title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Mukherjee's lab, with the help of PureTech Health plc, has been investigating chimeric antigen receptor redirected T cells (CAR-T) therapy in a joint venture called Vor BioPharma since 2016. They have combined CAR-T therapies with genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells to specifically target malignant hematopoietic lineages, while transplanted stem cells replenish the lineage but remain antigenically concealed. This technology has been developed so that, in addition to B cell malignancies, other lineage specific cancers could be targeted. This provides an important new approach to managing acute myeloid leukemia.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: In 2010, Simon & Schuster published his book "" detailing the evolution of diagnosis and treatment of human cancers from ancient Egypt to the latest developments in chemotherapy and targeted therapy. On 18 April 2011, the book won the annual Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction; the citation called it "an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science." It was listed in the "All-"Time" 100 Nonfiction Books" (the 100 most influential books of the last century) and the "Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2010" by "Time" in 2011. It was also listed in "The 10 Best Books of 2010" by "The New York Times" and "Top 10 Books of 2010" by "O, The Oprah Magazine". In 2011, it was nominated as a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Based on the book, Ken Burns made a PBS Television documentary film "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" in 2015, which was nominated for an Emmy Award.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Mukherjee's 2016 book "" provides a history of genetic research, but also delves into the personal genetic history of the author's family, including mental illness. The book discusses the power of genetics in determining people's health and attributes, but it also has a cautionary tone to not let genetic predispositions define fate, a mentality that led to the rise of eugenics in history and something he thinks lacks the nuance required to understand something as complex as human beings. Harriet Hall describes "Cancer" and "The Gene" as "the story of science itself". "The Gene" was shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016, "the Nobel Prize of science writing". The book was also the recipient of the 2017 Phi Beta Kappa Society Book Award in Science.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: In his book "The Song of the Cell", published in 2022, Mukherjee describes the history and medical mystery from the discovery of cell. Narrated in metaphors, many of which he created, such as "gunslinging sheriff for antibody and "gumshoe detective" to T cell, he tells the development of cell biology and how it became vital to modern medicine, from genetic engineering to immunotherapies. Suzanne O'Sullivan, reviewing in "The Guardian," explains the book as a tool for "the reader to imagine they are an astronaut investigating the cell as if it is an unknown spacecraft."


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: In his 2016 article "Same but different" in "The New Yorker", Mukherjee attributed the most important genetic functions to epigenetic factors (such as histone modification and DNA methylation). Giving an analogy of his mother and her twin sister, he explains:Chance events—injuries, infections, infatuations; the haunting trill of that particular nocturne—impinge on one twin and not on the other. Genes are turned on and off in response to these events, as epigenetic marks are gradually layered above genes, etching the genome with its own scars, calluses, and freckles.Mukherjee also claimed that understanding of epigenetics "would overturn fundamental principles of biology, including our understanding of evolution," as he said:Conceptually, a key element of classical Darwinian evolution is that genes do not retain an organism's experiences in a permanently heritable manner. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in the early nineteenth century, had supposed that when an antelope strained its neck to reach a tree its efforts were somehow passed down and its progeny evolved into giraffes. Darwin discredited that model. Giraffes, he proposed, arose through heritable variation and natural selection—a tall-necked specimen appears in an ancestral tree-grazing animal, and, perhaps during a period of famine, this mutant survives and is naturally selected. But, if epigenetic information can be transmitted through sperm and eggs, an organism would seem to have a direct conduit to the heritable features of its progeny. Such a system would act as a wormhole for evolution—a shortcut through the glum cycles of mutation and natural selection... Lamarck is being rehabilitated into the new Darwin.The article, an excerpt from the chapter "The First Derivative of Identity" of his book "The Gene: An Intimate History", "unleashed a torrent of criticism" from geneticists, as "The Guardian" book review wrote. As David Hornby of the University of Sheffield put it: "all (scientific) hell broke loose! It seemed to some that the slumbering giant of Lamarck was about to gain a new audience." Mukherjee foresaw the reaction, as he noted: "These fantasies should invite skepticism."


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: The article was critiqued by geneticists such as Mark Ptashne, at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and John Greally, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, because of overemphasis on histone modification and DNA methylation. They commented that these two processes have only minor influences in overall gene function. Steven Henikoff, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, opined that, "Mukherjee seemed not to realize that transcription factors occupy the top of the hierarchy of epigenetic information," and said, "histone modifications at most act as cogs in the machinery." Omission of transcription factors was viewed as an "overarching" mistake, as Richard Mann at the Columbia University Medical Center remarked: "Only a talmudic-like reading can reveal a hint that something other than histone modifications are at play."


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: It is now generally believed that histone modification and DNA methylations are major factors of epigenetic functions, aging and certain diseases, and with an ability to influence transcription factors. However, they contribute little to development. In response, Mukherjee did admit that omission of transcription factors "was an error" on his part. However, "The New Yorker" defended the article that: "None of it negates the fundamental importance of transcription factors."


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Jerry Coyne of the University of Chicago remarked: "Until there is evidence for this kind of evolutionary transformation—ANY evidence, people should stop yammering about this kind of 'Lamarckian' evolution." Phillip Ball, British science writer and editor of the journal "Nature," also agreed that Mukherjee certainly "got some things wrong." Writing in the "Prospect", he said, "Such claims [that some epigenetic changes can be inherited] are controversial—but even if they prove to be true, it seems highly unlikely that the effect will persist for many generations of will have long-term consequences for human evolution." According to Ute Deichmann of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, even if there are evidences of variation by epigenetic inheritance, they would not be counted as Lamarckian as they are not acquired or adaptive.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Mukherjee did not say that epigenetic processes have established Lamarckism, as he noted in his article that "epigenetic scratch marks are rarely, if ever, carried forward across generations." In an interview on NPR, he said, "[Lamarckian inheritance is] very rarely true and I would say almost never true.


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Mukherjee also criticises the IQ test as a measure of intelligence, and endorses the theory of multiple intelligences (introduced by Howard Gardner) over general intelligence. He argues that the results of IQ tests for determining general intelligence do not represent intelligence in the real world. Reviewing the book in "The Spectator", Stuart Ritchie, a psychologist at the University of Edinburgh, remarked that Gardner's theory is "debunked" and that "general intelligence is probably the most well-replicated phenomenon in all of psychological science."


title: Siddhartha Mukherjee

text: Mukherjee lives in New York and is married to artist Sarah Sze, winner of a MacArthur "Genius" grant and representative of the United States to the 2013 Venice Biennale. They have two daughters, Leela and Aria.


title: Magyar tribes

text: The Magyar tribes ( , ) or Hungarian clans were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and the subsequent established the Principality of Hungary.


title: Magyar tribes

text: The ethnonym of the Hungarian tribal alliance is uncertain. According to one view, following Anonymus's description, the federation was called "Hetumoger" (modern Hungarian: "'hét magyar"' - Seven Magyars) (""VII principales persone qui Hetumoger dicuntur"", "seven princely persons who are called Seven Magyars"), though the word "Magyar" possibly comes from the name of the most prominent Hungarian tribe, called "Megyer". The tribal name "Megyer" became "Magyar" referring to the Hungarian people as a whole. Written sources called Magyars "Hungarians" before the conquest of the Carpathian Basin when they still lived on the Steppes of Eastern Europe (in 837 "Ungri" mentioned by Georgius Monachus, in 862 "Ungri" by Annales Bertiniani, in 881 "Ungari" by the "Annales ex Annalibus Iuvavensibus"). The English term "Hungarian" is a derivative of the Latin "Ungri" or "Ungari" forms.


title: Magyar tribes

text: According to András Róna-Tas the locality in which the Hungarians, the "Manicha-Er" group, emerged was between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains. Between the 8th and 5th centuries BC, the Magyars embarked upon their independent existence and the early period of the proto-Hungarian language began.


title: Magyar tribes

text: Around 830 AD, when Álmos, the future Grand Prince of the Hungarians, was about 10 years old, the seven related tribes ("Jenő", "Kér", "Keszi", "Kürt-Gyarmat", "", "Nyék" and "Tarján") formed a confederation in Etelköz,


title: Magyar tribes

text: called ""Hétmagyar"" ("Seven Magyars"). Their leaders, the Seven chieftains of the Magyars, besides Álmos, included Előd, Ond, Kond, Tas, Huba and Töhötöm, who took a blood oath, swearing eternal loyalty to Álmos. Presumably, the Magyar tribes consisted of 108 clans.


title: Magyar tribes

text: The confederation of the tribes was probably led by two high princes: the "kende" (their spiritual ruler) and the "gyula" (their military leader). The high princes were either elected by the leaders of the tribes or appointed by the Khagan of the Khazars who had been exerting influence over the Magyars.


title: Magyar tribes

text: Before 881 AD three Turkic tribes rebelled against the rule of the Khagan of the Khazars, but they were suppressed. After their defeat they left the Khazar Empire and voluntarily joined the "Hétmagyar" confederation. The three tribes were organised into one tribe, called Kabar, and later they played the roles of vanguard and rear guard during the joint military actions of the confederation.


title: Magyar tribes

text: The joining of the three tribes to the previous seven created the On-ogur ("Ten Arrows"), one of the possible origins for the name "Hungarian".


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: Spiral (, ) is a French television police procedural and legal drama series following the work and the private lives of Paris police officers and lawyers and judges at the Palais de Justice, Paris. It was created by for the TV production company Son et Lumière. The first series of eight episodes started broadcast on Canal+ in France in December 2005.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: The series was shown in the UK on BBC Four during the summer of 2006. It was the channel's first French language drama series, attracting firm critical approval and a loyal audience of around 200,000. The second series, also eight episodes, was broadcast in France starting in May 2008, and in the UK on BBC Four starting in September 2009. The third series consisted of 12 episodes and was shown from April 2011. The fourth series was broadcast in February 2013. The fifth was broadcast in France in late 2014 and in the UK on BBC Four from January 2015. The sixth series was broadcast in 2017. The seventh series was broadcast in France in February 2019. Series four, five, six, and seven each consisted of 12 episodes.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: "Spiral" has been an export success, with sales to broadcasters in more than 70 countries including Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the first series was broadcast in 2008 on SBS One, the second series on SBS Two from September 2009 and the third series on SBS Two from mid-2012. "Spiral" debuted in North America via Netflix in September 2012, but is no longer available on the service.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: "Spiral" has received wide-ranging critical acclaim throughout its run, and has been nominated and won several awards. It has been nominated at the Globes de Cristal Awards four times, winning once. It was also nominated for Best Drama at the BAFTA Awards, and it won the 2015 International Emmy Award for Best Series.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: The original French title is . This word carries various meanings in French. Although it literally translates as either "gears" or "gearing", it is also used in various idioms and the official translation of the title picks up the phrase "a spiral of violence" (), though it also carries overtones of "getting caught up in the works" (), "getting some grit in the works" () and even "the cycle of drug abuse" (), or "gearing" in the sense of "intensification".


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: The body of a young Romanian woman is discovered on a Parisian rubbish dump, her face eradicated. As her identity and past life are gradually revealed by the investigating French justice system, it becomes apparent that her story ties to a network of corruption that may touch the people uncovering the truth about her. In the United Kingdom, series 1 was broadcast on BBC Four during May and June 2006, and repeated on BBC Four in 2009 in the lead-up to the broadcast of series 2.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: When the mutilated body of a young woman is found on a disused railway track in the North of Paris, near La Villette, Captain Laure Berthaud takes the opportunity to restore her image after her involvement in the death of Mustapha Larbi. She quickly thinks the murderer could be a serial killer, and her intuition is confirmed a few days later by the disappearance of a second young woman with the same physical appearance in the same neighbourhood. Time is running out to avoid new victims but the investigation goes badly: Berthaud and her men make mistakes, losing the confidence of their hierarchy, whilst newspaper articles on the so-called "Butcher of la Villette" increase. Moreover, the prestigious Criminal Brigade, led by Commissioner Vincent Brémont, Berthaud's former supervisor when she was a young police intern, now wants to get back the case.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: In the meantime at the Palais de Justice, while investigating an ordinary case of a child attacked by a dog in the wealthy suburb of Villedieu, Judge Roban discovers that the mayor might be involved in a bribery scandal. Prosecutor Machard immediately asks Pierre Clément to use his friendship with the judge to spy on him discreetly, in order to prevent a political scandal: the mayor of Villedieu is a personal friend of the President of France. Upon Clément's refusal, Machard is determined to get rid of this uncooperative subordinate. Meanwhile, Joséphine Karlsson and Szabo continue with their shady transactions.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: Police Captain Laure Berthaud and her lieutenants, Gilou and Tintin, investigate when, after his homemade bomb accidentally went off, a mortally wounded student is dumped by his accomplices in a Paris wood. Lawyer Joséphine Karlsson is getting herself into dangerous waters defending undocumented immigrants; her colleague, Pierre Clément, surprisingly finds himself representing crime boss, Johnny Jorkal; while Judge Roban returns to the Palais de Justice, sidelined and on the warpath.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: As the story unfolds to reveal a group of extremists intent on waging a war against the Parisian Gendarmerie and a dangerous arms trafficking operation, the police and the lawyers begin to turn on each other. Tintin is slightly grazed in the head by a bullet during a raid, is in a coma for a short period and later suffers from PTSD. Roban releases a man accused of rape because Roban believes the man was the victim of a plot to falsely accuse him; one alleged victim of the rapist commits suicide as a result of the release.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: Series 4, consisting of 12 episodes, was shot between 22 August and 9 December 2011 and between January and April 2012. It was broadcast in France on Canal+ from 3 September to 8 October 2012. BBC Four screened the series, subtitled "State of Terror," in its Saturday primetime foreign language drama slot from 9 February 2013 with two hour-long episodes a week, broadcast one after the other on Saturday nights.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: The filming of Season 5 of "Spiral" began on 2 December 2013, and lasted about eight months, producing twelve 52-minute episodes. The series was premièred on Canal+ in France on 10 November 2014, with two episodes shown each evening, though those with a subscription to the on-demand service had access to all twelve episodes at once.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: Series 5 began airing on BBC Four in the UK on 10 January 2015. The final two episodes were broadcast on 14 February 2015.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: The series was filmed from May to December 2016 and was broadcast in France on Canal+ from 18 September 2017 and in the UK on BBC Four from 30 December 2017 to 3 February 2018.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: Filming the twelve episodes began in January 2018 directed by Frédéric Jardin (episodes 1–6) and Jean-Philippe Amar (episodes 7–12). A double homicide in a Chinese restaurant in the 13th arrondissement leads to a wider story of money-laundering networks and governmental corruption. Broadcast commenced in France on 4 February 2019 on Canal+, and in the UK on 12 October 2019 on BBC Four.


title: Spiral (TV series)

text: This series has ten episodes. The examining magistrate Roban (Philippe Duclos) has retired. Lucie Bourdieu (Clara Bonnet) is less experienced and has strained relations with the police. Ali (Tewfik Jallab) takes a regular role. Scenes are set in the new Paris courts in the Batignolles district. Broadcast on BBC Four began in the UK on 2 January 2021.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to (for example) religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages. Government reports which have used these words include ones from Austria,


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: Canada, China, France, Germany, and Russia. While these documents utilize similar terminology they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe them.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: The Austrian government does not always distinguish sects in Austria as a separate group. Rather, religious groups are divided into three legal categories: officially recognized religious societies, religious confessional communities, and associations. In 2010, the most recent year for which sects were officially distinguished in Austria, the groups included the Church of Scientology, the Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, Osho movement, Sahaja Yoga, Sai Baba, Sri Chinmoy, Transcendental Meditation, Fiat Lux, Universal Life, and The Family International.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: A Canadian Security Intelligence Service report of 1999 discussed "Doomsday Religious Movements espousing hostile beliefs and having the potential to be violent.." Groups classified as "Doomsday Religious Movements" included:


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In 2005, the Hate Crimes Unit of the Edmonton Police Service confiscated anti-Falun Gong materials distributed at the annual conference of the American Family Association by staff members of the Calgary Chinese Consulate (Province of Alberta, Canada). The materials, including the calling of Falun Gong a "cult," were identified as having breached the Criminal Code, which bans the wilful promotion of hatred against identifiable religious groups.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In January of 2021, an online community founded by an unknown Canadian citizen emerged on the platform Discord named "cult of the dead rabbit." Developed as a tongue-in-cheek community of adult voice users, online cults have become more entertainment than realism.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: The General Office of Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China maintains a list of "heterodox teachings," (邪教) entitled "Information Regarding Organizations Identified as Cults e.g. the White Lotus Sect and the Red Lantern Sect."


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: Buddhist-based proscribed sects include Lu Shengyan's Taiwan-based Lingxian Zhenfozong (灵仙真佛宗, True Buddha School), Ching Hai's Guanyin Famen, and Yuandun Famen.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In 1995, a parliamentary commission of the National Assembly of France on cults produced its report (in French: compare an unofficial English translation). The report included a list of purported cults based upon information which may have been provided by former members, the general information division of the French National Police ("Renseignements généraux" — the French secret police service) and cult-watching groups.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: The criteria chosen by the French Renseignements généraux to establish the potential dangers of a movement were criticized since they were considered vague and may include many organizations, religious or not. One of the first criticisms came from bishop Jean Vernette, the national secretary of the French episcopate to the study of cults and new religious movements, who stressed that these criteria can be applied to almost all religions. Moreover, sociologists such as Bruno Étienne emphasized that the mental manipulation should not be defined by the policemen of the Renseignements généraux. The list of cults was based on the criteria defined by the Renseignements généraux, but without specifying which of their practices are specifically criticized. In addition, the secrecy of the work made by the RG led to questions about the presence or absence of certain organizations in the list. Étienne questioned the presence of the CEDIPAC SA company, formerly known as European Grouping of Marketing Professionals (GEPM), as its activity is not in the religious field. The absence of Opus Dei or the Freemasons also raised questions. In 2007, Yves Bertrand, General Director of the Renseignements généraux from 1992 to 2003, spoke about his collaborative work with the parliamentary reports on cults, and said: "Alongside genuine and dangerous cults practicing removal of school, abuse of weakness or pedophilia, some groups have been a bit quickly dress up of the word cult". Furthermore, on 27 May 2005, the 1995 list of cults of the French report was officially cancelled and invalidated by Jean-Pierre Raffarin's circulaire.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In France, Antoinism was classified as a cult in the 1995 parliamentary reports which considered it one of the oldest healer groups. However, in a 1984 letter, the French Minister of the Interior wrote that the movement was considered, from an administrative point of view, as having for exclusive purpose the exercise of a religion, thus complying with the 18th and 19th Articles of the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State. He added that antoinism had always been allowed to receive bequests or donations, which meant that its religious nature was never challenged. In addition, many anti-cults activists, associations or watchers said they had not noticed cultic deviances in this group. For example, when heard by the Belgian commission on cults, philosopher Luc Nefontaine said that "the establishment of a directory of cult movements (...) seems to him dangerous, because it would also give a bad image of quite honourable organizations such as (...) Antoinism". Eric Brasseur, director of Centre for information and advice on harmful cultish organizations (Centre d'information et d'avis sur les organisations sectaires nuisibles, or CIAOSN) said: "This is a Belgian worship for which we have never had a complaint in 12 years, a rare case to report". Similarly, in 2013, the Interministerial Mission for Monitoring and Combatting Cultic Deviances (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires, or MIVILUDES) made this comment: "We have never received reporting from Antoinists. They heal through prayer, but as long as they do not prevent people from getting proper treatment by legal means..." In addition, the Renseignements généraux stopped monitoring the religion given the absence of any problem. In 2002, the national service "Pastoral, sects and new beliefs" ("Pastorale, sectes et nouvelles croyances"), which analyses new religious movements from a catholic point of view, wrote about Antoinism: "Although listed among the cults in the 1995 Parliamentary Report, it has no cultish feature." Similarly, the French sociologist Régis Dericquebourg, who deeply studied the religion, concluded that Antoinism is not a cult: it "has no totalitarian influence on its members, and do not dictate their behaviour to get in the world; it is not exclusive [and] shows no hostility towards social systems".


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In France, the 1995 parliamentary report listed the Shri Ram Chandra Mission. This has been criticized by lawyer Lawrence Hincker, who said that "this system of meditation, called Sahaj Marg, does not lead to a life away from the world. It integrates all aspects of man, whether physical, mental or spiritual, without charge or austerity or penance or self-negation". According to the sociologist Bruno Étienne, an expert on religious issues, the SRCM publishes books as any other group but does not proselytize, and has never been convicted: "To us, it is fully a NMR (new religious movement), modern religious group, although based on an ancient tradition, and subject to serious arguments advanced by others more knowledgeable, we do not understand why it is criticized on the list of the damned". Raphaël Liogier, Director of the Observatory of religious and university professor at the Institut d'Études Politiques in Aix-en-Provence, said he did not understand the inclusion on the cult list of an association that is fully recognized in India.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In May 2005 the then Prime Minister of France, in a "circulaire", which stressed that the government must exercise vigilance concerning the cult phenomenon, said that the list of movements attached to the Parliamentary Report of 1995 had become less pertinent, based on the observation that many small groups had formed: scattered, more mobile, and less-easily identifiable, and that the government needed to balance its concern with cults with respect for public freedoms and laïcité (secularism).


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: The French Parliamentary report of 1999 on cults and money concentrated its attention on some 30 groups which it judged as major players in respect of their financial influence. It underlined the non-exhaustive character of its investigations, seeing them as a snapshot at a point in time and based on information available.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: An official report of a Senate Committee of the city and state of Berlin in Germany listed and discussed cults (), emphasizing with its sub-title their categorization as "entities espousing a world view and new religions". The 1997 Berlin Senate report — entitled "Cults: Risks and Side-effects: Information on selected new religious and world-view espousing Movements and Psycho-offerings" — subdivided "selected suppliers" ("ausgewählte Anbieter") of its objects of interest as:


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In 2008 the Russian Interior Ministry prepared a list of "extremist groups". At the top of the list appeared Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam", which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "Pagan cults".


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: In 2009 the Russian Ministry of Justice set up a council which it named "Council of Experts Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis". The new council listed 80 large sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones.


title: Governmental lists of cults and sects

text: Large sects listed included: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and what the council called "neo-Pentecostals".


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Importantly, it is dictated by the external market and not by management. The WACC represents the minimum return that a company must earn on an existing asset base to satisfy its creditors, owners, and other providers of capital, or they will invest elsewhere.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: Companies raise money from a number of sources: common stock, preferred stock and related rights, straight debt, convertible debt, exchangeable debt, employee stock options, pension liabilities, executive stock options, governmental subsidies, and so on. Different securities, which represent different sources of finance, are expected to generate different returns. The WACC is calculated taking into account the relative weights of each component of the capital structure. The more complex the company's capital structure, the more laborious it is to calculate the WACC.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: Companies can use WACC to see if the investment projects available to them are worthwhile to undertake.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: where formula_2 is the number of sources of capital (securities, types of liabilities); formula_3 is the required rate of return for security formula_4; and formula_5 is the market value of all outstanding securities formula_4.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: In the case where the company is financed with only equity and debt, the average cost of capital is computed as follows:


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: where formula_8 is the total debt, formula_9 is the total shareholder's equity, formula_10 is the cost of debt, and formula_11 is the cost of equity. The market values of debt and equity should be used when computing the weights in the WACC formula.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: Tax effects can be incorporated into this formula. For example, the WACC for a company financed by one type of shares with the total market value of formula_12 and cost of equity formula_13 and one type of bonds with the total market value of formula_14 and cost of debt formula_15, in a country with corporate tax rate formula_16, is calculated as:


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: This calculation can vary significantly due to the existence of many plausible proxies for each element. As a result, a fairly wide range of values for the WACC of a given firm in a given year may appear defensible.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: "The firm's debt component is stated as k" and since there is a tax benefit from interest payments then the after tax WACC component is k(1-T); where T is the tax rate.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: Using WACC makes the firm legally obliged to make payments no matter how tight the funds on hand are,


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: taking on more debt = taking on more financial risk (more systematic risk) requiring higher cash flows.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: K = D/P(1-F) + g; where F = flotation costs, D is dividends, P is price of the stock, and g is the growth rate.


title: Weighted average cost of capital

text: Marginal cost of capital (MCC) schedule or an investment opportunity curve is a graph that relates the firm's Weighted cost of each unit of capital to the total amount of new capital raised. The first step in preparing the MCC schedule is to rank the projects using internal rate of return (IRR). The higher the IRR the better off a project is.


title: Angela Lansbury on screen and stage

text: British and American actress Angela Lansbury was known for her prolific work in theatre, film and television.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The production of foie gras (the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some gastronomes.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Animal rights and welfare activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Legal Defense Fund contend that foie gras production methods, and force feeding in particular, constitute cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. Specific complaints include livers swollen to more than ten times their normal size, impaired liver function, expansion of the abdomen making it difficult for birds to walk, death if the force feeding is continued, and scarring of the esophagus.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2001, the Director of the New York State Government Affairs & Public Policy Dept. for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is one of America's leading environmental activist groups, wrote a letter to then NYS Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, asking that the state's foie gras producers be prosecuted for violating animal cruelty statutes.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Late in 2003, the French group Stopgavage ("Citizens' Initiative for the banning of force-feeding") published the Proclamation for the Abolition of Force Feeding, which asks justices to find foie gras production practices a violation of existing animal welfare laws. For this manifesto Stopgavage claims the support of over eighty French animal rights and welfare associations, over a hundred such associations from 25 other countries, and over 20 thousand individual signatories.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Stopgavage, through its president Antoine Comiti, has criticized the INRA (a French public research institute) for allowing its researchers to receive grants from the foie gras industry for conducting research aimed at contradicting the EU report conclusions. Robert Dantzer, a retired INRA researcher, calls the INRA studies "pseudoscience" and "convenience research".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2005, the organisations APRL, IDA and PETA released a video narrated by Sir Roger Moore showing footage the groups took inside the three U.S. foie gras farms and several in France.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: PETA wants this practice, which they say is cruel, stopped. Various American celebrities have lent their voices to this public campaign. Most recently in April 2009 PETA released a letter written by television and stage actor Bea Arthur to TV chef Curtis Stone deploring the practice of foie gras.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2014 Compassion in World Farming partners with other organizations such as the German "Albert-Schweitzer Foundation" and the French organization "L214" to pressure the EU Commission and EU Agriculture Council to take action against the production of foie gras.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The report of the European Union's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, "Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese", adopted on December 16, 1998, is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It examines several indicators of animal welfare, including physiological indicators, liver pathology, and mortality rate. It strongly concludes that "force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Members of the committee describe how geese and ducks show "avoidance behaviour indicating aversion for the person who feeds them and the feeding procedure". Although the committee reported that there is no "conclusive" scientific evidence on the aversive nature of force feeding, and that evidence of injury is "small", in their overall recommendations, the committee stated that "the management and housing of the birds used for producing foie gras have a negative impact on their welfare".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: On physiology, the report finds that based on studies available, "no definite conclusions can be drawn concerning the physiological activity of birds in response to force feeding" because although "force feeding induced hepatic steatosis in the duck or goose", "hepatic steatosis in the waterfowl is a normal metabolic response" and there was a low incidence of lesions. If gavage is stopped the "return to normal took approximately four weeks". As an economic indicator the report states "it is strongly in the interest of the farmer" to avoid disease as the "resulting fat liver is of no commercial value". It summarizes that "some pathologists consider this level of steatosis to be pathological but others do not" and recommends that research "should be carried out into methods of producing fat liver which do not require the use of force feeding".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The EU report notes that continued force feeding leads to early death of the animal, and the birds are typically slaughtered just at the point that mortality would drastically increase from the force feeding. In the studies it examined, "the mortality rate in force fed birds varies from 2% to 4% in the two week force feeding period compared with around 0.2% in comparable ducks".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: On the force feeding process, the EU committee examined several experiments carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) to detect pain or distress by looking at blood hormones, and found that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Other studies looked at behavioral aversion to the feeding process and found that force fed ducks avoided the feeding pen when given a choice, whereas a majority of the control group not being force fed would enter the feeding pen voluntarily. Daily hand-feeding of ducks and geese is normally associated with a positive response by the animals towards the person feeding them. In contrast, the working group observed that ducks and geese in a pen kept away from their force feeder when he entered the room. In an unpublished pilot experiment by INRA, ducks in cages reportedly displayed less avoidance behaviour to the force feeder's visit than to the visit of a neutral person coming along the cages later. However, in the working group's own observations, "Ducks in cages had little opportunity to show avoidance but sometimes moved their heads away from the person who was about to force feed them."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The report also recommends collection of additional data regarding the health of the animals, feeding methods, animal housing, and socio-economic factors.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2004 and 2005, the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates, the US accrediting body of veterinary medicine, was forwarded resolutions from its Animal Welfare Committee to oppose the production methods for foie gras. After hearing testimony from 13 delegates, the HOD declined to take a position and left a simple statement: "Limited peer-reviewed, scientific information is available dealing with the animal welfare concerns associated with foie gras production, but the observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The HOD sent delegates to visit foie gras farms. One delegate, Robert P Gordon of New Jersey, indicated his personal position changed drastically after the visit. He also testified tube feeding is less distressing than taking the rectal temperature of a cat and urged the AVMA to take a position based on science, not emotion, while cautioning against anthropomorphism. The New York delegation offered their opinion that opponents of foie gras were intending to create a wedge issue; that the arguments used against foie gras would be modified to be used against other livestock production. The testimony of the delegate from the Association of Avian Veterinarians was that medicating and feeding sick birds via tube was a normal practice that birds accepted without stress. Another delegate who toured the farms stated that the birds appeared to be well cared for and better off than other poultry raised in factory farming. The overall position of the House of Delegates was that "observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved." The closing comments in the HOD were that the AVMA should be taking positions on facts and science, make broad policy positions on general animal welfare, and support positions that created oversight of controversial practices for fear that prohibition would cause production to move to countries without animal welfare regulation.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Critics of the AVMA have stated that the organization tends to defend the economic interests of agribusiness over animal welfare, and that it has also declined to take a position against other controversial practices such as forced molting and gestation crates.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In June 2005, "New York Times" editor Lawrence Downes was invited to a visit of the same farm, including specifically the gavage process, and he "saw no pain or panic...The birds submitted matter-of-factly to a 15-inch tube inserted down the throat for about three seconds, delivering about a cup of corn pellets. The practice...seemed neither particularly gentle nor particularly rough."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Dr. Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the NYSDEC and Adjunct Professor at SUNY has on several occasions conducted post-mortems on ducks that died from force feeding, including from the same farm a few months after Mr. Downes' visit. In September 2005, he writes: "the short tortured lives of ducks raised for foie gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from foie gras production, I strongly recommend that this practice be outlawed."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2005, the delegates from New Jersey and Vermont of the American Veterinary Medical Association gave testimony to the organization after touring tube-feeding farms. Dr. Robert Gordon had visited a farm in New York on July 5. He noted, "After being on the premises, my position changed dramatically. I did not see animals I would consider distressed, and I didn't see pain and suffering." As written at AVMA news, Dr. Thomas Munschauer visited a New York farm at the request of "both sides." "I didn't see exploding esophaguses ... and it didn't seem like the birds were distressed. For the most part, they appear to be well-cared-for. That's what I saw."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In January 2009, The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureau recommended that New Jersey-based foie gras producer D'Artagnan cease advertising claims that their product is made from "enlarged" rather than "diseased" livers, and that the animals were "hand-raised with tender care". D'Artagnan voluntarily modified their advertising to remove the claims which the agency said had not been "adequately substantiated."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Most foie gras producers do not consider their methods cruel, insisting that it is a natural process exploiting the animals' natural features. Producers argue that wild ducks and geese naturally ingest large amounts of whole food and gain weight before migration. They claim that geese and ducks do not have a gag reflex in their throats the same way that humans do, and therefore do not appear to find force feeding uncomfortable. Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, author of "Foie Gras... A Passion," claims his birds come to him to be fed and says this is important because "a stressed or hurt bird won't eat and digest well or produce a foie gras."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Mirepoix USA, a top provider of goose and duck foie gras, alleges that the animal rights activists attack is a form of prohibition against a cuisine item. Mirepoix claims that the use of the term "diseased" to refer to fatted liver is inaccurate and that geese and ducks naturally store dead fish in their esophagi for long periods. The ducks used in foie gras production, however, are a hybrid of Pekin (a type of Mallard) and Muscovy ducks, both of which are dabbling ducks and as such, subsist mainly on a diet of underwater vegetation, larvae, and various insects.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Chef Anthony Bourdain and chef/writer Michael Ruhlman have both supported foie gras production from humanely treated, properly raised ducks, and stated that the footage seen in the videos of critics is cruel but that no reputable chef would buy such product. However other celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, and Albert Roux are against the use of foie gras. Roux has argued that foie gras should come with a warning so that "people know what's being done to the animals." He states that "More humane methods should be used that allow the animal to gorge themselves naturally." Chicago chef Charlie Trotter maintained that the production of foie gras is "too cruel to be served." However, Trotter refused to be associated with animal rights groups stating "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The controversy over foie gras has been the subject of several lawsuits. The 1985 case Lovenheim v. Iroquois Brands was a shareholder suit regarding ethical concerns about a company selling foie gras.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2003, the Animal Protection and Rescue League and In Defense of Animals filed suit against Sonoma Foie Gras in California under the state's unfair business practices law, alleging animal cruelty. The farm also sued the two groups and four activists who documented conditions at the farm for trespass. The Legislature then intervened with a law allowing the farm to continue force feeding until the year 2012, after which point both the sale and production of foie gras has been illegal in California.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2006, Sonoma Foie Gras sued Whole Foods Market for intentional interference with contract for influencing Grimaud Farms to stop supplying ducklings and marketing for Sonoma. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount, though the jury returned a judgement of $5.2million.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Also pending is a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, alleging that foie gras qualifies as an adulterated food that should not be sold.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a legal petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging that foie gras bear a consumer warning label stating "NOTICE: Foie gras products are derived from diseased birds." ALDF argues that because the USDA is responsible for ensuring that poultry products are wholesome and for approving only products from healthy animals, stamping foie gras products with the USDA seal without disclosing that those products are derived from diseased birds misleads consumers, contravening the Poultry Products Inspection Act. Regularly eating foie gras can harm the health of predisposed people. Patients with Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and other amyloid-related diseases should not eat it.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In 2012, the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued Hudson Valley Foie Gras over its advertising as "the humane choice" for foie gras. Hudson Valley settled the case and dropped this advertising campaign after a federal judge in California indicated that he would allow the parties to present evidence and decide whether Hudson Valley could prove that its "humane" claims were truthful.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In February 2013, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed an appeal in a lawsuit against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets for allowing the ongoing sale of foie gras. The original lawsuit, which was dismissed in February for lack of standing, alleges that the Department violates its own Agriculture and Markets Law by allowing the sale of foie gras. New York's state law requires the Department to declare "the product of a diseased animal" an adulterated product. In the appeal, the Animal Legal Defense Fund will defend its legal standing to bring the case, noting it has diverted substantial resources to warn the public of the dangerous health risks posed by foie gras and, will assert that the Department's failure to regulate has resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of diseased birds whose organs are distributed into the human food supply.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In July 2014, India banned the import of foie gras making it the first and only country in the world to do so, causing dismay among some of the nation's chefs. The managing director of the Humane Society International of India said "This is a triumph for animal welfare in India as well as across the globe, and sets a precedent for other countries to follow".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In August 2003, Argentina banned foie gras production as it is considered a mistreatment or an act of cruelty to animals.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In June 2015, the production and sale of foie gras was banned in São Paulo restaurants. In February 2016, the law was overturned.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has halved. As of 2016, only five European countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Hungary and Spain.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Foie gras production is banned in several countries, including most of the Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. However, foie gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries. Most of these countries do not currently produce foie gras, nor have they in the past. Thus, these bans have stopped actual foie gras production in very few countries. The UK however plans to be the first European nation to extend its ban on production, to include all imports as well.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In France, the fattening is achieved through gavage (force-feeding corn), according to French law. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."


title: Foie gras controversy

text: "Until new scientific evidence on alternative methods and their welfare aspects is available", the production of foie gras is prohibited by treaty except for "where it is current practice" among 35 countries bound by the Council of Europe's European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In August 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force feeding of geese, effective 31 March 2005. The last appeal was withdrawn in October 2005, but the law was left unenforced until February 2006. Most protest activities were conducted by Animals Now, which also tracks the enforcement of the ban, and files complaints against farms that conduct illegal force feeding. In May 2013, a bill proposed by Knesset Member Dov Lipman plans to prohibit all sales of the delicacy due to the controversial methods.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Sections 25980-25984 of the California Health and Safety Code, enacted in 2004 and effective from July 1, 2012, prohibits "force feed[ing] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size" and the sale of products that are a result of this process. On January 7, 2015, Judge Stephen V. Wilson held that the California law was preempted by the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, and enjoined the California Attorney General from enforcing it. The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit and on September 15, 2017, the District Court's ruling was reversed and law was upheld.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: San Diego: On January 8, 2008, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed a resolution that "commends the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) for raising awareness of the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, commends the many San Diego restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras before the California statewide ban goes into effect, and encourages San Diegans to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." The resolution also cites an independent Zogby poll finding that 85% of San Diegans favor an immediate ban on foie gras.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: Chicago: On 26 April 2006, the Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006. Breaches of the ban were punishable with fines of $250–500. Alderman Joe Moore, who proposed the ban, described the method by which foie gras is produced as "clearly animal cruelty".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In response, several Chicago chefs filed suit and deliberately violated the law by continuing to sell foie gras. Furthermore, a handful of chefs served foie gras without charge, which they considered not to be against the law. Even for establishments that were violating the law, the City issued warning letters but, until February 17, 2007, no citations were given. On that date, Doug Sohn, owner of a gourmet hot dog shop was charged with a violation. Although the fine could have been as high as $500, Sohn agreed to pay a $250 fine on March 29. Several unusual dishes, including foie gras pizza, have been created in Chicago, in defiance of the City Council's banning of foie gras. 46,000 pounds of foie gras were sold in Chicago in 2006.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In December 2006, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley referred to the ban as "the silliest law" the City Council has ever passed. As a result of the ban, Chicago restaurants Spiaggia and Tru developed dishes designed to simulate the foie gras experience. "Chicago Tribune" restaurant critic Phil Vettel found Tru's "Faux Gras" "close to the real thing", and Spiaggia's "terrina de fagato grasso vegetariano" "undeniably rich and indulgent", but "[lacking] the characteristic foie-gras intensity".


title: Foie gras controversy

text: In response to Mayor Daley's objections on the foie gras ban, the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: On October 30, 2019, the City Council of New York City voted to ban foie gras involving force feeding by 2022.


title: Foie gras controversy

text: A number of retailers have ceased the sale of foie gras produce following campaigns and protests over production methods. These include Amazon UK, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Lidl, House of Fraser, and Harvey Nichols.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: 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. The Storm were originally a Super League initiative, created in 1997 during the Super League war, however, following the Super League collapse, the team became a part of the newly formed, united competition. The club play their home games at AAMI Park. The Storm have won four premierships since their inception, in 1999, 2012, 2017 and 2020, and have contested several more grand finals, but were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 premierships following salary cap breaches.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Storm also competed in the NRL's Under-20s competition (as Melbourne Thunderbolts) from 2008 until its demise in 2017 and in 2018 they entered the (Victorian Thunderbolts) in the Hastings Deering Colts u20s QLD competition. In addition, the club has also expanded into netball with a joint venture with the University of the Sunshine Coast. Since 2017, Sunshine Coast Lightning have played in Suncorp Super Netball.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Following record attendances at State of Origin fixtures in Melbourne of 87,161 in 1994 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Australian Rugby League (ARL) had planned to establish a Melbourne-based team in the Premiership by 1998. However, the disruption caused by the Super League war caused great change to the game in Australia. By May 1997, Super League boss John Ribot pushed for a Melbourne-based club for his competition, which was the rival of the ARL. Former Brisbane Broncos centre Chris Johns became the CEO of the club and Ribot stepped down from the head of Super League to set up the club, with head of News Limited Ken Cowley as chairman. In September 1997, Melbourne announced that Chris Anderson would be their foundation coach, and then Super League announced that the new team would be named the Melbourne Storm. Melbourne teenager Cameron Duncan came up with the name Storm and his winning entry was chosen from more than 1000 entries received in a competition run in conjunction with the "Herald Sun".


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Melbourne club then went forward with signing players, mainly from folding Super League clubs Perth Reds and Hunter Mariners. These players included Robbie Ross, Glenn Lazarus, Brett Kimmorley and Scott Hill. With the Super League and ARL joining into one competition for the 1998 season, the Melbourne team became part of the National Rugby League (NRL). The Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club was unveiled at a function at the Hyatt Hotel – Melbourne in February 1998.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In their first game, they defeated the Illawarra Steelers, with Glenn Lazarus as their inaugural captain. Melbourne, in a complete shock to the rest of the competition, won their first four games, before losing to the Auckland Warriors. They went on to make the finals, but were defeated by the eventual premiers, the Brisbane Broncos.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In January 1999, Executive Director John Ribot negotiated a deal that saw Melbourne Storm games televised in China every weekend. The club won eight of their first eleven games of the 1999 NRL season, and went on to make the finals in third position on the Premiership ladder. The team was beaten convincingly 34–10 in the quarter final by St. George Illawarra. After narrow victories against the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Parramatta Eels; however, Melbourne once more faced St. George Illawarra in the Grand Final. The Storm staged a late comeback in the game to win 20–18, securing their first premiership.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne's Premiership defence began relatively slowly losing their first four games of the 2000 NRL season, the club went on to make the finals (finishing 6th), but were eventually knocked out by Newcastle in the quarter-finals. Between 2001 and 2002, the club's on field performances waned, resulting in a 10th-placed finish in 2002. Cracks were starting to appear between John Ribot and Anderson throughout the period, with Anderson quitting as coach after round 7, 2001. He was replaced by Mark Murray. The Melbourne club failed to make the finals in 2001. Johns left the club as CEO at the end of 2002 and coach Murray was sacked due to Melbourne's poor form, with the club missing the finals for the second year in a row.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Wayne Bennett's assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos, Craig Bellamy was announced as the new coach of Melbourne for 2003, and in addition, a new captain in Kiwi international skipper Stephen Kearney. Bellamy's strict coaching had an almost immediate effect and saw the Melbourne Storm get back on track from the previous lean years.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Between 2003 and 2005, Melbourne consistently made the finals, but lost games in the semi-finals which prevented them from reaching the grand final. This period also saw the arrival and rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith provided solid support to existing established players in Matt Orford and his forwards and also provided supporters with confidence of the club's future. A notable incident that occurred during 2004 was the 18-game suspension of Danny Williams following a king-hit on Wests Tigers' player Mark O'Neill. It was the longest suspension in Australian rugby league since 1987.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: By 2005, Storm coach Craig Bellamy, in his third season as an NRL coach, gained representative honours when he was selected to start coaching the Country Origin team.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Season 2006 saw the retirement of captain Robbie Kearns and the emergence of talented rookie halfback Cooper Cronk who took over the position from Matt Orford and in addition, the recruitment of hard-man Michael Crocker. The club also moved away from a single captain electing to use a rotating captains policy, in 2006 alone used five Captains including Cameron Smith for the first time. Contrary to expectation, 2006 was a standout year for the Melbourne team, winning their first Minor Premiership. Melbourne only lost four games in the season, making them outright leaders by four wins. They went on to win their two finals matches, and were favourites in the 2006 NRL Grand Final, but lost 15–8 to the Brisbane Broncos, in a match where controversial refereeing decisions against Melbourne caused much media coverage.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2007, the Storm finished the season Minor Premiers by finishing on top of the table again. They progressed through the finals series with wins over Brisbane, 40–0, and then Parramatta 26–10, in the Preliminary final. This secured a berth in the 2007 NRL Grand Final against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles which they won 34–8, with Greg Inglis winning the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2008, foundation player Matt Geyer became the first player to play 250 games for the club. Melbourne finished on top of the ladder after the 26 rounds of regular competition and despite becoming the first minor premiers since the McIntyre Final Eight System was introduced to lose their opening finals game (15–18 to the New Zealand Warriors), they then defeated the Brisbane Broncos 16–14, scoring in the last minute of their semi-final. Cameron Smith was suspended for two matches for a grapple tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday in the match, seeing him miss the rest of the finals, and Craig Bellamy was fined $50,000 for making scathing remarks against the judiciary's decision. Melbourne convincingly beat the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 28–0 to qualify for the Grand Final, but suffered the heaviest Grand Final defeat in league history, beaten 40–0 by Manly. Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Israel Folau all won awards at the Dally M Awards, and Slater and Smith finished equal second for the Dally M Medal. Billy Slater was awarded the international player of the year Golden Boot award for 2008, following on from Cameron Smith in 2007.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In the 2009 season, Melbourne finished 4th on the ladder; they defeated Manly 40–12 in the first week of the finals and Brisbane 40–10 in the preliminary finals to qualify for a fourth straight grand final (the first since Parramatta from 1981 to 1984). Against Parramatta, who had finished eighth in the home-and-away season but had won ten of its last eleven matches, the Storm led at one stage by 16 points, before finishing 23–16 winners. Slater won the Clive Churchill Medal, and they were named as the NRL Team of the Decade for the 2000s. In the late 2000s the Melbourne Storm were still running at a loss of up to $6M per season, however despite this, they were voted the state of Victoria's most popular sports team by a national Roy Morgan Poll in October 2009.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2010, a number of changes were made to senior management of the club, firstly Brian Waldron resigned his position as CEO to take up the same position at the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team, he was replaced by Chief Operating Officer, Matt Hanson. In April, following the Salary cap revelations, Matt Hanson was then stood down and Ron Gauci appointed.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: On field, the Storm's first match of the season was the 2010 World Club Challenge against equally dominant English side, the Leeds Rhinos; in very cold and wet conditions the Storm prevailed 18 – 10.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: On 22 April 2010 the club admitted that it had breached the NRL salary cap between 2006 and 2010 by running a dual contract and bookkeeping system which left the NRL ignorant of $3.17 million in payments made to players outside of the salary cap. As a result of the breach, NRL Chief Executive David Gallop, stripped the club all titles earned in this period including their 2007 and 2009 Premierships, heavily fined the club, deducted all premiership points achieved to that point and barred them from receiving any more for the rest of the season. The club had won enough matches to make the finals, but automatically finished in last place due to the penalties.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne did have something to celebrate in 2010 with the opening of their new home ground AAMI Park in May. The stadium was expected to be used right from the beginning of the season, however, construction delays postponed the opening.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Following the salary cap scandal the club needed to shed a number of players and rebuild. They managed this successfully and over the next two years the Storm returned to the top of the ladder. In 2011 the club won what, after the salary cap penalties, was considered the club's first Minor Premiership and that season also included a club record twelve consecutive wins, however, Melbourne fell just short the Grand Final, losing the preliminary final against New Zealand. Billy Slater won the Dally M Medal, and Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith also won awards on Dally M Medal night.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2012 the club started very strongly with nine consecutive wins, the club's best start to a season up to that time. A five-game losing streak between Rounds 16 and 21 (the club's second worst losing streak to that time) saw them fall from the top of the ladder. However, from Round 22 forward they recovered their winning form and finished the regular season with five straight wins, ending the regular season in second place on the table. Storm began their finals campaign with a 24–6 win over South Sydney Rabbitohs. Storm played its fifth Preliminary Final in six years, this time defeating Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–12 at AAMI Park. Following this they went on to claim their second official Premiership defeating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 14 – 4 in the Grand Final.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Storm began its 2013 season with a trip to England where they defeated the Leeds Rhinos 18–14 in the World Club Challenge, to be crowned World Champions. Upon their return to Australia, the Storm began the home and away season where it left off in 2012 winning their first seven games, this combined with games won in late 2012 set a new new club record for the most consecutive wins, with the streak ending at 15 games with a loss in Round 8. On 21 May 2013 the Storm announced that, News Limited had sold the club to Holding M.S. Australia Pty Limited, an organisation made up of internationally experienced and successful businessmen. This change included replacement of the News Ltd Board and Executive, which included the replacement of Chairman Stephen Rue with Bart Campbell and CEO Ron Gauci with Mark Evans. News Limited had owned the Storm since its inception in 1997. On 9 June 2013 Captain Cameron Smith played his 250th game for the club. The Storm managed to finish 3rd in 2013; however, successive losses to the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights in the finals saw the Storm miss the Preliminary Finals for the first time since 2005 (excluding 2010).


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The 2014 season saw a number of milestones achieved, both Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk played their 250th games and Craig Bellamy reached 300 games as coach. In mid 2014 the Storm also announced a new feeder partnership with the Sunshine Coast Falcons. This would complement their existing relationship with Brisbane Easts with a view to establishing a permanent footprint in the Sunshine Coast Area.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: 2015 began successfully for the Storm with the club finding itself on top of the ladder by Round 7. In April Storm CEO Mark Evans announced that he was returning to England and completed his tenure as CEO in June of that year. Dave Donaghy was announced as his replacement. In round 19 a major milestone was achieved with Cameron smith playing his 300th game becoming only the 24th player in history to do so. In August 2015 the storm announced that they would create an Academy on the Sunshine Coast to develop and nurture developing talent in the region with a view to progressing through the Storm ranks. Part of the establishment of this Academy meant that the Melbourne Storm Under 20s Team would play all of its home games at the new facility from 2016 onward.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The 2016 season began well for the Storm finding themselves in third place on the ladder after 10 rounds. In Round 5 they scored their 300th NRL win and in Round 9, Craig Bellamy coached his 350th NRL game. On 23 May the Melbourne Storm announced that it had been one of three successful bidders and the only NRL club to gain a licence to field a Netball side in a new expanded Australian Netball League to commence in 2017. The Melbourne club were nominated by Netball Australia as a preferred bidder for one of three new team licences under their expansion plans and on 17 August 2016 it was announced that the new team will be called Sunshine Coast Lightning and be based on the Sunshine Coast at the Storm sports Academy and in effect be a second Queensland Team. The announcement is to establish the Storm as not just a Rugby League club but a sporting and community club.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: At the conclusion of the 2016 NRL season Melbourne finished in first place claiming their second legitimate Minor Premiership. They qualified for the NRL Finals series winning their first two finals and thus making it through to the 2016 NRL Grand Final against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The game was a very hard-fought match, as the game hung in the balance until the dying second but the Cronulla side hung on to win.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: 2017 was another successful year for the Melbourne Storm, the club's 20th season in the NRL. Following on from the heartbreak of losing the Grand final in 2016, the club went from strength to strength recruiting well in the off season and dominated the 2017 NRL season to finish in first place earning them their third legitimate minor premiership. Melbourne won 20 and lost four games throughout the season making it their most dominant season in 10 years. Cameron Smith also broke a number of league, club and personal records throughout the 2017 season including the NRL games record for the most games played, league record for the most wins as a captain, a personal best for the most points in a game and also scored his 2000th career point and 1000th career goal, the first time any player has achieved this. The Storm continued their success into the 2017 NRL finals and won their first two, a home Qualifying final against the Parramatta Eels 18–16 and a home Preliminary Final against Brisbane 30–0 to qualify them for their second consecutive Grand Final. The 2017 NRL Grand Final was played against the North Queensland Cowboys, which Melbourne dominated to earn them their 3rd official Premiership 34 – 6. Billy Slater won his second Clive Churchill medal. In December 2017, the NRL announced the formation of a women's competition with Melbourne Storm expressing their interest in applying for a licence to participate in the inaugural NRL Women's season.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Following the club's Premiership in 2017, the Storm hosted the 2018 World Club Challenge at AAMI park in February and also defeated the Leeds Rhinos to win the title 38–4. 2018 was also a special year for the club as it celebrated its 20th Anniversary and in March announced their team of the first 20 years during a gala evening at Crown Casino. Continuing on from the success in 2017, the Storm once again played very well throughout the year ultimately being pipped for the Minor Premiership on points difference. The Storm once again made the Grand final, however, lost to the Sydney Roosters to end the season Runner-up.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2019, the club returned to the top of the table winning the Minor Premiership finishing six points ahead of the Sydney Roosters, however, their finals campaign was not as successful with ultimately exiting the finals after a defeat in the Preliminary Final once again to the Roosters. Club Captain Cameron Smith also achieved a number of significant milestones throughout the 2019 season including captaining his 300th game, becoming the game's highest points scorer and also playing his 400th NRL game – the first NRL player to do so.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Storm were looking to continue their success into 2020 but 2020 became somewhat of an extraordinary year. The global COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia in late February forcing all games behind closed doors and then a total suspension and reorganization of the season. After the situation in Victoria deteriorated in June, the Storm were forced to relocate to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to complete their season. Melbourne would go on to finish second on the table at the end of the 2020 regular season behind Minor Premiers Penrith, before beating Penrith in the 2020 NRL Grand Final to win their fourth official premiership, and cementing their status as one of the most successful clubs of the modern NRL era.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2021, long term captain Cameron Smith announced his retirement after 430 game and both Jesse Bromwich and Dale Finucane were announced as co-captains. On-field, the Melbourne club had some early hiccups adjusting to life after Smith, however, from round four, began a winning streak that lasted until Round 23 - 19 consecutive wins, becoming the first team since the Sydney Roosters in 1975 to complete this feat. This was made all the more remarkable because for the second consecutive season the club were forced to once again relocate to Queensland from Round 9 onwards due to COVID-19 outbreaks in NSW and Victoria. The winning run helped them to win the Minor Premiership finishing in first place at the end of the season, however the club failed to make the grand final losing the preliminary final to Penrith. The club also broke a number of other points scoring records throughout the season including finishing with the highest ever points differential (499 points). Individually, Josh Addo-Carr also scored a club record six tries in a single game against South Sydney.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne started the 2022 NRL season strongly winning seven of their opening eight matches with their only defeat coming against Parramatta. In round 10 however, Melbourne were defeated 32-6 by Premiers Penrith. The following week, Melbourne suffered their biggest loss in the competition since round 18 of the 2013 NRL season when they were defeated 36-6 by North Queensland.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In round 18 of the 2022 NRL season, Melbourne were defeated 20-16 by Canberra which meant they had lost three straight matches for the first time since the 2015 NRL season.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne would finish the 2022 regular season in fifth place on the table which was their lowest finish since the 2014 NRL season. In the elimination final, Melbourne were upset 28-20 by Canberra which ended their season.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Originally, the club favoured the name Melbourne Mavericks with a gunslinger logo holding a fistful of dollars. The club officials were all set to go with this until News Limited's Lachlan Murdoch told them to go with something else because the Mavericks sounded too American. Trams and Flying Foxes were also some ideas that came up. However, CEO Chris Johns and Executive Director John Ribot decided to go with the themes of lightning, power and following a naming competition, the club eventually settled on the name Melbourne Storm. Melbourne teenager Cameron Duncan came up with the name "Storm", with his winning entry chosen from more than 1000 received.[8]


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Storm were always going to go with the colours of their state, Victoria (navy blue with a white 'V'), but club consultant at the time, Peter McWhirter of the JAG fashion house, suggested that they should also have purple and gold to make their merchandise more attractive. Therefore, the official colours of the Storm are navy blue and purple (main colours) and white and yellow (minor colours).


title: Melbourne Storm

text: All four of these colours appeared in the logo until yellow was removed in 2018. In the home jersey, the colours have varied over the years. Between 1998 and 2004 these four colours appeared on various designs but between 2005 and 2009, gold was completely removed and silver introduced. Between 2010 and 2012, gold returned, silver was omitted and purple became the dominant colour in the jersey. For 2013 a new design was announced featuring a deeper V, with more navy blue in the jersey. Gold disappeared again along with most of the white, and the lightning bolts were changed to purple. During 2015 the jersey changed again, for the first time not featuring a V at all, but the V returned somewhat along with the lightning bolts in 2016 with a manufacturer change. In 2018 and 19 the club wore a traditional V uniform and all colours were present, however, for 2020 the jersey has returned to an all navy blue and purple jersey.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Between 1998 and 2001, Melbourne was the only club to display player names on the back of jerseys. This was because there was no major sponsor for the Storm to display on the chest or back at the time. It also helped supporters new to the game identify the players. In 2001, Melbourne gained its first major sponsor in Adecco, which was displayed on the jersey chest, while maintaining the players' names on the back until the end of 2001. In 2002, the Storm removed the players' names and displayed Adecco's logo on the back. Since then the Storm have had varying sponsors adorning the jersey.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The club's original logo of "Storm Man" riding over storm clouds and throwing a bolt of lightning was in place from the club's inception through to the end of the 2017 season. The only variation to this was when an informal logo for the 10th Anniversary was produced however this was only featured on supporter merchandise and not in an official capacity on the jersey. As part of the club's 20th Anniversary, the Storm introduced a new logo used throughout the 2018 season. The logo was a shield based logo with the storm man featured above the words "Melbourne Storm 20 Years". As the celebrations concluded, the club rebranded and replaced the 20th Anniversary logo with another new logo. The current Logo is a derivation of the 20-year logo featuring no shield and a more bold "Melbourne Storm" and the club has also dropped the colour Yellow from the logo. There is also a second official version of this logo in all white which features on the home jersey.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Melbourne Storm have a number of club songs that are either played over the PA system or exclusively sung by the players at each game;


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The main song, which was written by Jon Mol and Phil Wall, is called "We Are the Storm" and is played over the public address system following each home victory.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Lastly, after each victory, the Storm players also sing "We are the mighty Melbourne Storm" in the dressing rooms. The song is sung to the same tune as the US Marines' Hymn.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The St. George Illawarra and Melbourne rivalry was at its highest in the years following the 1999 NRL Grand Final. In this game, Melbourne narrowly beat St. George Illawarra, with a late penalty try putting the Melbourne club in front. The following year, Anthony Mundine declared that the Melbourne side were not "worthy premiers" in the run up to their round 5 rematch. Melbourne responded by belting St. George Illawarra 70–10.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: However, later that season, St. George Illawarra had a large win defeating Melbourne 50–4. In 2006, Melbourne and St. George Illawarra once again met in a Preliminary Final which Melbourne won. On 21 July 2008, Melbourne won at Olympic Park 26–0, in a match highlighted by several ugly brawls.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2009, the Melbourne club defeated St. George Illawarra 17–16 in Round 1 with a field goal in Golden Point extra time.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Melbourne Storm has a rivalry with Brisbane, built in large part on the large number of finals games played between the teams, including one final in each year from 2004 to 2009, with the Melbourne club winning all but one of them. The move of Brisbane assistant coach Craig Bellamy to Melbourne has also been attributed to fueling the rivalry, as well as the wide spread of Queensland Origin players across their squads in the better part of the past decade.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Every year since Brisbane's victory over Melbourne in the 2006 Grand Final, Melbourne have ended Brisbane's season by knocking them out of the finals. Melbourne captain Cameron Smith commented on the rivalry prior to their 2009 Preliminary Final at Etihad Stadium.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Brisbane Broncos defeated Melbourne 15–8 in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. Melbourne sought revenge through a 40–0 thrashing in the 2007 Qualifying Final at Olympic Park Stadium. The 2008 Semi-Final at Suncorp Stadium ended with Melbourne dramatically winning 16–14 with a try on the final play of the game. In 2009, Brisbane were again beaten by eventual premiers Melbourne, this time 40–10 at Etihad Stadium, catapulting the Melbourne club to their 4th consecutive Grand Final Appearance. In 2017, the two sides met in the preliminary final where Melbourne defeated Brisbane 30-0. Since the 2006 decider, Brisbane have played Melbourne on 34 occasions and only won four times.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The origin of the rivalry stems back the period between 2007 – 2012 when both clubs were consistently at the top of the table.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In the 2007 NRL Grand Final, Melbourne defeated Manly 34–8 and then the following year in the 2008 NRL Grand Final, lost to the Manly club 40 nil. The following season the clubs once again met in the finals series and this time it was Melbourne who ended Manly-Warringah's season, and their bid for back to back titles, with a 40–12 defeat in the 2009 qualifying final.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2011 the rivalry escalated when another major chapter was written in what became known as the "Battle of Brookvale". This game involved a massive brawl that began on the field and then continued as the two key players involved were being sent off. The melee ultimately involved interchange players and officials from both clubs as well. What made this worse was that the match was attended by then CEO of the NRL David Gallop who condemned the actions of both clubs.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In the years following this match, matches between Manly-Warringah and Melbourne played at Brookvale Oval continued to often be called the "Battle of Brookvale", though there have not been any particularly violent matches between the two sides at this venue since.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2012, there was a similar scenario as 2009 when the clubs met in the Preliminary Final, Melbourne again defeated Manly 40–12, again ending their chances of winning back-to-back titles after the Manly-Warringah club won the title in 2011.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The matches between the two sides simmered over the next decade, however, in the 2021 NRL Finals Series the two clubs once again met, this time a Qualifying Final, Melbourne again defeated Manly and curiously, the score line was again 40–12, the third time this had occurred.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: This is more of a traditional game due to the large number of Kiwi internationals Melbourne has fielded in their history. Matches between the two clubs are normally close and low scoring, with the overall head to head (as of 2020) in Melbourne's favour (45 clashes, Melbourne 27-Warriors 16 and 2 draws). These two sides played an annual ANZAC Day clash each year between 2009 and 2014. For 2015 it was played earlier in April before moving back to ANZAC Day for 2016 onwards. Both teams play for the Michael Moore Trophy.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The two sides have met each other twice in the finals series. The first being in week one of the 2008 finals series where New Zealand pulled off one of the biggest finals upsets defeating Melbourne 18-15. New Zealand had finished the season in eighth whilst Melbourne had finished as Minor Premiers. In 2011, the two club's met in the preliminary final where New Zealand once again defeated Melbourne in a major upset to reach the 2011 NRL Grand Final.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: This competitive rivalry began in the 2017 NRL season when the two clubs met in Round 16 at the Adelaide Oval. The Sydney Roosters won a very tight game in Golden Point 25-24 then only seven weeks later, Melbourne won the return game 16-13 at AAMI Park. In this game, the Sydney Roosters were leading 13-12 after 73 minutes after kicking a field goal before Joe Stimson scored a late try to steal the win just before full time. The competitive nature with the Sydney Roosters increased in the off season when long time player Cooper Cronk announced that he was moving to Sydney and joining the club for 2018.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In the 2018 premiership season, the two clubs only played one game, again at the Adelaide Oval. It was another tight game which this time Melbourne won 9-8 with Cameron Smith kicking a late field goal to snatch victory. The two clubs remained neck and neck at the top of the table with the Sydney Roosters pipping Melbourne for the minor premiership on points difference. The two clubs did not meet until the 2018 NRL Grand Final with the Sydney Roosters winning 21-6. In the game, Cooper Cronk playing injured, assumed a virtual on-field player-coach role, using his years of Grand Final experience to help the Roosters defeat the Melbourne side.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: In 2019, the teams clashed twice during the season and both games were close. On Good Friday the Roosters defeated Melbourne 21-20 in Golden point overtime before the teams met once again in Adelaide, with Melbourne prevailing 14-12. The third clash of the year was the preliminary final, which the Sydney Roosters won 14-6 at the SCG.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: With the 2020 NRL season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne's Round 8 "home" game against the Roosters was transferred to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. In a game that produced one of the more extraordinary finishes to an NRL game, the Roosters were leading 22-12 with 12 minutes left when Melbourne then scored two tries to take a 24-22 lead. The game was then tied up by a penalty goal to the Roosters before they also scored a 78th minute field goal to lead 25-24. With seconds remaining, Melbourne's Ryan Papenhuyzen scored a field goal of his own to tie scores up again at 25 all and send the game into Golden Point. Melbourne won the game with Cameron Smith kicking a penalty goal.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: As of the end of the 2021 NRL season, the clubs met a further three times with Melbourne winning all three games including defeating the Roosters 46-0 in Round 16 of the 2021 season.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The rivalry re-ignited in 2022 in Round 24 when the Roosters narrowly defeated the Storm 18-14 after the Roosters lead 14-0. It was a particularly spiteful game that included repeat melees and sin bins for players on both sides. Roosters player Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was sin binned following the referee repeatedly warning both sides to fall in line. The game also came on the back of Hooker, Brandon Smith, transferring to the club for the 2023 season.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne's current home ground is AAMI Park and has been since the 2010 season. Prior to this the club played the vast majority of their home matches at the city's now demolished Olympic Park Stadium, which was located next door. Affectionately coined "The Graveyard" by fans due to the incredible 77.2% winning percentage there, it was there that the club played their inaugural home match in the fourth round of the 1998 season on 3 April 1998, having come off the back of three successive away victories. The team recorded a 26–16 victory over the North Sydney Bears, and the crowd of 20,522 was the largest attendance for the club at Olympic Park.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: It was also at this time that Melbourne Storm helped set a Rugby League World record attendance figure of 107,999. This was during the 1999 NRL Grand final, held at Stadium Australia where they defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons, to win their first NRL premiership. As the ground's capacity has since been reduced this record cannot be broken.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The team remained at Olympic Park until the end of the 2000 season, when it was decided that due to attracting larger home crowds which were now averaging 14,622 spectators, they decided to relocate to the much larger capacity Docklands Stadium for the following season. However, due to Docklands stadium being primarily suited to AFL games and in addition the AFL and stadium management being reluctant to reconfigure the seating for Rugby League games and coupled with the team missing the finals that year, crowd numbers declined and it was decided to move the team back to Olympic Park. Docklands stadium was still used by the Storm for home finals until 2010 and this allowed a home final attendance record of 33,427 to be set in 2007 in the Preliminary Final against Parramatta.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: From 2002, crowd numbers declined and by 2004 the Storm had their lowest crowd average of 8,886 per home game; however, at this time the Storm also began a strong recruiting drive and with a new and exciting playing roster, crowds steadily rose over the following years, returning to an average of 14,670 by 2010. The Storm played their final game at Olympic Park in round 25 of the 2009 season, 29 August 2009, with a 36–4 thrashing of the Sydney Roosters The intention was to relocate to its new home venue next door at AAMI Park; however, delays in construction meant that the first game could not be played at the venue until Round 9 of the 2010 season, therefore, the first three home games of 2010 were played at Etihad Stadium. Since then all Storm home games (with the exception of a few homes games played interstate), regular season and finals, have been played at AAMI Park.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Following winning the 2012 premiership and having sustained onfield success, crowd numbers continued to rise. The club's highest regular season attendance at AAMI Park, of 28,716, was set on 25 April 2014 for the ANZAC Day match against New Zealand Warriors. Average crowds have continued to increase and by the end of the 2017 season, another premiership year, had reached a record peak of 18,375. The club's highest official "home" attendance of 52,347 occurred in the 2016 season – this was during a doubleheader game at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: As of Round 15 of the 2022 NRL season, the Storm have won four NRL Premierships (1999, 2012, 2017 and 2020) and five Minor Premierships (2011, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021). A further two NRL premierships (2007 and 2009) and three minor premierships (2006, 2007, 2008) were withheld due to salary cap breaches. Their current wins percentage of 67.39% is the best in the league. The most capped player is Cameron Smith with 430 NRL appearances in his career. Smith's total is also the current league record and he also the only NRL player in history to reach the 400 game mark. In addition, Smith is also the league's highest point scorer with 2786 career points. Fullback Billy Slater is the club's most prolific try scorer with 190 tries scored during his career. Melbourne Storm players have also won the Dally M medal on five occasions with Smith winning in 2006 and 2017, Slater in 2011 and Cooper Cronk in 2013 and 2016. The Storm have thus far had five Golden Boot award winners, more than any other club (Smith 2007 and 2017, Slater 2008, Greg Inglis 2009 and Cronk in 2016).


title: Melbourne Storm

text: Melbourne Storm's winning streak record for the most consecutive matches won stands at 19 matches, between Round 4 and Round 23 of the 2021 NRL season. This is equal to the league record set in 1975 by Eastern Suburbs. The club's all-time highest score is 70 points which they have scored on two occasions, on 3 March 2000 against St. George Illawarra and on 25 April 2022 vs New Zealand Warriors. Their highest winning margin is 64 points which they've achieved twice, first in a 64–0 win over West Tigers in 2001, and then again in a 68–4 win over Canberra Raiders in 2013.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: As part of their 10-year celebrations in 2007, Melbourne Storm released a team of the decade. The 17-man team was selected by former assistant coach Greg Brentnall, foundation Executive Director John Ribot, and then board member Frank Stanton (all 3 were members of the 1982 Kangaroo tour "Invincibles", Brentnall and Ribot as players with Stanton the coach). The trio were joined by "The Daily Telegraph" (Sydney) journalist Steve Mascord.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: As part of their 20-year celebrations in 2018, Melbourne Storm announced their team of the first 20 years at a gala night at Crown Casino on 2 March 2018. The 17-man line-up is made up of the greatest players to have pulled on the purple jersey over the last two decades. The team selection panel included Storm Football Director Frank Ponissi, CEO Dave Donaghy, inaugural Executive Director John Ribot, former assistant coach Greg Brentnall, journalist Roy Masters and current coach Craig Bellamy.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: The Storm have built a loyal supporter base through the years, growing from almost 500,000 in 2004 to almost 800,000 in 2009, making them the fourth most popular NRL team. The club's supporter group, the "Graveyard Crew", make a banner for the team to run through before the start of each game.


title: Melbourne Storm

text: By 2019, a record membership figure was set with the club having 25,208 people signed up as season ticket holders, a record which was broken in 2021 when over 27,000 members were signed up. In July 2022, the Storm registered 37,237 members, which is the highest membership tally ever recorded by an NRL club.