Melbourne Storm the No 1 sporting club
BRENT READ
Senior sports writerSydney
@brentread_7
Bear with me on this. Yes that includes you, AFL fans. Seven years removed from a salary cap scandal that would have decimated most, Melbourne Storm are the No 1 sporting club in the country.
The Storm, who once lost in the vicinity of $7 million, are on the verge of returning a profit, a rarity in a sport where red ink runs rampant. They have spent the past six seasons in the top eight, this year qualifying for their second grand final in that time.
Their coach is in his 14th season and their captain may be the most respected leader in the country, despite what Sydney media would have you believe.
Their culture, that mysterious elixir that tends to define football teams, is held up as the blueprint for all others to follow. They have done all this in foreign territory, all the while surrounded by AFL clubs who for a long time would have happily swallowed them up.
They have become the standard-bearer in Australian sport. The prototype for others to follow. No doubt, there will be howls of protest from Hawthorn and Geelong. Perhaps even Collingwood and Sydney, where the Swans have carved a niche for themselves that is now under threat from Greater Western Sydney.
Rugby league types will point to Brisbane, a club that regularly returns multi-million dollar profits and boasts the wily Wayne Bennett as coach. Yet hear me out. Melbourne have taken up the running and show no signs of slowing down under an ownership structure that ranks among the canniest in the country, pieced together by businessman Bart Campbell when former owners News Corp Australia were looking for a buyer.
Campbell, once the manager of All Black icons Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, has interests that stretch across numerous continents. Among other things, he is the man responsible for bringing the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid to these shores.
His interest in buying the Storm came from left field. A long-term friendship with Melbourne head of football Frank Ponissi prompted the pair to catch up during the Melbourne Cup carnival four years ago.
Ponissi parked his car at AAMI Park and offered to show Campbell the facilities while they were in the area. Campbell’s interest was piqued. The pair went to dinner, Campbell gave it some thought and decided he fancied a challenge. He fastidiously formed a consortium involving long-time Storm supporter Gerry Ryan, CrownBet chief executive Matthew Tripp and New Zealand philanthropist Michael Watt.
Their passion for the club remains undimmed, their business savvy prompting the Storm to invest in a way that has meant they could be one of only a handful of teams to finish this year in the black, all the while keeping an eye out for opportunities to broaden their horizons.
They have branched out into netball, buying a franchise in the new professional league and tapping into a female supporter base.
Their slower climb towards profitability has been done with minimal impact on their football department. They remain in the top five clubs in the NRL in football department spending, furnishing coach Craig Bellamy with the funding to maintain their high standards.
Bellamy is arguably the finest coach in Australian sport. On his watch, the club has missed the finals just once — the year they were docked points due to the salary cap scandal.
He takes average players and makes them good. Each year, rugby league’s great unwanted arrive on the Storm’s doorstep and grow wings. Cheyse Blair will play in Sunday night’s grand final. He is at his third club and paid a pittance by NRL standards. Yet he has been a revelation this year.
Bellamy isn’t solely responsible. The club has a core of senior figures who demand the highest of standards, headlined by captain Cameron Smith. There are those who question his tactics when it comes to opposition and officials, but his leadership is without fault.
When Cameron Munster stepped out of line while on Queensland duties earlier this year, it was Smith’s words that resonated the most. When the club’s younger players needed a rev in the pre-season, Smith and the other leaders helped deliver the message.
Rugby league has spent recent decades playing catch-up with the AFL. The sport has fallen behind on major issues such as expansion. It is slowly closing the gap on broadcasting dollars.
Its clubs have lagged behind as well. The Storm are the exception. They now lead the way.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...b/news-story/4bb8e7d000ff32d957100663fe090d73
