When the NRL stripped Melbourne Storm of their 2007 and 2009 premierships for salary cap breaches and barred them from earning any points in 2010, the team still won 14 games that season despite having no tangible rewards to play for.
This resilience is why members of the Storm addressed St Kilda at a meeting inside RSEA Park on Friday. Although the Saints are mathematically still in the running for September, their season has realistically been over for weeks.
With eight games remaining before the weekend, Ross Lyon aimed to ensure St Kilda makes the most of July and August, hoping to salvage something from 2024.
AFL clubs have long tried to emulate the success of Craig Bellamy’s program, which has won three premierships and reached four other Grand Finals, despite rugby league being overshadowed by AFL in Melbourne.
High-profile Victorian businessman Gerry Ryan, owner and founder of Jayco Australia and professional cycling team Team Jayco, has been a long-time St Kilda supporter and part-owner of the Melbourne Storm since 2013. Ryan facilitated the meeting between the two organizations, which seemingly inspired the Saints to defeat premiership favorites Sydney at Marvel Stadium on Sunday by kicking the final four goals of the game.
“To be honest, we can’t get stuck in win-loss. It’s really about training prep, standards, and setting a foundation for future success,” Lyon said on Sunday night. “We’re really fortunate we’re building a relationship with the Storm. They shared their experience of playing a season without points and winning despite that, staying united throughout. That commitment to preparation and review laid the foundations for their future success.”
Lyon emphasized that while it’s unlikely and probably impossible for St Kilda to play finals, the focus is on how they train, prepare, compete, and review to set the standard for future success.
While Bellamy is the face of the Storm’s sustained excellence, Frank Ponissi, the club’s general manager since 2007, is credited as one of the best sports administrators in the country, having played a significant role in Melbourne’s success.
Robert Harvey has a longstanding relationship with the Storm from his time as a Collingwood assistant coach, and Lenny Hayes has also spent time doing personal development at AAMI Park. Storm player wellbeing manager Brian Phelan, who worked at St Kilda from 2001 to 2004, has been with the Storm for the past 20 years.
Despite St Kilda making the finals last year in Lyon’s first season back, they are currently three games outside the top eight with seven rounds left. The Melbourne Storm responded to their adversity in 2011 by nearly topping the ladder for the entire season, winning the minor premiership, and then winning the Grand Final the following year.
Time will tell if these lessons can help St Kilda secure an elusive second premiership, but Sunday’s positive response showed that even when it seemed they had nothing to play for, there was still hope.
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