Hey Denis, hows Melbourne going?

Current NRL champions and Rugby League front runners the Melbourne Storm have left suburban Sydney teams in their wake as they registered higher crowds than several of the Sydney and regional games. The Wests Tigers, Dragons, Knights, Raiders, Manly and Cronulla all played their Round 1 2008 NRL games in front of lower crowds.

Every time Melbourne reach another NRL milestone, it means more people are laughing at Parramatta CEO Denis Fitzgerald who has been trying to de-rail the Storm for years – yet only succeeding at making himself look continually foolish. Fitzgerald is rarely taken seriously these days as his comments and actions defy words, but surely his comments about Melbourne not being deserving of an NRL licence must keep him awake at night.

Not only have Melbourne successfully grabbed another NRL Premiership, they continue to make massive advances off the Rugby League field. It’s widely known how successful their coaching and management staffs are; their knowledge and ability sought out the world around – with UK sporting outfits chasing Craig Bellamy while in the UK for the World Club Challenge.

The Storm also set the standard off the Rugby League field. They are always first to keep NRL News up to date with not only press releases; but in depth club reporting and news, along with complete access to the players for interviews – they truly leave the other clubs well behind.

Melbourne Storm CEO Brian Waldron has naturally delighted at the strong crowd of 20,084 at Monday night’s Round 1 NRL clash against the New Zealand Warriors. Icing the cake for the Warriors first season win.

Olympic Park, Storm’s usual home ground, has a capacity of 17,500 and would have been too small to cater for those wishing to attend.

“We’re very pleased with the attendance at the game on Monday and it just goes to show more and more Victorians are taking an interest in rugby league,” said Waldron.

“In very hot conditions, the Storm fans turned up in excellent numbers, and we couldn’t be happier. Had we played the game at Olympic Park we would have had a sell out! ”

Monday night’s crowd is the third largest of any home game during the regular season in the club’s history, with only the Storm’s very first game at Olympic Park (20,522 v North Sydney, Round 4, 1998) and the Round 1 clash of 2000 (23,000 v Dragons at the MCG) topping that figure.

In terms of Round 1 crowds, the numbers at Telstra Dome clearly outstripped those at traditional rugby league fixtures including the Sharks v Sea Eagles, Knights v Raiders, and Wests Tigers v Dragons games. Of all Monday night fixtures played since the introduction of Monday night football, Melbourne’s crowd against the Warriors sits sixth on the list.

ROUND 1, 2008 CROWDS

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CROWDS

So Mr Denis Fitzgerald, hows the Melbourne Storm going now? Or should they still be kicked out of the NRL?  If you forgot what you said about the Melbourne Storm a few years ago, click here for the full report.