Melbourne Storm is today proud to announce it has surpassed 25,000 members for the first time in the Club's history.
It's the eighth consecutive season Storm have broken their membership record, a period in which the Club reached a Preliminary Final in 2015 and back-to-back grand finals, including a Premiership in 2017.
The official current tally of 25,100 is the fourth highest membership base in the NRL.
The rise in membership has coincided with Melbourne Storm being the second most watched sporting Club on Australia television, with a cumulative TV audience of 17.5 million across Channel Nine and Fox Sports in 2017.
Average attendances at Melbourne Storm home games have also grown year on year for the last five consecutive seasons.
Match: Storm v Sharks
Round 22 -
home Team
Storm
3rd Position
away Team
Sharks
6th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
It is fitting that this year's target of 25,000 members has been achieved in the same year the Club is celebrating its 20-year anniversary.
Melburnians have embraced Storm with open arms across two decades, which has allowed this team to become a fabric of this sports-mad city and the purple army to now reach the record number it has today.
Storm CEO Dave Donaghy expressed the Club's gratitude to every member for their support and pointed to the enormous opportunity the Club has to continue breaking targets.
"Melbourne Storm would not stand proudly where it is today if it were not for our incredible members and the unwavering support they have shown us over 20 years.
"We play in the greatest city in the world, for the best fans in the world, in a world class stadium. When Storm home games are a sea of purple, there is simply nothing quite like it. The Club set a bold target of 25,000 and we're delighted we've been able to achieve the milestone together.
"Our goal is to now have the biggest membership base in the NRL and with a new generation of young, exciting players ready to take this football team into the future, we know there is an exciting opportunity right now for all Melbournians and the wider Storm family to be part of this next era of sustained success.
"We will now set ourselves for a massive finish to the home and away season - with three of our last four games at AAMI Park including this Sunday afternoon's blockbuster against the Sharks."
Storm's Membership Growth - By the Numbers:
2018: 25,100
2017: 20,507
2016: 17,518
2015: 15,704
