Graveyard. Shift.

Pretty pleased with my decision to go watch Melbourne Storm play their final game at Melbourne's Olympic Park. Saturday was the Storm's last game at the 50 year old stadium, and I almost didn't make it after going straight from a craptastic shift at work. Belting the Roosters 38-4 was the perfect send off, and almost completely distracted me from the miserable Melbourne winter weather. Affectionately dubbed, "The Graveyard", Olympic Park has been a fortress for the past 11 years and I'll be sad to see the team move on from this relic of a stadium, after having shared many weekends with random rugby league supporters in the AFL dominated city of Melbourne.

Next year the Storm will play their home games at the yet to be completed 31,500 seater adjacent to the old stadium.  The worrying thing for me is that the Storm will probably never play in front of a full house ever again. NEVER.  The new stadium is being built to be shared between the Storm and Melbourne's professional soccer team, but It is too big for rugby league and too big for Melbourne Storm. Just to put things into perspective, last night's momentous occasion for the Storm only drew a crowd of 13,223. That's about 5,000 shy of the old stadium's capacity. In comparison, games between AFL cellar dwellers easily pull 20,000 plus. Melbourne doesn't have a great League atmosphere and it's about to get worse.  Although there is great potential for the Storm in their new home, the new ground will lack the intimate atmosphere provided by a small passionate Melbourne following offered at The Graveyard.  Nothing sucks out homeground advantage like an vacant half full stadium. 

Yes, that was quite the haphazard, incoherent rant.  But this is my team and I want them to do well.  Stadium issues aside, sustaining Victorian interest in Melbourne Storm and rugby league boils down to sucess on the pitch.  Storm now has added incentive to properly christen their new home by winning th Premiership this year.