a game not played at the MCG.
It’s still TBC whether Melbourne will return to the now Marvel Stadium this season. If the AFL could let us know soon whether the Penrith and Parramatta home games will be there or the MCG, that would be great.
There’s some left over yellow crepe paper in the Banner Crew’s storage. It’s definitely not the same quality as the regular navy blue and purple.
Warren Smith mentioned this in the commentary, so being the nerd that I am, I checked the contemporary media reports to confirm this was true.
I’d forgotten that the league had saw fit to ban tees and made kickers use sand for restarts in this era because tees made the boomers sad.
Jones would miss the conversion after getting upset with his kicking tee. 2001 rugby league was wild man.
Melbourne scored 704 points in 2001 (only beaten by the Vlandysball 815 in 2021), but would concede a club record 725 in 26 games.
Mander would later be admonished by the NRL for the snafu with the conversion placement.
Wearing one of the worst jerseys ever to grace a rugby league field, but not quite as bad as this one.
John Carlaw, Tony Martin, Stephen Kearney, Paul Whatuira, Henry Perenara, Ryan Hoffman, Nathan Friend, Adam Blair, Ryan Shortland, Dane Nielsen, Wairangi Koopu, James Maloney, Todd Lowrie, Tohu Harris, Blake Green, Albert Vete, Aaron Pene, George Jennings, and Eliesa Katoa. (If I’ve missed any, please let me know so I can correct!)