S28E01 Preview – Revenge of the Storm

Round 1 at home, what could possibly go wrong

Mar 07, 2025

Ah round one, a fresh start. Time to forget about 2024 Grand Final defeat and focus on trying to go one better. Could it be the Melbourne Storm 2025 revenge tour or are we headed down the path of the last three defeated teams. Only time will tell…

Melbourne Storm vs Melbourne Old Boys

This week Jason Ryles becomes the fifth former Storm player to coach a NRL men’s team, the third to coach against Craig Bellamy. It got me thinking about those players and how they’ve gone against Melbourne.

#028 Stephen Kearney

Mooks was the first former Storm player to coach against the Storm after taking the Parramatta coaching role in 2011. Melbourne beat the Eels twice in 2011, but lost their only meeting in 2012. Kearney would leave Parramatta after 2012, but got a second shot at NRL-level coaching in 2017 with the Warriors.

During his time in Auckland, Kearney’s Warriors lost six straight matches to Melbourne, with Kearney sacked during the 2020 season the week before playing the Storm.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 1 win, 8 losses

#063 Andrew McFadden

Cappy also coached the Warriors, stepping in as caretaker coach during the 2014 NRL season, before getting the role on a permanent basis. His first win came against Melbourne in the 2014 Anzac Day match at AAMI Park when the Shaun Johnston-led visitors won 16–10. While Melbourne would avenge that defeat the following year, McFadden got one over the Storm in Auckland late in the 2015 season which still stands as the last time the Wahs had a win over Melbourne.

McFadden was replaced as head coach of the Warriors at the end of the 2016 season by… Stephen Kearney.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 2 wins, 3 losses

#140 Jason Ryles

Ryles is the newest MOB to earn a NRL men’s head coaching role, becoming the ninth NRL-era Parramatta coach. He takes over a squad that finished 15th and narrowly avoided the wooden spoon.

Those three MOB are the only former players to coach against Melbourne so far, but there are a couple that didn’t get that opportunity. #007 Brett Kimmorley coached the Wests Tigers for 12 matches in 2022 after Michael Maguire was sacked, while #076 Brett White was officially the Canberra Raiders co-coach for a match in 2022 when Ricky Stuart was suspended by the NRL for his weak-gutted dog tirade.

Looking further afield though, there are a bunch of former Melbourne Storm assistant coaches who have come up against Craig Bellamy over the years for modest results, and going back even further we come to four games that inaugural Storm coach Chris Anderson went up against Melbourne during his tenures with the Sharks and Roosters.

Chris Anderson

After departing Melbourne mid-way through the 2001 season, Opes took up the Cronulla position for the 2002 season. In round 2 he got one over the Storm leading the Sharks to a 30–24 win. That would mark his only coaching win against Melbourne as the Storm did the double over the Sharks in 2003 and Anderson’s only match against Melbourne in his ill-advised 2007 season in charge of the Roosters also ending in defeat.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 1 win, 3 losses

Brad Arthur

Melbourne’s 2009 NRL Under-20s premiership winning coach followed Stephen Kearney to Parramatta as an assistant coach for the 2011 season, and stepped in as caretaker coach late in the 2012 season. Unwanted by Ricky Stuart for 2013, he jumped to Manly, but returned to Parramatta in 2014 as head coach. In 11 seasons as Parramatta coach, Arthur had one of the better records against the Storm, but would eventually be sacked after the Storm thrashed the Eels 48–16 at Magic Round last year.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 7 wins, 11 losses

Anthony Griffin

Hook was an assistant to Mark Murray in 2001 and 2002 and got his shot as the third head coach in Brisbane Broncos history in 2011. Griffin spent four seasons in charge of the Broncos, then almost three seasons at Penrith, followed by two seasons at the Dragons before being sacked in 2023. Melbourne sides tended to torture Griffin’s teams during his coaching career. Penrith did snag a win in 2018, but Griffin had already been shown the door.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 12 losses

Michael Maguire

Ah Madge. Back in the hot seat for 2025, this time with the Broncos. One of Bellyache’s assistants during the early years, his coaching journey took him to premierships at Wigan and South Sydney, then his nadir at Wests Tigers. Across ten NRL seasons Maguire has only got the better of Bellamy just once — the 2013 qualifying final at Homebush won 20–10 by the Bunnies.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 1 win, 13 losses

Adam O’Brien

A Melbourne Storm life member, O’Brien was a member of the football department as an assistant coach for 11 seasons from 2008–2018. He left to join the Roosters in 2019 before getting his big break to coach the Knights in 2020. Newcastle has made the finals in four out of his five seasons in charge, but haven’t really threatened the title contenders winning just one final (2023).

Coaching record against Melbourne - 2 wins, 5 losses

Dean Pay

After replacing Brad Arthur as coach of the Thunderbolts in 2010, Pay couldn’t replicate the success of his predecessor across three seasons in charge of the Under-20s squad. He was able to win at Under-20s Origin level though in charge of NSW. Poached by Ricky Stuart he went to Parramatta in 2013, he would get a shot in the NRL with Canterbury ahead of the 2018 season. The Dogs were not successful under Pay, eventually parting ways during the 2020 season.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 3 losses

Anthony Seibold

Currently the Manly coach, Seibold replaced Dean Pay at the Thunderbolts coach in 2013. He then replaced Michael Maguire at Souths in 2018 winning Dally M coach of the year. But he was shafted by the Bunnies for Wayne Bennett, instead moving to Brisbane to replace Bennett. That didn’t go so well for the Broncos, especially in 2020 when the club won their first wooden spoon, paying $1m for Seibold to leave the club during that season. Good times. Somehow Manly gave him their head coach job ahead of the 2023 season.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 3 wins, 5 losses

Kevin Walters

A Broncos legend, Kevvie has had an interesting coaching career here in Australia and in Super League with Catalans. He joined Melbourne in 2011 as an assistant coach, remaining with the club until the end of the 2013 season. Replacing Seibold at the Broncos in 2021, Walters might have led the Ponies to the 2023 NRL Grand Final, but that second half collapse might have been the catalyst that lead to his doom in 2024.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 1 win, 8 losses

Peter Sharp

Who remembers Peter Sharp being an assistant to Craig Bellamy? It happened. Sharp joined the club at the end of the 2003 season after ending his tenure at Manly. He would be in the Storm box with Dean Lance as assistant coaches for just one season, returning back to Sydney in 2005 linking up with Parramatta. Sharp would eventually end up at Cronulla where he stepped in as caretaker coach in 2013 and again in 2014 during that club’s Dank-era suspensions.

Coaching record against Melbourne - 1 win, 1 loss1

Stat attack

Melbourne have played just once on 9 March, beating St. George-Illawarra in the opening round of the 2015 at Kogarah. It was a Monday Night Football match, with the Storm getting up 12–4 on the back of tries to Young Tonumaipea and Will Chambers.
In the previous 46 matches between Melbourne and Parramatta, the Storm have won 28 including the last four in a row. That current streak ended a four match span Parramatta winning streak, which included their last win in Melbourne in 2022.
That 2022 victory was Parramatta’s third from nine visits to AAMI Park.
Will Warbrick will play his 50th NRL match for the club, having scored 32 tries (tied 30th in club history)

Team line-up

Ryan Papenhuyzen
Will Warbrick (50th match)
Jack Howarth
Nick Meaney
Xavier Coates
Cameron Munster
Jahrome Hughes
Stefano Utoikamanu (Storm debut)
Harry Grant ©
Josh King
Shawn Blore
Eliesa Katoa
Trent Loeiro
Tyran Wishart
Alec MacDonald
Tui Kamikamica
Lazarus Vaalepu
Grant Anderson
Bronson Garlick
Joe Chan
Sualauva Fa’alogo
Kane Bradley

Referee: Wyatt Raymond (Bunker: Grant Atkins)

Preview

Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels
— AAMI Park, 4:05pm Sunday 9 March 2025

Well, we go again.

Almost everyone is on deck for the season opener with Jahrome Hughes, Xavier Coates and Ryan Papenhuyzen all named despite various injury concerns in February. Effectively Melbourne will go into this match at full strength with only the suspended Nelson Asofa-Solomona missing out. In his place will be the luxury signing of Stefano Utoikamanu. I’m still not sure what to expect out of the big forward. He’s not of the same class as Payne Haas or the some of the other big name props, but used in the right way he should be an asset to Melbourne in attack. But it will be in defence that Melbourne will need to ensure they’ve got the right attitude and effort areas.

Looking at the Parramatta squad, their major out is Mitchell Moses. Zac Lomax joins the club, with Clinton Gutherson heading the opposite way to the Dragons. I guess that could be seen as an upgrade, but only because Lomax is younger and less prone to injury. A lot of the pressure is going to fall on Dylan Brown at five-eighth, while Junior Paulo is going to have to lead from the front for the Parramatta forwards. Their fullback Isaiah Iongi scored a nice try from a scrum play against the Tigers in their last trial match, but then also didn’t look so good in defence.

With only minimal change to the Storm line-up for 2025, part of me wonders where this squad can improve upon their efforts in 2024. Complacency feels like a concern. There are not many players looking for contracts either for 2026. My hope is that regression can be staved off for at least one more season. A nice run with injuries would also be fun.

The forecast for Sunday afternoon is going to be an uncomfortable 33°C with a warm northerly win. The BOM suggests some kind of rain activity in the evening, so whether that means a storm or a cool change close to the end of the match remains to be seen.

If the sun blocker could be in place for AAMI Park on Sunday, that would be super.

I expect Melbourne to win. I suspect that the round one streak at this point is legendary rather than a weight on the playing group. Parramatta are missing a little bit of quality in key positions, so unless Melbourne play down to their opposition (always a possibility), the job should be done and two competition points in the bank.

What else is going on?

The anticipated2 documentary on Craig Bellamy will premiere on Sunday on Stan. The documentary is called Revealed - Craig Bellamy: Inside the Storm and is made by the some of the same people behind The Test.

The NSWRL junior representative season has been going for a few weekends already. The Storm’s under-17s squad has been struggling in the Harold Matthews Cup, going winless through the first five matches of the season. It’s a more positive story for the under-19s, with the Matt Duffie coached squad sitting in sixth spot on the S.G. Ball Cup ladder following three wins from their five matches. Both teams will be in action against the Panthers at Seabrook Reserve on Saturday afternoon.

Joining the fray this week will be the under-21s as the Jersey Flegg Cup season kicks off. The squad will be heading up to The Bad Place to face the Roosters on Sunday afternoon.

With Tropical Cyclone Alfred causing havoc in South East Queensland, the Queensland Cup matches have been postponed.3 It does mean that the Sunshine Coast Falcons are sitting atop the ladder as they receive the two points for having a bye.4

Following on from the Jersey Flegg Cup match at Wentworth Park, the North Sydney Bears will take the field against the Roosters at 3pm. Marion Seve and Joe Chan are named to play for the Bears and they might be joined by a couple of other Storm players.