Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights play trial game — but fans locked out of AAMI Park

NOT a single fan watched the Storm and Knights kick off their 2018 NRL campaigns on Wednesday afternoon. We tell you why and wrap up all the action from the match.

Mitchell Pearce in his first appearance for Newcastle — in private.

FINALLY, rugby league is back. Or at least we think it is.

For in a bizarre twist to the usual hoopla of an NRL season launch — think the Auckland Nines, All Stars match or glitzy Jessica Mauboy performance — the 2018 campaign kicked off on Wednesday with all the anonymity of a wrong number.

Specifically, a lockout trial. In Melbourne.

SCROLL DOWN FOR A FULL REPORT FROM THE GAME YOU WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE

With the Storm playing Newcastle in an eerily empty stadium.

Having waited — no, salivated — through 66 days since the Rugby League World Cup final, footy fans were forced to hover over Twitter as the new year kicked off with a trial match between the reigning premiers and Knights at a padlocked AAMI Park.

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Mitchell Pearce in his first appearance for Newcastle — in private.

Here, truly, was a match where the yarns were everywhere.

Like Mitchell Pearce playing his first game outside the Roosters. Or Melbourne beginning life without Cooper Cronk.

And as for young Knights import Kalyn Ponga ... well, is there a league fan anywhere who doesn’t want to see what all the fuss is about?

Unfortunately, though, the 3pm match was played before only a handful of staffers from each club.

Elsewhere, Fox Sports cameras were also permitted to capture only the first 15 minutes of action before also being shown the door.

Which meant, for the best part of an hour, the defending champs challenged the summer’s undeniable fairytale story behind locked gates.

And why?

Brock Lamb in a weirdly empty AAMI Stadium.

Well, had Melbourne opened AAMI Park to the public on Wednesday afternoon, The Daily Telegraph understands the club would have been forced to pay all the fees, security costs and so on that go with hiring such a stadium.

All up, around $70,000.

So while coach Craig Bellamy was determined to have at least one hit out before playing Leeds in the World Club Challenge next Friday evening, Storm officials decided the game would stay behind closed doors.

“Boring economics,’’ CEO Dave Donaghy said when quizzed on the lockout.

“We would’ve loved to open the doors to our members. But given this was an unbudgeted game it’s something we just couldn’t justify.

“Importantly though, our main focus remains the World Club Challenge ... and we expect to have over 20,000 fans in attendance next Friday.”

Fans were denied a chance to watch Kalyn Ponga.

Officially, Melbourne were also not required to open the game to the public given the defending champs already have three more sanctioned warm up games — the World Club Challenge, a Warriors trial and the hyped testimonial match for Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston.

Yet as for what we can tell you about the game?

MATCH REPORT

MITCHELL Pearce has made a strong first impression at Newcastle by laying on two tries in a 26-22 NRL trial win over an understrength Melbourne. Pearce set up forward Lachlan Fitzgibbon early on Wednesday afternoon before completing his 40-minute stint with a leading grubber for fellow star signing Kalyn Ponga.

Played behind closed doors at AAMI Park, Ponga also added two conversions to his four-pointer before he too bowed out at halftime with the Knights leading 16-10.

The pair featured in a strong Knights line-up along with fellow new faces Herman Ese’ese, Aidan Guerra, Chris Heighington, Connor Watson and Jacob Lillyman. Knights coach Nathan Brown was delighted with the first hitout from his new-look side.

“Mitchell and Connor looked really good against Melbourne’s better side; they looked threatening and very sharp but as a whole our combinations will take a little bit of time,” he said.

“Both our hookers got a good bit of time and Kalyn (Ponga) got 40 minutes at fullback, so it’s a good starting point and we’ll need to get a lot better. “We had a lot of young boys playing in the second half as did Melbourne and they didn’t have Cameron (Smith) and Billy (Slater) playing.” The Knights claimed a six-point halftime lead on tries to Fitzgibbon, Ponga and Ken Sio, while the Storm countered through Dale Finucane and Tim Glasby. The visitors then shot out to a two-try lead when Jamie Buhrer touched down on the end of a Brock Lamb kick, only for Kenny Bromwich to pull one back just before the end of the third quarter.

Storm flyer Justin Olam set up an exciting finish when he levelled the scores in the 67th minute, however the Knights prevailed on a last-second try to Thomas Cronan.

The Storm were missing big three Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Will Chambers, while new first-choice halfback Brodie Croft was also kept in cotton wool. Sam Kasiano made his first club appearance off the bench in an outfit that also included Cameron Munster, Jesse Bromwich, Ryan Hoffman and Nelson Asofa- Solomona.

Prop Christian Welch also made his comeback from an ACL injury.

SCOREBOARD

Knights 26 (T: Fitzgibbon, Ponga, Sio, Buhrer, Cronan, G: Ponga 2/3, Lamb 1/2) defeat Storm 22 (T: Finucane, Glasby, K Bromwich, Olam, G: Munster 3/4)