This week in Storm history | May 19 - 25
We take a look back at significant moments in the club's history during this week in years gone by.
May 19
2003: New South Wales selectors name an updated squad of 25 players for the series opener against Queensland on June 11. The new faces include Melbourne’s Robbie Kearns.
2018: Melbourne centre Curtis Scott becomes the first player sent from the field since 2015 when he is marched for raining punches on Manly's Dylan Walker.
May 20
2013: Arch-rivals Melbourne and Manly fight out the first draw of the season after 10 minutes of extra-time fails to break a 10-all deadlock. The results reignite debate over the future of golden point extra-time with leading commentators Phil Gould and Peter Sterling calling for its abolition during the regular season.
May 21
2007: Queensland enforcer Carl Webb is ruled out of the Maroons team for the Origin opener after breaking down at training with a hamstring injury. Melbourne prop Antonio Kaufusi is called into the team to make his Origin debut.
2013: A consortium headed by prominent New Zealand entrepreneur Bart Campbell are announced as the new owners of the Melbourne Storm. Former Harlequins rugby union chief executive Mark Evans takes over from Ron Gauci as the club’s new CEO. Other members of the consortium include former Sportsbet chairman Matthew Tripp and Jayco caravan founder and former Storm director Gerry Ryan.
2015: Fullback Billy Slater raises concerns in the Queensland State of Origin camp as his ongoing shoulder injury restricts his preparations for Origin I. It is revealed that Slater will require corrective surgery for the second successive year.
May 22
2010: Melbourne hooker Cameron Smith is ruled out of Queensland’s team for the opening State of Origin match with an elbow injury and is replaced by Manly’s Matt Ballin. Smith’s injury ends his run of 19 consecutive appearances in the Maroons’ line-up.
May 23
1999: Melbourne coach Chris Anderson blasts NSW coach Wayne Pearce over the Blues’ unusual team-bonding methods in his Sunday Herald Sun column. “As far as I am concerned, any coach who puts blokes on horses mid-season, let alone before an important representative clash, is off their rocker.”
2012: The opening State of Origin clash at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium ends in a firestorm of controversy when video referee Sean Hampstead awards Queensland centre Greg Inglis a contentious try that helps lift the Maroons to an 18-10 victory. NSW centre Michael Jennings is sin-binned for rushing into a first-half skirmish and is later suspended for one match for striking. The match is watched by a record audience of 3.957 million viewers Australia-wide.
May 24
2001: Melbourne fullback Robbie Ross undergoes surgery on a chronic hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for six weeks. He is replaced by former Australian rugby union schoolboys halfback Paul Sheedy.
May 25
2001: The entire Melbourne squad goes the “fully monty”, posing nude for a poster, with proceeds donated to charity.
2018: Melbourne captain Cameron Smith wins his final duel with North Queensland counterpart and close friend Johnathan Thurston after the Storm shade the Cowboys 7-6 at 1300SMILES Stadium.
