Melbourne Storm slammed as Welcome to Country cancelled
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News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
‘Hall of asterisks': Melbourne Storm's act with ‘cheated trophies' angers NRL fans
The Melbourne Storm continue to publicly display the two premiership trophies that were stripped due to salary cap breaches, raising eyebrows in rugby league circles. A photo emerged over the weekend of the Storm's 2007 and 2009 premiership trophies on show inside AAMI Park for Thursday night's clash against the Brisbane Broncos. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The image was shared on social media by Ross Symons, CEO of Big Ant Studios, the company that produced the new Rugby League 26 video game. Symonds innocently shared some photos from inside the Storm's home ground ahead of the game, but the 2007 and 2009 trophies immediately caught the eye of his followers. 'Someone sent me a photo from AAMI Park the other night,' veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield told Triple M's Sunday Sin Bin. 'They have all these premiership winning trophies near where the players come onto the field — 99, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017 and 2020. 'Six grand final wins but only four premierships. 2007 and 2009 were taken off them. 'I don't think those two trophies they were stripped of for salary cap cheating should be displayed.' Co-host Ben Dobbin said: 'They're a reminder of what those previous players have done.' Former Bulldogs hardman James Graham said the constraints of the salary cap are an important part of the competition. 'If they were able to, Penrith could have kept (Jarome) Luai, (Stephen) Crichton, (Viliame) Kikau, (Matt) Burton — they could have sailed on for the next decade and it wouldn't have been close.' It's safe to say the Storm displaying the 2007 and 2009 premiership trophies didn't go down too well with some footy fans. One person commented: 'Love how they display their hall of asterisks like that, what a club - do they have the two sets of books framed too? A second said: 'Why are two cheated trophies there?' 'Nothing pisses me off more than Melbourne's 07/09 stance,' a third said. A fourth said: 'No way there still counting 07 and 09, cheats.' Another said: 'There appears to be two fictional trophies in that image.' It's not the first time Melbourne have come under fire for having their 'salary cap tainted' trophies on display. In 2023, the Storm paraded the 2007 and 2009 trophies along with the four other premiership triumphs as part of the club's 25-year anniversary celebrations. Greg Inglis and Dallas Johnson brought the 2009 trophy out onto AAMI Park as part of a club presentation. Inglis left the Storm for the Rabbitohs as the most high profile player to depart the club in the wake of the salary cap scandal, which saw Melbourne stripped of all premiership points in 2010. Storm legend Cameron Smith said the celebration of the 2007 and 2009 seasons was simply to acknowledge former players who were apart of the team during those seasons. 'I think it was purely an in-house thing that they were doing for the fans and the players and particularly the old boys down there,' Smith said on SEN. 'I don't ask them to understand the way we feel about it either. I completely understand people would say 'That's wrong, they shouldn't do that' and that's fine but at the same time, many people wouldn't understand the way we feel about it either. 'There were guys there that played in those grand finals and then were forced to leave the club in 2010. After that, they never had an opportunity to play in another grand final or an opportunity to win one. 'There was punishment handed down at the time and the club and the players and all the administration and fans had to live through that. At no stage was it an opportunistic time to show it off or parade it around,' Smith continued. 'The thing I want to get across is, I can understand why it's annoyed a lot of people and that's fine – as long as those people can acknowledge too that I don't think those people understand the way that the Storm people in that period feel about it at all.' Melbourne defeated Brisbane 22-2 on Thursday to cement their spot in the top four as hamstring injuries to playmakers Ezra Mam and Adam Reynolds left the Broncos reeling in the run to finals.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne Storm makeshift halves pair shine with Hughes to return before finals
Melbourne Storm will be without gun centre Jack Howarth for multiple weeks after suffering a groin injury in the lead-up to his team's stunning take down of the Brisbane Broncos as the Jahrome Hughes contingency plan went off without a hitch. With the availability of star Dally M-winning halfback Hughes up in the air due to a shoulder injury, the Storm have turned to utility Tyran Wishart and promising young half Jonah Pezet to fill the enormous void. Wishart producing an eye-catching performance at halfback for the first 50 minutes before Pezet was inserted for the last half-hour and excelled in Thursday night's 22-2 win at AAMI Park. Storm coach Craig Bellamy said there was no need to rush Hughes back due to the form of Wishart in particular, but would like him to have some match fitness before finals. 'I don't think we're any wiser than we were last week,' he said of the Hughes return date. 'He seems to be coming on pretty well and the physios are happy with the way he's coming on, so hopefully we'll get him back sooner rather than later. 'I'd just love to see him play a game before the finals to be quite honest, so we'll just see how that goes. 'We've got four weeks before the finals now, so we'll just see what happens. ''Wish' is doing a great job there and 'Pez' came on and did a solid job as well, so we're certainly not going to rush him.' Wishart capped a superb game with a try. The 25-year-old had 76 run metres, 243 kick metres and 33 tackles in 69 minutes, but more importantly looks in sync with five-eighth Cameron Munster. Bellamy loves the readiness of Wishart, who also spent time in the centres when Pezet had his stint at halfback. 'His versatility is unbelievable,' Bellamy said. 'He never lets you down, he always gets the job done. 'He's a great asset to have around … you just seem to be able to stick him anywhere and he gets the job done for us.' High flyer Xavier Coates played another starring role for the Storm with two tries. The 24-year-old was denied what would have been one of the tries of the season, a 95m intercept, by a few blades of grass and an unbelievable tackled by Broncos winger Selwyn Cobbo. 'He's been such a great addition to our team since he's come here,' Bellamy said. 'He just keeps really getting better and better to be quite honest. 'He's defending a lot better now, he's a lot more comfortable around the team and willing to give other players in the team advice, or a little rev when they need it. 'He had a great year last year and he's had a wonderful year this year so far, so hopefully he can keep it up.' Bellamy was thrilled with how the Storm's defence stood up, keeping a potent Broncos side to just two points after they posted 60 the week before. 'That was one of our better defensive efforts for the season I thought,' he said. 'There's still a few things attack wise we can improve a bit, but certainly it was a really good defensive effort and we're real happy with that.' Bellamy confirmed that young centre Jack Howarth will be out for multiple weeks with his groin injury.
The Age
6 days ago
- The Age
NRL Highlights: Storm v Broncos
Melbourne Storm take on the Brisbane Broncos in Round 23 of the 2025 NRL Premiership at AAMI Park, Melbourne.
