There is a smell of destiny about the Storm, a looming fate closely linked to the code's most aggressive enemy, the AFL.
The Storm's win over the Broncos on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, only five hours after Geelong had won the AFL grand final at the nearby MCG, puts the two clubs in historical tandem.
Geelong convincingly won the premiership in 2007, as did the Storm. The following year, both clubs, despite being minor premiers, stuffed up in their grand finals, imposing too much pressure on themselves.
Geelong overcomplicated simple shots at goal, and the Storm over-reacted to the loss of their captain, Cameron Smith. This year, they've returned to the big stage, with Geelong beating St Kilda in a tense match, and the Storm defeating the Broncos 40-10, setting up a meeting with Parramatta on Sunday at Homebush Bay.
Should the Storm beat the Eels, the two Victorian clubs can each boast two premierships in three years. Their coaching staffs have a friendly relationship, with Storm coach Craig ''Bellyache'' Bellamy and Mark ''Bomber'' Thompson holding joint training sessions.
The bosses of the codes, on the other hand, feign a convivial relationship, while fighting a covert war for players, sponsors, broadcasting dollars and government grants and influence.
NRL chief executive David Gallop did not attend the AFL grand final, arguing very reasonably that the boss of Coke doesn't go to Pepsi functions, nor has AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou accepted past invitations to events in Melbourne, such as State of Origin matches.
Their cordial relations are about to be tested, with the AFL planning to announce another signing of an NRL player following the $700,000-a-year deal with the Broncos' Karmichael Hunt, who was to be feted at the AFL grand final but instead had to sit in a hotel room waiting for his game with the Storm.
The next signing is expected to be a Sydney player with Australian football experience at the junior level.
The AFL also plans to ask government for $65 million to redevelop the Showground at Homebush Bay into a 25,000-seat stadium for the new western Sydney AFL team, which is set to enter the national competition in 2012. The NSW Government will be asked to contribute $40 million and the Federal Government $10 million, presumably meaning the AFL will release $10 million from its future fund.
NSW Treasury chiefs were wooed at Saturday's AFL grand final, and haven't given any indication that the government's $500,000-a-year contract to play the NRL grand final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium will be renewed when it ends with the 2012 grand final. Management rights to the stadium are held by a company owned by AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.
Yet people power could hinder the AFL's relentless push into Sydney, with more than 74,000 attending Friday's match between two western Sydney clubs, Parramatta and the Bulldogs.
The News Ltd press will continue its campaign to support the Eels, as it did last year when it managed the unthinkable and swayed Sydney behind Manly.
Yet in this battle between the two codes for support, the achievements of the Storm in Melbourne are grossly unacknowledged, ironic when you consider the club is owned by News Ltd.
Their under-20s team has also made the grand final, and their SG Ball under-18s team, in their first year in the prestigious competition, with 11 local lads, was beaten in the final.
A crowd of 27,687 on the chilly night of the AFL grand final, with the game televised live, is also evidence of support for the code in the southern capital.
A sign in the crowd read, ''In Melbourne, We speak Inglis'', a reference to Storm centre Greg Inglis, who scored three tries against the Broncos. Singer Dannii Minogue sat spellbound at Inglis's fundamental elegance.
AFL might well have the best father-son combination in the history of sport - Gary Ablett senior and junior - but what code can boast a player as big and as athletic as Inglis?
Storm players did not show any sympathy to Hunt, with Smith stinging him in an early tackle and their kickers booting the ball to him, rather than the sideline. He was forced to run the ball upfield and was monstered in tackles, losing possession from a high kick late in the game.
''Hunt will remember his last game of rugby league,'' one Storm official said with a hint of vengeance.
The Storm's win over the Broncos on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, only five hours after Geelong had won the AFL grand final at the nearby MCG, puts the two clubs in historical tandem.
Geelong convincingly won the premiership in 2007, as did the Storm. The following year, both clubs, despite being minor premiers, stuffed up in their grand finals, imposing too much pressure on themselves.
Geelong overcomplicated simple shots at goal, and the Storm over-reacted to the loss of their captain, Cameron Smith. This year, they've returned to the big stage, with Geelong beating St Kilda in a tense match, and the Storm defeating the Broncos 40-10, setting up a meeting with Parramatta on Sunday at Homebush Bay.
Should the Storm beat the Eels, the two Victorian clubs can each boast two premierships in three years. Their coaching staffs have a friendly relationship, with Storm coach Craig ''Bellyache'' Bellamy and Mark ''Bomber'' Thompson holding joint training sessions.
The bosses of the codes, on the other hand, feign a convivial relationship, while fighting a covert war for players, sponsors, broadcasting dollars and government grants and influence.
NRL chief executive David Gallop did not attend the AFL grand final, arguing very reasonably that the boss of Coke doesn't go to Pepsi functions, nor has AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou accepted past invitations to events in Melbourne, such as State of Origin matches.
Their cordial relations are about to be tested, with the AFL planning to announce another signing of an NRL player following the $700,000-a-year deal with the Broncos' Karmichael Hunt, who was to be feted at the AFL grand final but instead had to sit in a hotel room waiting for his game with the Storm.
The next signing is expected to be a Sydney player with Australian football experience at the junior level.
The AFL also plans to ask government for $65 million to redevelop the Showground at Homebush Bay into a 25,000-seat stadium for the new western Sydney AFL team, which is set to enter the national competition in 2012. The NSW Government will be asked to contribute $40 million and the Federal Government $10 million, presumably meaning the AFL will release $10 million from its future fund.
NSW Treasury chiefs were wooed at Saturday's AFL grand final, and haven't given any indication that the government's $500,000-a-year contract to play the NRL grand final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium will be renewed when it ends with the 2012 grand final. Management rights to the stadium are held by a company owned by AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.
Yet people power could hinder the AFL's relentless push into Sydney, with more than 74,000 attending Friday's match between two western Sydney clubs, Parramatta and the Bulldogs.
The News Ltd press will continue its campaign to support the Eels, as it did last year when it managed the unthinkable and swayed Sydney behind Manly.
Yet in this battle between the two codes for support, the achievements of the Storm in Melbourne are grossly unacknowledged, ironic when you consider the club is owned by News Ltd.
Their under-20s team has also made the grand final, and their SG Ball under-18s team, in their first year in the prestigious competition, with 11 local lads, was beaten in the final.
A crowd of 27,687 on the chilly night of the AFL grand final, with the game televised live, is also evidence of support for the code in the southern capital.
A sign in the crowd read, ''In Melbourne, We speak Inglis'', a reference to Storm centre Greg Inglis, who scored three tries against the Broncos. Singer Dannii Minogue sat spellbound at Inglis's fundamental elegance.
AFL might well have the best father-son combination in the history of sport - Gary Ablett senior and junior - but what code can boast a player as big and as athletic as Inglis?
Storm players did not show any sympathy to Hunt, with Smith stinging him in an early tackle and their kickers booting the ball to him, rather than the sideline. He was forced to run the ball upfield and was monstered in tackles, losing possession from a high kick late in the game.
''Hunt will remember his last game of rugby league,'' one Storm official said with a hint of vengeance.
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