The 2001 Melbourne Storm season was the 4th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2001 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 9th place.
The 2001 season was the least successful in the Storm's history, missing the play-offs for the first time. After making a decision to move base from Olympic Park to the larger Colonial Stadium, the club seemed to lack the support, atmosphere and composure they had built up. It reflected in the team's on field performances, losing four of their first six homes games and 7 from their opening 10 overall. Amidst this time the Storm was rocked when coach Anderson quit the club after the 42-18 loss to Parramatta in Round 7.
Along with Richard Swain and Matt Orford, replacement coach Mark Murray lifted the Storm from their bad beginning. Melbourne won seven of their next ten games to reach 6th place on the ladder.
But the bad start had taken its toll, and with the 2001 finals in sight they won only two more games. A last round loss to Canberra saw the Storm finish outside the Top 8.
The 2001 season continued to mark the endurability of Kiwi Test hooker Richard Swain. He was on the field for every minute of the Storm's season and had yet to miss a game for Melbourne in the club's history.
Season summary Round 1 – 15,070 fans watch the first ever rugby league game played indoors, as Melbourne go down 10-14 against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Colonial Stadium. Referee Tim Mander, the touch judges and video referees are dropped after the round for failing to send off Storm forward Rodney Howe for a reckless high tackle on Steve Price. Howe is suspended for six games after pleading guilty to the charge. Round 6 – Despite a ruling from the NRL, the Colonial Stadium roof stays open for Melbourne's game against Newcastle Knights. 2 April – Head coach Chris Anderson quits after a poor start to the season and rumours of a falling out with club management. It had been reported that Anderson was interested in replacing outgoing Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coach John Lang. Norths Devils coach Mark Murray is installed as caretaker coach. 9 April – Storm owners News Limited indicate that the company was willing to sell its 50% share of the North Queensland Cowboys, but had no intention of deserting Melbourne. Round 9 – On Good Friday, Matt Orford outpoints former Melbourne halfback Brett Kimmorley in the former Storm halfback's first game in Northern Eagles colours against Melbourne. Aaron Moule equals the club record with four tries in the game. 23 April – Former head coach Chris Anderson is appointed head coach of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks from the 2002 season. 24 May – Robbie Ross undergoes surgery on a chronic hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for six weeks. In his place, Melbourne select former Australian Schoolboys rugby union halfback Paul Sheedy. Round 14 – Richard Swain plays his 100th consecutive first grade game. Round 16 – Tasesa Lavea becomes the first Melbourne player to be an unused interchange player in club history. 1 July – The Sunday Mail reports that the Queensland Government has confirmed that it has held talks with the Melbourne Storm about relocating to Brisbane and basing itself at Lang Park.
Round 18 – Melbourne celebrate their 100th game of premiership football with a record-breaking 64-0 win over Wests Tigers at Colonial Stadium. The 64 points is Melbourne's greatest winning margin, it was the first time holding the opposition to nil; while Matt Orford sets a new club record with 10 goals in the game. Richard Swain becomes the first player to have played in 100 games for the club, featuring in every game played since 1998. 12 July – Penrith Panthers sign Storm forward Ben Roarty on a two-year contract from the 2002 NRL season. 17 July – After announcing they were moving to the Cronulla Sharks ahead of the 2002 season, training staff Steve Litvensky (head trainer) Aaron Salisbury (strength and conditioning coach) immediately left the club with John Ribot denying that the pair were sacked, telling the media "they weren't sacked, they elected to leave. We're talking about a few weeks until the end of the season, so it's just a timing thing." Both staff members had been with the club since the club's inaugural season. Round 20 – Conceding a new club record of 54 points, Melbourne are thrashed by premiership fancy Parramatta Eels 10-54, with Jason Taylor equaling the Australian rugby league points scoring record of Daryl Halligan. Round 21 – The retractable seats at Colonial Stadium are brought in for the first time for a Storm game. It is rumoured that the costs to bring the seats in and replace damaged turf is in excess of 1m. Marcus Bai scores his 50th try for the club, the first player to reach that milestone. Round 24 – Melbourne maintain slim hopes of a place in the top eight with a narrow 28-24 victory over last-placed Penrith in a Monday night match at Colonial Stadium. Round 25 – A controversial 24-all draw with New Zealand Warriors seals the top eight door shut for Melbourne, meaning the club will miss the NRL finals for the first time. Referee Tim Mander is admonished for directing Matt Geyer to take a conversion kick two metres closer to the sideline than from where the Storm's final try was scored. Round 26 – Richard Swain becomes the first player to make 1000 tackles in a season. Swain also completes the marathon achievement of being the only forward to have played every minute of every game throughout the season. 20 November – Melbourne turn their back on Colonial Stadium, making the move back to Olympic Park for the 2002 season.
Milestone games
Round Player Milestone Round 1 Junior Langi Storm debut Matt Orford Steven Bell NRL debutRound 4 Paul Whatuira Storm debutRound 5 Richard Swain 100th game Henry Perenara Storm debutRound 11 Marcus Bai 100th gameRound 14 Paul Sheedy NRL debutRound 15 Scott Hill100th gameRound 18 Melbourne Storm 100th gameRound 23 Russell Bawden 100th gameRound 24 Semi Tadulala NRL debut
Jerseys
Melbourne's jerseys were again manufactured by Fila and carried the same design as the 1999-2000 home jersey. A new purple away jersey design with white and silver thunderbolts was worn in select games, with navy shorts and purple socks. For the first time, the jerseys displayed a front sponsor, with a white Adecco logo in a red box on the home jersey, with just the white logo on the purple away jersey.
Fixtures
Pre Season Date Opponent Venue Result Tries Goals Field goals 27 JanuaryTrial Penrith PanthersLavington Sports Ground, Albury4018B Roarty (2), B Martin, P Robinson, T Whatuira, M Bai, D Williams, B WattsM Orford (3), T Lavea 2 FebruaryTrial Northern EaglesBrookvale Oval, Sydney3040M Orford (2), B Roarty, J Langi, B Watts, R RossT Lavea (3)
Regular season Result by round
Matches Date Opponent Venue Result Tries Goals Field goals 18 February1 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Colonial Stadium, Melbourne1014M BaiT Lavea 3/324 February2 North Queensland Cowboys Colonial Stadium, Melbourne2832B Roarty (2), M Bai, B Watts, D WilliamsT Lavea 2/3, M Orford 2/33 March3 St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong2016B Watts (2), M Bai, M OrfordT Lavea 2/511 March4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Colonial Stadium, Melbourne3424M Geyer, S Hill, J Langi, M Orford, M Rua, P WhatuiraT Lavea 5/718 March5 Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney1040R Kearns, R SwainT Lavea 1/225 March6 Newcastle Knights Colonial Stadium, Melbourne2836S Hill, A Moule, M Orford, R Ross, R SwainT Lavea 3/4, M Geyer 1/131 March7 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Sydney1842J Langi, A Moule, H PerenaraM Orford 3/38 April8 Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium, Brisbane1618M Bai, M Orford, H PerenaraM Orford 2/313 April9 Northern Eagles Colonial Stadium, Melbourne5218A Moule (4), M Bai (2), R Bawden, S Hill, S KearneyM Orford 8/1022 April10 Sydney Roosters Colonial Stadium, Melbourne2223M Bai, M Orford, M Rua, P WhatuiraM Orford 3/529 April11 Penrith Panthers Penrith Park, Sydney5814M Orford (2), D Williams (2), S Bell, M Geyer, S Hill, B Roarty, R Ross, M Rua, R SwainM Orford 7/1112 May12 New Zealand Warriors Ericsson Stadium, Auckland4020A Moule (2), S Bell, S Hill, M Orford, R Ross, D WilliamsM Orford 6/819 May13 Canberra Raiders Colonial Stadium, Melbourne3228M Geyer (2), R Bawden, A Moule, P Robinson, R RossM Orford 4/727 May14 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sydney Showground, Sydney2826M Bai, R Bawden, S Bell, M Geyer, P RobinsonM Orford 3/62 June15 North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville2438S Bell (2), M Geyer (2), S Kearney, A Moule, H PerenaraM Orford 5/817 June16 St George Illawarra Dragons Colonial Stadium, Melbourne3428M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, S Hill, F Moala, H PerenaraM Orford 5/623 June17 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Toyota Park, Sydney1840S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M OrfordM Orford 1/45 July18 Wests Tigers Colonial Stadium, Melbourne640M Geyer (3), A Moule (2), R Howe, F Moala, M Orford, H Perenara, B Roarty, R SwainM Orford 10/1115 July19 Newcastle Knights Marathon Stadium, Newcastle1648M Bai, F Moala, M OrfordM Orford 2/420 July20 Parramatta Eels Colonial Stadium, Melbourne1054A Moule, M OrfordM Orford 1/229 July21 Brisbane Broncos Colonial Stadium, Melbourne3228M Bai, S Bell, M Geyer, F Moala, M Orford, R SwainM Orford 4/64 August22 Northern Eagles NorthPower Stadium, Gosford1220F Moala, M OrfordM Orford 2/412 August23 Sydney Roosters Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney2850S Kearney (2), S Bell, F Moala, P RobinsonM Orford 4/520 August24 Penrith Panthers Colonial Stadium, Melbourne2824R Ross (2), R Bawden, S Bell, T LaveaM Orford 4/627 August25 New Zealand Warriors Colonial Stadium, Melbourne2424S Bell, M Geyer, A Moule, M Orford, H PerenaraM Geyer 1/2, M Orford 1/31 September26 Canberra Raiders Bruce Stadium, Canberra632D WilliamsM Orford 1/1 Source:
Ladder
2001 Coaching Staff Head coach: Chris Anderson until 2 April 2001 Head coach: Mark Murray from 2 April 2001 Assistant coach: Anthony Griffin Football Manager: Greg Brentnall Physiotherapist: Greg Gibson Head Trainer: Steve Litvensky until 17 July 2001 Head Trainer: Troy Thompson from 17 July 2001 Strength and conditioning Coach: Aaron Salisbury until 17 July 2001 Strength and conditioning Coach: Dave Derbyshire from 17 July 2001
2001 Squad List current as of 10 August 2021
CapNat.Player namePositionFirst Storm GamePrevious First Grade RL club1Robbie RossFB1998 Hunter Mariners 3Aaron MouleWG, CE1998 South Queensland Crushers5Marcus BaiWG1998 Gold Coast Chargers6Scott HillFE1998 Hunter Mariners8Rodney HowePR1998 Perth Reds9Danny WilliamsLK, SR, HK1998 North Sydney Bears10Robbie KearnsPR1998 Perth Reds12Ben RoartyPR, SR, LK1998 Melbourne Storm15Richard SwainHK1998 Hunter Mariners16Russell BawdenPR1998 Brisbane Broncos18Matt GeyerWG1998 Perth Reds26Matt RuaPR, SR1998 Melbourne Storm28Stephen KearneySR1999 New Zealand Warriors30Tasesa LaveaFE1999 Melbourne Storm31Brad WattsFB1999 Melbourne Storm32Brett O'FarrellPR1999 Melbourne Storm34Fifita MoalaWG2000 Melbourne Storm35Brook MartinWG2000 Melbourne Storm37Glen TurnerSR2000 Melbourne Storm38Peter RobinsonSR2000 Melbourne Storm41Brenton PomeryPR2000 Wests Tigers42Junior LangiCE2001 St George Illawarra Dragons43Matt OrfordHB2001 Northern Eagles44Steven BellCE2001 Melbourne Storm45Paul WhatuiraCE2001 Auckland Warriors46Henry PerenaraLK2001 Auckland Warriors47Paul SheedyFB2001 Melbourne Storm48Semi TadulalaWG2001 Melbourne Storm-Nic HendersonSRYet to Debut Melbourne Storm-Tai LaveaFBYet to Debut Melbourne Storm-Marty TurnerHBYet to Debut Melbourne Storm-Jason WrigleyPRYet to Debut Melbourne Storm
Player movements
Losses Kevin Carmichael to Norths Devils Chris Essex to Released Wayne Evans to Northern Eagles Wade Fenton to Released Brett Kimmorley to Northern Eagles John Lomax to Retirement Paul Marquet to Newcastle Knights Tony Martin to London Broncos
Gains Junior Langi from St George Illawarra Dragons