1999 Melbourne Storm season

1999 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank	3rd
Play-off result	Premiers
1999 record	Wins: 16; draws: 0; losses: 8
Points scored	For: 639; against: 392
Team information
Executive Director	John Ribot
Coach	Chris Anderson
Captain	Glenn Lazarus (26 Games) Tawera Nikau (2 Games)
Stadium	Olympic Park Stadium
Avg. attendance	12,902
High attendance	16,473 (Round 9)
Top scorers
Tries	Matt Geyer (20), Robbie Ross (20)
Goals	Matt Geyer (81)
Points	Matt Geyer (242)
← 1998 List of seasons 2000 →

The 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 season, finishing the regular season in 3rd out of 17 teams. Melbourne reached the 1999 NRL Grand Final and defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons, claiming their first premiership.

Stability in playing talent and continued off-field support from Melbourne's core supporters, produced a continued improvement in 1999. Injury took away Scott Hill and Robbie Kearns for much of the season. Melbourne's fullback Robbie Ross, winger Matt Geyer and front-row forwards Rodney Howe and Glenn Lazarus were all selected to play for New South Wales in the 1999 State of Origin series.

In their final home game at Olympic Park, the Storm lost to the North Sydney Bears and having had a bye in the last round and they had no opportunity to lift their form before fronting the St. George Illawarra Dragons in their first final. The Storm ultimately lost this game to the Dragons by 34-10 and looked set for a repeat of the 1998 exit.

Despite lacking confidence,^[1] Melbourne Storm outlasted the Canterbury Bulldogs by 24–22 to reach the preliminary final against Parramatta Eels. The Eels had let a place in the Grand Final slip out of their grasp in the same match in 1998, and were tipped to be much hungrier for a win than the Storm. Parramatta took a hold on the match, but the Storm did not relent and thanks to some last-ditch tackling stayed in the game. A late try to the Storm saw them win by 18-16 and secure a re-match against the Dragons for the title.

The Storm had lost twice to the Dragons already in 1999 and by the time Melbourne was behind by 0–14 at half time, it was more than apparent that St. George – Illawarra were going to take the premiership in their first ever season.^[1] There was nothing in the Storm's performance to indicate that a comeback was possible.^[1]

But Melbourne Storm recovered from their poor start with inspiring^[1] efforts from Paul Marquet, Brett Kimmorley and Tawera Nikau. Into the final minutes of the game the Dragons led 18-14 but were forced to drop out from their own line. On the fifth tackle Kimmorley kicked high into the Dragons' corner. As the Storm's winger Craig Smith caught the ball over the try-line he was knocked unconscious in a head-high tackle by Jamie Ainscough and lost the ball.

Referee Bill Harrigan deferred to the video referee and the replay clearly showed that if not for the illegal tackle Smith would have scored a try. A penalty try was awarded giving the Storm's Matt Geyer a conversion from in front of the posts to take Melbourne Storm to a 20–18 lead and the title.^[1]

• Pre season – Taking its full squad to Brisbane for the first trial of the season, Melbourne led 14–4 against Auckland Warriors, before a spirited fourth quarter comeback lifted the Warriors to a 16–14 win. Melbourne then made their second trip to Albury to take on the Canberra Raiders and in front of over 7,000 fans, finished strongly to win 24–18.^[2]
• Round 1 – Melbourne open the 1999 NRL season, winning the first game of the season 32–10. Matt Geyer scoring the first try of the season.^[3]
• Round 2 – Former Melbourne winger John Carlaw scored a try against the club in Balmain Tigers 16–6 victory. Carlaw said he "just wanted to prove a point."^[2]
• Round 3 – Storm thrash Brisbane Broncos 48–6 to inflict (what was then) Brisbane's heaviest defeat in their history. Aaron Moule becomes the first Melbourne player to be sent to the sin bin.
• 22 March – Melbourne coach Chris Anderson is appointed Kangaroos coach.
• 23 March – Stephen Kearney is suspended for five matches for a grade one dangerous throw charge, the suspension also ruling him out of the 1999 Anzac Test.
• Round 4 – Melbourne run the risk of censure from the NRL after introducing "Skirt Man" to the Olympic Park crowd before the game against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Storm CEO Chris Johns claimed the NRL judiciary's decision to suspend Stephen Kearney for five matches would see players "all wearing skirts".^[4]
• Round 6 – In his first game back following a 22-match suspension for steroid use, Rodney Howe is charged with a grade two careless high tackle in a tackle that broke the jaw of Auckland Warriors hooker Jason Death. He later is suspended for one match.
• Round 8 – Matt Geyer sets a new club record for points in a game with 24 (2 tries, 8 goals) against South Sydney Rabbitohs, eclipsing Craig Smith's mark of 18 points against Western Suburbs Magpies.^[2]
• Round 10 – In the club's first ever game in Western Australia, Melbourne thrash Western Suburbs Magpies 62–6 at Lathlain Park. Matt Geyer sets two new club records – most points in a game (34); tries in a game (4). He also equalled Craig Smith's club record 9 goals in a game. Geyer's 34 points was the sixth highest individual scoring effort in league history.^[2]
• 18 May – Robbie Kearns is thrown from a horse during a NSW Blues Origin "bonding camp" in the Megalong Valley organised by coach Wayne Pearce. Kearns suffers a broken collarbone, and is ruled out of action for months. Melbourne coach Chris Anderson later blasts Pearce in his newspaper column: "As far as I'm concerned, any coach who puts blokes on horses mid-season, let alone before an important representative clash, is off their rocker."^[4]
• Round 13 – Melbourne lose to joint venture club St George Illawarra Dragons in the first meeting between the clubs.
• 8 June – Scott Hill undergoes surgery on a shoulder injury ruling him out for the rest of the season, while club officials call for State of Origin players to be released back to their clubs on the weekend before any dead rubber games.
• 17 June – Paul Rauhihi is released from his contract with Melbourne to sign with Newcastle Knights. Rauhihi never played a first grade game for Melbourne.
• 23 June – Chairman John Ribot confirms Melbourne has been investigating a possible move to the under construction Docklands Stadium in 2000.
• 6 July – The NSWRL tell Melbourne that under no circumstances will they pay compensation to Robbie Kearns for the horse riding accident.^[4]
• 19 July – Tony Martin suffers serious facial injuries after a cycling accident.
• Round 21 – Melbourne inflict Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks first home defeat of the season, winning 26–18 in windy conditions.^[2]
• 28 July – Melbourne captain Glenn Lazarus announces he will retire at the end of the 1999 season to take up a coaching role with Canberra Raiders.
• 5 August – Storm lodge an official claim for compensation with the ARL on behalf of Robbie Kearns for income lost due to the horse riding accident.
• 14 August – Scott Hill suffers serious head injuries after being assaulted outside a nightclub on the NSW north coast.
• Round 24 – Melbourne win their sixth straight game (a new club record), winning the final home game of the season 44–14 against Western Suburbs, in what will be the final meeting between the teams before the Magpies merger with Balmain Tigers to form the Wests Tigers. In his 250th game, Glenn Lazarus kicks the only goal in his first grade career, converting a late try in his farewell to the Olympic Park crowd.
• Round 25 – North Sydney Bears upset Melbourne 20–24 at North Sydney Oval in what will be that club's last ever NRL game. As a result, Melbourne end the season third on the NRL ladder.
• 29 August – Halfback Brett Kimmorley ends speculation he was leaving the club by signing a new three-year contract to stay in Melbourne.
• Qualifying Final – Sixth placed St. George Illawarra Dragons upset Melbourne at Olympic Park in the first week of the 1999 NRL finals, with Nathan Blacklock scoring a hat trick for the visitors.
• Semi Final – Melbourne advance to the preliminary finals with a tight win over Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with Matt Geyer scoring the winning try after replacing Ben Anderson who had been dropped after the loss to St. George Illawarra.
• Preliminary Final – Coming from 6-16 down midway through the second half, fast-finishing Melbourne stun Parramatta Eels to win 18–16 to progress to the 1999 NRL Grand Final. Victorian viewers are left angry as extended coverage of the 1999 Victorian state election results delays live television coverage of the game on GTV-9.
• 21 September – Stephen Kearney is cleared to play in the Grand Final by the NRL Judiciary, despite NRL Commissioner Jim Hall saying Kearney had "established contact" with the head of Parramatta's Jason Smith's head and neck during the Preliminary Final. Hall was quoted as saying: "I cannot prove there was deliberate contact, and a striking charge must be deliberate."^[4]
• Grand Final – In front of a rugby league world record crowd of 107,999, Melbourne Storm stage a comeback 20–18 victory over St. George Illawarra Dragons to win the club's first premiership in just their second season. A penalty try to winger Craig Smith awarded by referee Bill Harrigan and video referee Chris Ward decides the outcome. Brett Kimmorley is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, with Tawera Nikau unlucky not to receive the award, which was voted on by the ARL Kangaroos selectors.
• 4 October – Tawera Nikau signs a two-year contract with Warrington Wolves, while Craig Smith rejects Melbourne's offer to stay with the club.
• 19 October – Ben Anderson is released by the club.^[4]

Round	Player	Milestone
Round 1	Stephen Kearney	Storm debut
	Scott Hill	50th game
Round 5	Marcus Bai	50th game
Round 7	Brett Kimmorley	50th game
Round 10	Richard Swain	50th game
Round 11	Aseri Laing	Storm debut
Round 13	Tasesa Lavea	NRL debut
Round 15	Tawera Nikau	100th game
Round 16	Brad Watts	NRL debut
Round 18	Brett O'Farrell	NRL debut
Round 22	Robbie Kearns	150th game
Round 23	Russell Bawden	50th game
Round 24	Melbourne Storm	50th game
Round 25	Glenn Lazarus	250th game
Grand Final	Danny Williams	100th game

During the 1998 season, Melbourne struck an apparel sponsorship agreement with Fila to manufacture and merchandise a range of club apparel. The home jersey was redesigned, maintaining the same colours as the 1998 version, but with white thunderbolts in a purple chevron. The gold trim and collars remained, and Honda continued with their sleeve advertisement.

A striking gold jersey was also designed as the club's clash colours; with that jersey worn in rounds 10, 15 and 23.

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
12 February	Trial	Auckland Warriors	Lang Park, Brisbane	Lost	14	16	C Smith, R Ross, S Hill	C Smith 1/3		[5][6]
20 February	Trial	Canberra Raiders	Lavington Sports Ground, Albury	Won	24	18	S Kearney (2), C Smith, M Bai, S Hill	C Smith, B Kimmorley		[7][8]

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
5 March	1	Penrith Panthers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	32	10	R Bawden, M Geyer, A Moule, R Ross, R Swain	M Geyer 6/9		[9]
13 March	2	Balmain Tigers	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	Lost	6	16	P Bell	M Geyer 1/3		[10]
21 March	3	Brisbane Broncos	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Won	48	6	R Ross (2), P Bell, W Evans, S Hill, B Kimmorley, T Martin, T Nikau	M Geyer 8/9		[11]
26 March	4	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	26	17	M Bai (2), S Hill, R Kearns, B Kimmorley	M Geyer 3/6		[12]
4 April	5	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	16	20	S Hill, P Marquet, B Roarty	M Geyer 2/3		[13]
9 April	6	Auckland Warriors	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Won	38	10	M Bai (2), P Bell (2), M Geyer (2), R Kearns, B Roarty	M Geyer 2/7, B Kimmorley 1/1		[14]
17 April	7	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	Lost	14	26	M Bai, M Geyer, S Hill	M Geyer 1/3		[15]
24 April	8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	52	16	M Bai (2), M Geyer (2), R Bawden, B Kimmorley, T Martin, B Roarty, R Ross	M Geyer 8/10		[16]
2 May	9	Brisbane Broncos	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	28	18	R Ross (2), S Hill, M Rua, D Williams	M Geyer 4/6		[17]
8 May	10	Western Suburbs Magpies	Lathlain Park, Perth	Won	62	6	M Geyer (4), R Ross (3), R Bawden, B Kimmorley, T Martin, A Moule	M Geyer 9/13		[18]
15 May	11	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	28	6	R Ross (2), M Geyer, T Nikau, R Swain	M Geyer 4/5		[19]
21 May	12	Bye
28 May	13	St George Illawarra Dragons	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	16	28	R Ross (2), M Geyer	M Geyer 2/3		[20]
4 June	14	Canberra Raiders	Bruce Stadium, Canberra	Lost	6	26	A Laing	B Kimmorley 1/2		[21]
12 June	15	Newcastle Knights	Marathon Stadium, Newcastle	Lost	26	27	M Geyer (2), M Bai, T Martin, T Nikau	M Geyer 3/5		[22]
18 June	16	Sydney City Roosters	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	26	8	S Kearney, T Martin, A Moule, T Nikau, M Rua	B Kimmorley 3/6		[23]
27 June	17	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval, Sydney	Won	19	18	B Kimmorley (2), B Roarty	M Geyer 3/5	B Kimmorley	[24]
2 July	18	Parramatta Eels	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	6	20	R Ross	M Geyer 1/1		[25]
10 July	19	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Won	20	24	A Moule (2), M Bai, M Geyer, B Watts	M Geyer 2/6		[26]
16 July	20	Canberra Raiders	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	30	10	B Watts (2), M Bai, T Martin, R Ross	M Geyer 5/7		[27]
25 July	21	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Shark Park, Sydney	Won	26	18	S Kearney (2), B Anderson, M Geyer, R Ross	M Geyer 3/5		[28]
1 August	22	Auckland Warriors	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	16	14	M Geyer, P Marquet, A Moule	M Geyer 2/3		[29]
7 August	23	North Queensland Cowboys	Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville	Won	30	24	M Bai, R Bawden, P Bell, B Kimmorley, R Ross, M Rua	M Geyer 3/7		[30]
15 August	24	Western Suburbs Magpies	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	44	14	M Rua (2), R Howe, B Kimmorley, G Lazarus, T Martin, R Ross, B Watts	M Geyer 5/7, G Lazarus 1/1		[31]
22 August	25	North Sydney Bears	North Sydney Oval, Sydney	Lost	20	24	R Bawden, M Geyer, A Moule, R Ross	M Geyer 2/5		[32]
28 August	26	Bye

Source:^[33]

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1999 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	18	0	6	2	586	332	+254	40
2	Parramatta Eels	24	17	0	7	2	500	294	+206	38
3	Melbourne Storm (P)	24	16	0	8	2	639	392	+247	36
4	Sydney City Roosters	24	16	0	8	2	592	377	+215	36
5	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	15	1	8	2	520	462	+58	35
6	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	15	0	9	2	588	416	+172	34
7	Newcastle Knights	24	14	1	9	2	575	484	+91	33
8	Brisbane Broncos	24	13	2	9	2	510	368	+142	32
9	Canberra Raiders	24	13	1	10	2	618	439	+179	31
10	Penrith Panthers	24	11	1	12	2	492	428	+64	27
11	Auckland Warriors	24	10	0	14	2	538	498	+40	24
12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	10	0	14	2	349	556	-207	24
13	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	9	1	14	2	454	623	-169	23
14	North Sydney Bears	24	8	0	16	2	490	642	-152	20
15	Balmain Tigers	24	8	0	16	2	345	636	-291	20
16	North Queensland Cowboys	24	4	1	19	2	398	588	-190	13
17	Western Suburbs Magpies	24	3	0	21	2	285	944	-659	10

• Head coach: Chris Anderson
• Assistant coaches: Greg Brentnall & Steve Anderson
• Football Manager: Michael Moore
• Head physiotherapist: Tony Ayoub
• Head Trainer: Steve Litvensky
• Trainer: Aaron Salisbury

List current as of 27 July 2021^[35]

Cap [a]	Nat.	Player name	Position	First Storm Game	Previous First Grade RL club [b]
1		Robbie Ross	FB	1998	Hunter Mariners
2		Craig Smith	WG	1998	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs[c]
3		Aaron Moule	WG, CE	1998	South Queensland Crushers
4		Paul Bell	CE	1998	Perth Reds
5		Marcus Bai	WG	1998	Gold Coast Chargers
6		Scott Hill	FE	1998	Hunter Mariners
7		Brett Kimmorley	HB	1998	Hunter Mariners
8		Rodney Howe	PR	1998	Perth Reds
9		Danny Williams	LK, SR, HK	1998	North Sydney Bears
10		Robbie Kearns	PR	1998	Perth Reds
11		Paul Marquet	PR, SR	1998	Hunter Mariners
12		Ben Roarty	PR, SR, LK	1998	Melbourne Storm
13		Tawera Nikau	LK	1998	Cronulla Sharks
14		Glenn Lazarus	PR	1998	Brisbane Broncos
15		Richard Swain	HK	1998	Hunter Mariners
16		Russell Bawden	PR	1998	Brisbane Broncos
18		Matt Geyer	WG	1998	Perth Reds
19		Wayne Evans	SR	1998	Perth Reds
20		Ben Anderson	FE	1998	Melbourne Storm
21		Tony Martin	WG, CE	1998	London Broncos
23		Wade Fenton	SR, PR	1998	Melbourne Storm
24		John Wilshere	CE	1998	Perth Reds
25		Daniel Frame	PR, SR	1998	Melbourne Storm
26		Matt Rua	PR, SR	1998	Melbourne Storm
28		Stephen Kearney	SR	1999	Auckland Warriors
29		Aseri Laing	WG	1999	Western Suburbs Magpies
30		Tasesa Lavea	FE	1999	Melbourne Storm
31		Brad Watts	FB	1999	Melbourne Storm
32		Brett O'Farrell	PR	1999	Melbourne Storm
—		Paul Rauhihi	PR	Yet to debut	Melbourne Storm[d]

Melbourne Storm

1999 Premiership Team						Interchange		Coach
1 Robbie Ross – FB  2 Craig Smith – WG  3 Aaron Moule – CE  4 Tony Martin – CE  5 Marcus Bai – WG  6 Matt Geyer – FE  7 Brett Kimmorley – HB  8 Glenn Lazarus (c) – PR  9 Richard Swain – HK 10 Rodney Howe – PR 11 Stephen Kearney – SR 12 Paul Marquet – SR 13 Tawera Nikau – LK						14 Matt Rua 15 Russell Bawden 16 Ben Roarty 17 Danny Williams		Head coach Chris Anderson Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s)

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 1999.

Player	1999 ANZAC Test	State of Origin 1	State of Origin 2	State of Origin 3	1999 Tri-Nations
Matt Geyer	—	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales	—
Rodney Howe	—	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales	Australia
Glenn Lazarus	Australia	New South Wales	—	—	—
Stephen Kearney	—	—	—	—	New Zealand
Robbie Kearns	Australia	—	—	—	Australia
Brett Kimmorley	—	—	—	—	Australia
Robbie Ross	—	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales	Australia
Matt Rua	—	—	—	—	New Zealand
Richard Swain	—	—	—	—	New Zealand

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 1999 NRL season.

• Statistics sources:^[36][37]

Name	Appearances	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Points
Ben Anderson	13	1	0	0	4
Marcus Bai	28	12	0	0	48
Russell Bawden	27	5	0	0	20
Paul Bell	14	5	0	0	20
Wayne Evans	12	1	0	0	4
Matt Geyer	26	20	81	0	242
Scott Hill	12	5	0	0	20
Rodney Howe	17	1	0	0	4
Stephen Kearney	22	4	0	0	16
Robbie Kearns	13	2	0	0	8
Brett Kimmorley	28	9	5	1	47
Aseri Laing	5	1	0	0	4
Tasesa Lavea	1	0	0	0	0
Glenn Lazarus	26	1	1	0	6
Paul Marquet	28	2	0	0	8
Tony Martin	25	8	0	0	32
Aaron Moule	25	9	0	0	36
Tawera Nikau	26	4	0	0	16
Brett O'Farrell	1	0	0	0	0
Ben Roarty	22	5	0	0	20
Robbie Ross	25	20	0	0	80
Matt Rua	26	5	0	0	20
Craig Smith	3	1	10	0	24
Richard Swain	28	3	0	0	12
Brad Watts	9	4	0	0	16
Danny Williams	14	1	0	0	4
26 players used	—	129	97	1	711

Most points in a game: 34 points ^[e]

• Round 10 – Matt Geyer (4 tries, 9 Goals) vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Most tries in a game: 4 ^[e]

• Round 10 – Matt Geyer vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Highest score in a winning game: 62 points

• Round 10 vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Lowest score in a winning game: 16 points

• Round 22 vs Auckland Warriors

Greatest winning margin: 54 points

• Round 10 vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 6

• Round 19 – Round 24

Highest score in a losing game: 26 points

• Round 15 vs Newcastle Knights

Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points

• Round 2 vs Balmain Tigers
• Round 14 vs Canberra Raiders
• Round 18 vs Parramatta Eels

Greatest losing margin: 24 points

• Qualifying Final vs St George Illawarra Dragons

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 3

• Round 13 – Round 15

Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Backing up the successful 1998 season by finishing second on the ladder, Norths Devils fell one game short of the 1999 Queensland Cup Grand Final, losing to eventual runners-up Redcliffe Dolphins in the Preliminary Final. Kevin Carmichael won his second straight player of the year award.

1999 Queensland Cup
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
2	Norths Devils	22	17	0	5	791	393	+398	34

• 1999 Provan-Summons Trophy

• Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Brett Kimmorley^[38][39]
• Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Matt Rua
• Melbourne Storm Clubman of the Year: Paul Marquet
• Mick Moore Chairman's Award: Glenn Lazarus

• Clive Churchill Medal: Brett Kimmorley
• Rugby League Annual – Players of the Year: Brett Kimmorley^[4]
• Rugby League Annual – Team of the Year: Glenn Lazarus (Prop)^[4]
• Rugby League Annual – Team of the Year: Stephen Kearney (Second-row)^[4]