NRL Rank 3rd Points scored For: 546; Against: 372 Coach Chris Anderson | Play-off result Semi Final Loss CEO John Ribot | |
1998 record Wins: 17; Draws: 1; Losses: 6 | ||
The 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Telstra Premierhsip and by Round 15 had climbed to the top of the 20-team ladder. They finished the regular season in 3rd place but were knocked out in the preliminary final by eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.
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The Melbourne Storm's first-up performance across season 1998 was a major surprise to many, with the new team reaching the top of the ladder in Round 15 and finishing the regular season in 3rd place, only one win behind minor premiers Brisbane. Adopting coach Anderson's new "flat-line" attack, the big Storm forwards laid a platform for their young halves Scott Hill and Brett Kimmorley to wreak havoc on opposing teams. Melbourne's front-rowers Glenn Lazarus, Robbie Kearns and Rodney Howe were all selected to play for New South Wales in the 1998 State of Origin series. A late season injury to captain Lazarus combined with a lack of Finals experience saw the Storm knocked out in the play-offs. The club though had proven they were to be taken seriously, and they had easily produced the best debut season of any new team in the game's history.
Ladder progression
Finals series
Melbourne surprised everybody by finishing 3rd after the regular season in their first ever year, only to be knocked out by the Brisbane Broncos in the Semi Final.