1998 Melbourne Storm season

• Pre season – Bookmakers install Melbourne as the $2.50 favourite to win the inaugural NRL wooden spoon. On 7 February wearing white jerseys, Melbourne win their first trial match against Adelaide Rams in Hobart in front of 2,500 fans.^[2] Brett Kimmorley scored the first try in club colours.^[3]
• 12 February – At the club's season launch, John Ribot reveals the official uniform of navy blue jerseys with a stylised white and purple chevron design, worn with navy blue shorts and socks.^[4]
• Round 1 – Melbourne upset Illawarra Steelers to record their inaugural premiership victory, with Scott Hill scoring the club's first tries. Storm are only the fourth non-foundation team to win on debut, and only the second to win away from home.^[2]
• Round 4 – A record crowd of 20,522 watch unbeaten Melbourne play their first home game at Olympic Park, with chaotic scenes outside the ground, fans are allowed to sit on the running track after half time.
• Round 5 – Auckland Warriors inflict the Storm's first defeat of the season.
• Round 11 – Melbourne and Illawarra Steelers play out a 14-all draw, with referee Paul Simpkins dropped after a number of errors in the game.^[2]
• Round 12 – Melbourne record the biggest win by a debut team in premiership history, thrashing Gold Coast Chargers 62–6 in that club's heaviest defeat in their history.
• Round 13 – Brett Kimmorley kicks the club's first field goal, in a 25–16 win over Balmain Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.
• Round 15 – After defeating North Queensland Cowboys, Melbourne finish the weekend on top of the NRL ladder for the first time.^[3]
• 26 June – Rodney Howe is revealed as the third NRL player in 1998 to test positive to a banned substance.^[2][5]
• Round 16 – A controversial try after the final siren to Tony Tatupu hands the Auckland Warriors a 24–21 victory at Olympic Park.
• Round 17 – Brisbane Broncos defeat Melbourne 34–16 in front of a crowd of 35,119, the highest attendance to watch Melbourne, and the second highest crowd in the 1998 regular season.
• 9 July – Rodney Howe is suspended for 22 matches by the ARL drugs tribunal for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Howe was accused of taking the anabolic steroid stanozolol to aid the recovery of a knee injury.^[2]
• Round 20 – Marcus Bai scores the first hat-trick in club history in a win against 1997 ARL Premiers Newcastle Knights, to cement a top four spot on the NRL ladder.
• Round 23 – In diabolical weather conditions, with the Belmore Sports Ground field resembling a swimming pool, Melbourne are almost held scoreless for the first time, with a late try to stand-in captain Tawera Nikau the only points for the Storm.
• Round 24 – Melbourne secure a home final by finishing third on the NRL ladder, ending the regular season with a 16–12 win over Canberra Raiders.
• 27 August – Chris Anderson wins the Dally M Coach of the Year award, with Marcus Bai (wing) and Tawera Nikau (lock) making the Team of the Year.
• Preliminary qualifying final – Without captain Glenn Lazarus due to injury, a second half masterclass from Brad Fittler hands Melbourne a 12–26 loss in their NRL finals debut.^[5] Before the game, Melbourne announce their first ever jersey sponsorship deal with the Honda logo appearing on player's sleeves.
• Elimination quarter final – Melbourne win their first finals game, defeating Canberra Raiders 24–10 to advance to the third week of the five-week finals series.^[5]
• Elimination semi final – Eventual premiers Brisbane Broncos knock Melbourne out of the 1998 NRL finals, in a game played at the Sydney Football Stadium. Melbourne putting in their worst performance of the season^[5]
• 19 September – Storm feeder team Norths Devils win the 1998 Queensland Cup Grand Final, featuring a number of players who played for Melbourne in 1998.

Melbourne's inaugural jerseys were navy blue jerseys with a stylised white and purple chevron design, with gold trim and collars, worn with navy blue shorts and socks. Until late in the season, there were no advertising logos, except that of manufacturer Nike. Unusually, Melbourne carried on the Super League innovation of having player names on the back of jerseys, ostensibly to assist new fans to identify players. The team wore the predominately blue jerseys in every game in 1998, except for the round 15 game against North Queensland Cowboys, when a predominately white jersey was worn with white shorts and socks.

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
7 February	Trial	Adelaide Rams	North Hobart Oval, Hobart	Won	26	22	J Wilshere (2), T Brady-Smith, B Kimmorley, M Bai	M Geyer 3/5		[6][4][7][8][9]
28 February	Trial	Canberra Raiders	Lavington Sports Ground, Albury	Lost	16	34	S Hill, R Swain, P Marquet	M Geyer 2/3

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
14 March	1	Illawarra Steelers	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	Won	14	12	S Hill (2)	C Smith 3/3		[10]
22 March	2	Western Suburbs Magpies	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney	Won	26	16	M Bai, P Bell, R Kearns, R Ross, D Williams	C Smith 3/8		[11]
28 March	3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Shark Park, Sydney	Won	26	18	R Bawden (2), M Bai, S Hill, R Swain	C Smith 3/5		[12]
3 April	4	North Sydney Bears	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	24	16	M Bai, S Hill, P Marquet, C Smith	C Smith 4/5		[13]
10 April	5	Auckland Warriors	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Lost	12	16	M Bai, P Bell	C Smith 2/2		[14]
19 April	6	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	Won	32	22	M Bai, J Carlaw, R Howe, B Kimmorley, T Nikau, R Ross	C Smith 4/6		[15]
25 April	7	Penrith Panthers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	22	14	J Carlaw (2), P Bell, R Kearns	C Smith 3/6		[16]
1 May	8	Western Suburbs Magpies	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	54	16	R Ross (2), R Bawden, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet, B Roarty, D Williams	C Smith 9/10		[17]
8 May	9	St George Dragons	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	14	18	R Bawden, D Williams	C Smith 3/4		[18]
15 May	10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Won	14	6	P Bell, A Moule	C Smith 3/3		[19]
24 May	11	Illawarra Steelers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Draw	14	14	G Lazarus, R Ross	C Smith 3/3		[20]
31 May	12	Gold Coast Chargers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	62	6	S Hill (2), R Ross (2), M Bai, R Bawden, B Kimmorley, P Marquet, T Martin, T Nikau, D Williams	T Martin 6/8, B Kimmorley 2/3		[21]
7 June	13	Balmain Tigers	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	Won	25	16	R Bawden (2), A Moule, B Roarty	B Kimmorley 2/4, T Martin 2/2	B Kimmorley	[22]
13 June	14	Adelaide Rams	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	24	4	S Hill (2), M Bai, B Roarty	J Wilshere 3/4, B Kimmorley 1/1		[23]
20 June	15	North Queensland Cowboys	Malanda Stadium, Townsville	Won	10	8	R Bawden	C Smith 3/4		[24]
27 June	16	Auckland Warriors	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	21	24	S Hill, T Martin, T Nikau, R Ross	C Smith 2/5	B Kimmorley	[25]
3 July	17	Brisbane Broncos	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Lost	16	34	M Bai, B Kimmorley, R Ross	C Smith 2/3		[26]
10 July	18	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	22	12	P Bell, W Evans, T Martin, C Smith	C Smith 2/2, B Kimmorley 1/2		[27]
17 July	19	North Sydney Bears	North Sydney Oval, Sydney	Lost	10	34	J Carlaw, R Swain	B Kimmorley 1/2		[28]
24 July	20	Newcastle Knights	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	32	16	M Bai (3), S Hill, B Kimmorley, R Swain	B Kimmorley 4/7		[29]
2 August	21	Sydney City Roosters	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Won	32	20	P Bell, T Brady-Smith, J Carlaw, S Hill, R Kearns, P Marquet	B Kimmorley 4/6		[30]
7 August	22	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	20	10	D Williams (2), M Bai, P Bell	B Kimmorley 2/4		[31]
14 August	23	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney	Lost	4	8	T Nikau	T Martin 0/1		[32]
21 August	24	Canberra Raiders	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	16	12	S Hill, B Kimmorley, T Martin	B Kimmorley 2/3		[33]

Source:^[34]

Preliminary qualifying final

Sunday, 30 August 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Melbourne Storm	12 – 26	Sydney City Roosters
Tries: 2 Bai Marquet Goals: 2 Smith (2/3)	1st: 4–10 2nd: 8–16 Report	Tries: 4 Barnett Elsegood Fittler Gourley Goals: 5 Cleary (5/6)

Olympic Park, Melbourne Attendance: 18,247 Referee: Paul McBlane

Elimination quarter final

Saturday, 5 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Melbourne Storm	24 – 10	Canberra Raiders
Tries: 5 Martin  24', 74' Geyer  2' Hill  17' Bai  35' Goals: 2 Kimmorley  pen 5', 17' (2/6)	1st: 20–0 2nd: 4–10 Report	Tries: 2 Mullins  56' Stuart  76' Goals: 1 Furner  57' (1/1) McNamara (0/1)

Olympic Park, Melbourne Attendance: 12,592 Referee: Steve Clark

Elimination semi final

Sunday, 13 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Brisbane Broncos	30 – 6	Melbourne Storm
Tries: 6 Renouf  50', 64' Campion  26' Lockyer  28' Carroll  59' Lee  73' Goals: 3 Lockyer  29', 60', 74' (3/6)	1st: 10–2 2nd: 20–4 Report	Tries: 1 Geyer  77' Goals: 1 Kimmorley  pen 14' (1/2)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 20,354 Referee: Bill Harrigan

• 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 21 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[d]
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	London Broncos
17		John Carlaw	CE	1998	Hunter Mariners
18		Matt Geyer	WG	1998	Perth Reds
19		Wayne Evans	SR	1998	Perth Reds
20		Ben Anderson	FE	1998	Melbourne Storm[e]
21		Tony Martin	WG, CE	1998	London Broncos
22		Anthony Bonus	PR	1998	Parramatta Eels[f]
23		Wade Fenton	SR, PR	1998	Melbourne Storm
24		John Wilshere	CE	1998	Perth Reds
25		Daniel Frame	PR, SR	1998	Melbourne Storm[g]
26		Matt Rua	PR, SR	1998	Melbourne Storm[h]
27		Tristan Brady-Smith	WG	1998	Perth Reds
—		Ryan Baker	SR	Yet to debut	–[i]
—		Ryan Gundry	PR	Yet to debut	–[j]
—		Chris McCausland	FE	Yet to debut	–[j]
—		David Palavi	HK	Yet to debut	–[k]

The first Melbourne Storm team to take to the field in Round 1 of the 1998 NRL season^[36]

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 1998.

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 1998 NRL season.

• Statistics sources:^[37][38]

Most points in a game: 18 points

• Round 4 – Craig Smith (9 Goals) vs Western Suburbs Magpies

Most tries in a game: 3

• Round 20 – Marcus Bai vs Newcastle Knights

Highest score in a winning game: 62 points

• Round 12 vs Gold Coast Chargers

Lowest score in a winning game: 10 points

• Round 15 vs North Queensland Cowboys

Greatest winning margin: 54 points

• Round 12 vs Gold Coast Chargers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4

• Round 1 – Round 4
• Round 12 – Round 15

Highest score in a losing game: 21 points

• Round 16 vs Auckland Warriors

Lowest score in a losing game: 4 points

• Round 23 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Greatest losing margin: 24 points

• Round 19 vs North Sydney Bears
• Elimination Preliminary Final vs Brisbane Broncos

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

• Round 16 – Round 17

Upon entry to the NRL, Melbourne Storm signed an affiliation agreement with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils to act as a feeder club and to provide Melbourne players who were not selected to play first grade a match each weekend. Players would fly to Brisbane each week after training in Melbourne to play Queensland Cup. The arrangement bore immediate results as the side coached by Mark Murray won the minor premiership. Featuring a number of players who had played for Melbourne in 1998, Norths Devils would go on to win the 1998 Queensland Cup Grand Final 35–18 against Wests Panthers.

1998 Queensland Cup
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Norths Devils (P)	22	16	1	5	872	394	+478	33