Manly–Melbourne NRL Rivalry
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The Manly–Melbourne NRL rivalry is between two
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
clubs, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rug ...
and the
Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
, who are engaged in a modern-day rivalry. They have met 42 times since 1998, with Melbourne leading the head-to-head 25–16; there has also been a drawn match between the two sides. They have finished three regular seasons as the top two placed sides on the premiership ladder (
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
and 2011), although in the cases of 2007 and 2008, Melbourne had those minor premierships stripped from them due to the discovery of salary cap breaches in April 2010.Melbourne Storm stripped of everything
The Age


History


1998–2005

The
Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
and
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rug ...
first met in Round 18 of the
1998 NRL season 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, with the Storm winning 22–12 at Olympic Park Stadium. During the 2000-02
Northern Eagles The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Nort ...
period, Melbourne won three games over the failed joint venture and lost two. However Manly's first official victory over the Storm came soon after they were re-instated to the NRL in Round 6 of the
2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...
, with a 20–14 victory at
Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by ...
. The rivalry began in 2005, when Manly and Melbourne met in an early-season top-of-the-table clash at Brookvale Oval. The Sea Eagles defeated the Storm 25–18, on their way to reaching their first finals series since 1998. This match also marked the NRL debut of
Steve Matai Stephen Matai (born 5 August 1984) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL )from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national representative centre, he played for Australian club the Man ...
for the Manly-Warringah club.


2006–2009

Throughout
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
, Melbourne and Manly were in a two-way tussle for top spot on the ladder for much of the season. They met only once during the regular season, in Round 11, with Manly winning a close and physical match 13–12; the match also featured two serious injuries, whereby
Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire ...
copped an accidental knee from team-mate
Sam Tagataese Sam Tagataese pronounced () (born 8 December 1986) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who last played as a forward for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He played for the Melbourne Storm, Gold Coast Titans and the Cronulla-Suthe ...
and George Rose suffered a horrific leg injury. The two teams would later feature in the
2007 NRL Grand Final The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on 30 September, in front of 8 ...
, the first of two consecutive Grand Finals played between the two clubs. Melbourne defeated Manly-Warringah 34–8 to win their second premiership, in a match which was notable for Melbourne enforcer
Michael Crocker Michael "Croc" Crocker (born 21 June 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his clu ...
taking out Manly fullback Brett Stewart early in the second half with a hard but legal tackle; however, on 22 April 2010, Melbourne would be stripped of this premiership due to the discovery of salary cap breaches throughout the courses of the 2006–10 seasons. There were three meetings between the two clubs in
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
. Melbourne won both of their regular season meetings, including in the Grand Final replay in Round 5, and also at Brookvale Oval later in the season, though it was Manly-Warringah that won the match that mattered the most, the
2008 NRL Grand Final The 2008 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2008 NRL season. It was played between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm on Sunday, 5 October at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The 2008 Grand Final ...
; in a rematch of the previous year's premiership decider, Manly-Warringah would record a 40–0 victory to win their seventh premiership title and in the process deny the Melbourne club back-to-back premierships. Two of Manly's standout performers on the day were er Michael Robertson, who equaled the Grand Final record by scoring three tries, and
Clive Churchill Medal The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be Player of the match#Rugby football, man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest ...
winner, -forward
Brent Kite Brent Kite (born 7 March 1981) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Tonga and Australia international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative front-row forward, he played club ...
. This loss was the third worst defeat in Melbourne's history, and it was the first time since
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...
that the losing team did not score a point (coincidentally, Manly also won the 1978 GF replay defeating Cronulla-Sutherland 16-0 after the original GF had been drawn 11-all). Manly's 40-0 win over Melbourne also broke the record winning margin for a Grand Final, beating the 38-0 win by Eastern Suburbs over
St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. The rivalry remained strong after 2008, despite there being no subsequent Grand Final meetings between the two clubs. The two teams traded victories at each other's home grounds in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, with Melbourne winning at Brookvale Oval in Round 8 and Manly winning in Melbourne for the first time in Round 24, before Melbourne defeated Manly 40–12 in the qualifying final at
Etihad Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
en route to winning another premiership which would also later be stripped from them due to salary cap breaches.


2010–present

Manly won both of their premiership meetings in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, first at Etihad Stadium in Round 6 by 18–16 (in the last match before the Storm's breaches of the salary cap between 2006 and 2010 were uncovered) and then at Brookvale Oval in Round 22 by 26–6. In both matches, Manly led 18–6 at half-time. Melbourne then claimed its first victory over Manly since 2009 in Round 1, 2011 in a match in which they could compete for premiership points for the first time since that year, before Manly won a close, but brutal and violent match later in the season, known as the "
Battle of Brookvale The Battle of Brookvale was the unofficial name given to the Round 25, 2011 National Rugby League (NRL) match between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm, played at Brookvale Oval on 26 August 2011. A number of incidents in the fi ...
", where a minor scuffle erupted between
Glenn Stewart Glenn Stewart (born 11 January 1984) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Leigh Centurions in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , he ...
and
Adam Blair Adam Ngawati Blair (born 20 March 1986) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward and in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the New Zealand national rugby league team, New Z ...
, resulting in both players being sin-binned (and later sent off) after joining in a scuffle between Darcy Lussick and
Ryan Hinchcliffe Ryan Hinchcliffe (born 7 October 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, as a and , and previously played for the Melbourne Storm in the National R ...
. This was the first match attended by
David Gallop David Gallop is an Australian sports administrator, lawyer and served as the chief executive of the Football Federation Australia until December 2019. He previously served as the chief executive officer of the National Rugby League between Febr ...
of either side since suspending Brett Stewart from the first four weeks of the 2009 season for a sexual assault charge for which he would later be exonerated, and since stripping the Storm of two premiership titles and three minor premiership titles for salary cap breaches; extra security was hired for his presence at the game. Of the match itself, Gallop said: In the immediate fallout from the match, both teams were fined $50,000 each and a total of ten players were charged by the NRL judiciary system. At the conclusion of the season, Melbourne and Manly finished as the top two teams on the premiership ladder for the third time in five years. They were destined to face each other in the
Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
, but whilst the Manly-Warringah did ultimately make the decider (and went on to win), Melbourne were defeated in the preliminary final by the
New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
. The two teams met twice in
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, with Melbourne winning both times; first at Brookvale Oval in Round 15 by 26–22, followed by a 40–12 victory in the preliminary final at
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complet ...
en route to their second valid premiership and first since the salary cap breaches. Their first meeting in 2013, in
Round 10 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
, produced the first draw between the two clubs, with the final score being 10–all. They met again later in the season, in Round 25, with Manly winning 28–8. The two meetings between the sides in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
were both won by Melbourne: the first was a golden point, 23–22 victory in the opening round, in which Storm captain
Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Sm ...
kicked his first career field goal in extra time; Melbourne had trailed 20–4 at half-time. The second match saw the Storm also come from behind to win 22–19 over an injury-hit Manly side with debutant Kurt Mann scoring the match winning try with four minutes left. Manly won both of their meetings in 2015, including winning at
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complet ...
for the first time. Despite their two wins against Melbourne, Manly-Warringah faced a decline in the league by failing to make the top eight for the first time since 2004. In 2016, the sides met in round 24 where Melbourne won 38–18, claiming the minor premiership in the process, whilst Manly missed the finals for the second consecutive season. Melbourne won both meetings in 2017, first holding off a second half fight back by Manly at Brookvale to win 30–26 before defeating Manly 40–6 at AAMI Park in what was Cameron Smith's 350th NRL game. The first meeting held between Manly and Melbourne for season 2018 in round eleven at
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complet ...
was marred by controversy. While Manly won the match by 24–4 against a Melbourne side missing suspended captain
Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Sm ...
, the match was perhaps best remembered for a series of on-field incidents including four sin-binnings (
Jake Trbojevic Jake Trbojevic (born 18 February 1994) also known as “Jurbo” is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. Trbojevic has pla ...
,
Dylan Walker Dylan Walker (born 27 September 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, and has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level. He previously playe ...
,
Apisai Koroisau Apisai Koroisau (born 7 November 1992) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. A triple NRL premiership winner with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers, he previously ...
and
Josh Addo-Carr Josh Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He began his career with ...
) and the first send-off since 2015 courtesy of
Curtis Scott Curtis Scott (born 12 October 1997) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played in 2021, as a for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders in the Nat ...
throwing punches at Walker during a brawl reminiscent of the one between the two sides almost seven years prior. More drama occurred when Koroisau returned to the field one minute and 41 seconds earlier than he should've, presumably due to a timekeeping error. Melbourne lodged an official protest as a result. In 2019, Manly-Warringah handed Melbourne just their third loss of the season, winning 11–10 in golden point extra time with captain
Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...
kicking the winning field goal in the final minute of extra time.


Statistics


Head to Head

This table only includes competitive matches, excluding all pre-season trials


Results

:''This table only shows competitive matches, and not pre-season or exhibition matches. Scores list home team first''


Attendances

*Highest attendance: **Melbourne Storm at home: 25,543 – Melbourne Storm 40 – 12 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Preliminary Final, 2012 **Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at home: 20,414 – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 – 4 Melbourne Storm, Round 25, 2011 **Neutral venue: 81,392 – Melbourne Storm 34 – 8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles,
2007 NRL Grand Final The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on 30 September, in front of 8 ...
,
Telstra Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
*Lowest attendance: **Melbourne Storm at home: 10,020 – Melbourne Storm 40 – 10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Round 26, 2003 **Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at home: 7,084 – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 – 19 Melbourne Storm, Round 17, 1999 **Neutral venue: 0 – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18 – 28 Melbourne Storm, Round 21, 2021,
Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
1 1 Match was played behind closed doors due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Queensland


Players who represented both clubs


See also

*
Rivalries in the National Rugby League This is a list of rivalries in the National Rugby League. Traditional NSW Rivalries Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels The rivalry between Canterbury and Parramatta is one of the fiercest in The NRL. The two clubs have been ...


References


External links


Storm v Manly History
Melbourne Storm Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Manly-Melbourne NRL rivalry Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Melbourne Storm National Rugby League Rugby league rivalries Sports rivalries in Australia