‘Road to AAMI Park’: The secret Storm program that’s key to rugby league exploding in Victoria

The Melbourne Storm has always been the master of identifying talent, but it has bigger plans in mind with its home-grown players.

All the focus has been on NSW and Queensland as they prepare for the second State of Origin clash in Perth, with Western Australia’s re-entry into the NRL in 2027 also attracting headlines across the country in recent weeks.

But there’s another state doing something special, with Victoria’s rugby league program on the rise, with several local juniors expected to become household names at the Storm in the coming years.

The Storm has traditionally been the master of identifying young talent and turning them into superstars, but the club has made a concerted effort to look at youngsters closer to home in a bid to expand rugby league’s footprint in the state.

Alec MacDonald, Harmony Taupau and Stanley Huen represent the Storm’s incredible pathways system.

“As a club, we’ve achieved so much in the first 25 years,” Storm director of football Frank Ponissi told the NewsWire.

“But to only have five players over our history to come through is not good enough.

“For years, the theory has been that the local talent isn’t in Melbourne. I believe that’s rubbish. It just hasn’t been nurtured the right way, so we had to nurture it differently, starting with getting them in Melbourne Storm jerseys.

“We’ve been really fortunate that our owners are 100 per cent behind it. It was two years ago that I put a proposal to the owners, and they backed it.

“It’s a program we’ve called ‘Road to AAMI Park’ and it’s to develop more Victorians to play for the Melbourne Storm.

“I think in the next one or two years, we’ll see more Victorian kids debut for the Storm, and after that, there’ll be a lot more.”

The Storm’s success on the field, coupled with their stability in the front office, has made them one of Australia’s most powerful sporting organisations in a market that will always put AFL first.

Frank Ponissi addresses a group of more than 120 players, including 70 Victorians. Picture: Supplied / Melbourne Storm

And that success is showing no signs of slowing down thanks to the programs in place that have attracted young athletes from the grassroots level and are now starting to reap the rewards in junior league competitions.

Participation numbers have risen by 67 per cent from 2021 to now (annual growth is 16 per cent), while female growth in Victoria is up 145 per cent over the past four years (annual growth is 36 per cent).

With nearly 6000 locals playing rugby league, it’s no surprise that the Storm is starting to thrive in the lower grades. Their Jersey Flegg team (under-21s) was on top of the table last week before dropping to third after a loss to the now ladder-leading Raiders.

“Two weeks ago, there were eight Victorian kids in the team that played against Penrith,” Ponissi said, with the Storm recording three wins and a draw in four games against heavyweights Penrith in the three junior competitions.

Matt Duffie is one of several former Storm players now part of the coaching staff. Picture: Dan Peled

“And our SG Ball team that got beaten in week two of the finals by Parramatta who were the minor premiers, we had nine Victorian kids play in that team.

“Our Harold Matts team is 100 per cent Victorians.

“There’s a big push by us to improve the number of Victorian kids – not just playing the game – but the quality of them.”

That’s been achieved by exposing young Victorians to footy from a younger age. Hallam College is producing plenty of local talent, with former representative star Nate Myles part of their program.

Former Storm players have helped out immeasurably, with Matt Duffie the Academy and SG Ball coach, Justin O’Neill is assisting with the SG Ball side, Ben Roarty is helping out with Flegg, while Ryan Hoffman will help out SG Ball next year.

Mark Russell has done a phenomenal job with the Flegg side after stints with the Sharks and Roosters, with the Storm to field four players in Thursday’s under-19 Origin clash as they look to turn their teenage talent into NRL stars.

Boys in blue 💙

Craig, Stef and Frank in Origin camp alongside Storm Junior Rep and U19 Origin Blue Cooper Clarke. pic.twitter.com/AivVdVpg9W

— Melbourne Storm (@storm) June 14, 2025

“We were losing a lot of kids to South East Queensland because they couldn’t see a pathway, but now they can and they can play for the Melbourne Storm when they’re 16. That’s been a big thing for us,” Ponissi said.

“We’ve now got four players selected in the under-19s State of Origin this week. Cooper Clarke is a front-rower who’ll be playing for NSW, and then we’ve got three for Queensland.

“Jai Bowden is an exciting hooker, Kobi Floro is a big front-rower, and then we’ve got a really exciting guy called Amaziah Murgha.

“The interesting one is that we’ve got some outstanding Victorian kids who have made the jump from SG Ball to Jersey Flegg in the past few weeks and they’re doing really well – guys like Waka Hammond and Suli Pole.

“Suli and his brother Fonua Pole are the perfect example of why we’re doing this.

“When Fonua was coming through, he had to move to Sydney because there was no clear pathway for him. Thankfully, his brother doesn’t have to.”