*Memo Storm fans: This is NOT a hate post about your beloved club, so don't take it as such. Melbourne are a well-run organisation on and off the field, however I still think the points I am about to make are valid in the greater sense*
There's rarely an era in League history where one or two teams haven't been dominant- in the 50's it was Souths and St George, in the 60's it was St George, in the 70's it was Manly, in the 90's (to a lesser extent) Canberra and Brisbane etc.
On saying that, from a personal point of view, the Storm are one of my biggest 'Meh' teams in the NRL- one of those teams I have absolutely no feeling towards, positive or negative. Sure I'm glad it isn't Manly or the Broncos doing so well, but at the same time Melbourne don't excite me in any shape or form.
They are an out-post team made up of Qlders and ex-Sydney players, until they begin to get a fair amount of Victorians in their NRL side they'll always have that "artificial" feel to them. Their style of play is quite defence-oriented, with the odd flash of brilliance from somebody like Slater or Big Game to stop you from going to sleep. It's a pity, because the Storm have the playing roster to play a more entertaining, free-flowing style of football like the 2003 Warriors or the 2005 Tigers- and they could still win silverware.
Obviously I would rather see the Storm at or near the top of the ladder than the opposite, but how much does it benefit the wider League community when the best team of the era is from an area where the game and the club still goes largely unnoticed against the AFL? The Storm fans (of whom I know a few myself) are a dedicated lot, and they helped make Olpympic Park a graveyard, however IMO if a side with strong community support and League history like Penrith or North Queensland were the best side in the land, it would be more beneficial to the game as a whole.
