Inaugural Melbourne Storm boss Chris Johns claims AFL sabotaged the club in its formative years
Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2025 9:13 pm
Inaugural Storm boss Chris Johns has dropped a bombshell ahead of the NRL grand final, claiming Melbourne’s sporting establishment intentionally sabotaged the club in its formative years
The Storm’s inaugural CEO has made the stunning claim that Melbourne’s sporting establishment doesn’t want rugby league in their city and that his club was sabotaged by the AFL in its formative years.
Chris Johns claims officials from AFL clubs told him when the Storm was founded in 1998: “We’ve been told not to deal with you or give you any f***ing support.”
“They still don’t want rugby league around, full stop. Behind the scenes, I can guarantee you, they are not friendly,” said Johns, who labelled the AFL as “absolute bully boys.”
“To this day, make no mistake, they are at war with us and don’t want us to be successful in Melbourne. On face value, they were saying nice things but behind our backs, the AFL were hindering us,” he said.
Johns’ provocative comments come as Melbourne confronts Brisbane in what shapes as an epic Sunday night NRL grand final.
It will be the Storm’s 12th grand final appearance in their 27-year history.
These days, Johns and former Test cricket Ian Healy own 10 Hoppy’s car wash franchises through southeast Queensland where they employ more than 200 employees.
While he fought for the Storm to be accepted in Melbourne over his five-year tenure, Johns was confronted with a multitude of obstacles created by the AFL.
He said the AFL and their clubs obstructed the Storm when the fledgling club attempted to hire high-performance and medical staff while also making it difficult by blocking the use of training fields and hampering marketing opportunities.
Johns, who played in Brisbane’s first-ever NSWRL match in 1988, was appointed inaugural Storm chief executive in 1998, the franchise remarkably winning a premiership the following year.
Asked whether the AFL sabotaged Melbourne Storm in the club’s developing years, Johns said: “One hundred per cent. We had lovely meetings with the AFL (Commission) and they were nice as pie and then you’d even meet with the clubs to try and form a relationship.
“On face value, they were saying nice things but behind our backs, the AFL were hindering us. We were at war with these people.
“All of a sudden, the clubs would say to you: ‘We’ve been told not to deal with you or give you any f***ing support’. They went out of their way to make it difficult for us.
“We forged some really good friendships but there were definitely warnings from the AFL hierarchy to give the Melbourne Storm and rugby league boys no favours and not help the franchise.
“We were rugby league pioneers and wanted to put rugby league on the map in Melbourne. It was a battleground where we were trying to establish an outpost.”
Even today, Johns remains highly wary of Melbourne’s AFL officialdom.
A former NSW and Australian centre, Johns said Melbourne quite simply doesn’t want the Storm or rugby league in their city.
“The AFL won’t come out and say it publicly but, make no mistake, they are at war with us and they don’t want us to be successful in Melbourne. There is no doubt at all about that in my mind,” Johns said.
“I’m still wary of the AFL governing body – they don’t want rugby league around, full stop. They don’t want rugby league to take off in Victoria – the AFL would rather we weren’t in Melbourne, definitely not.
“For decades, the NRL has welcomed the Sydney Swans and different codes in our state but, behind the scenes, I can guarantee you, they are not friendly. The AFL are a very arrogant lot. They think their game is better than our game.
“Melbourne Storm can’t damage the AFL or take over Melbourne but the Storm is an introduction for the people of Melbourne to look at rugby league.
“The people down there watch a Storm game and then all of a sudden they’re watching a Broncos game, or Cowboys match. They then have an option they never had.
“When I first went to Melbourne, every cab driver was a mad Collingwood or Essendon supporter. That’s all they could talk about. No one knew anything about rugby league.
“But you go down there now and get into a cab, they know about Melbourne Storm; they know about rugby league. Melbourne Storm has now paved the way for fans to be a Storm fan and a Collingwood fan.
“I don’t think they are insecure but more aggressive than us. We have been the ‘nice guy’ for too long while they’ve been absolute bully boys.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subsc ... -2-NOSCORE
The Storm’s inaugural CEO has made the stunning claim that Melbourne’s sporting establishment doesn’t want rugby league in their city and that his club was sabotaged by the AFL in its formative years.
Chris Johns claims officials from AFL clubs told him when the Storm was founded in 1998: “We’ve been told not to deal with you or give you any f***ing support.”
“They still don’t want rugby league around, full stop. Behind the scenes, I can guarantee you, they are not friendly,” said Johns, who labelled the AFL as “absolute bully boys.”
“To this day, make no mistake, they are at war with us and don’t want us to be successful in Melbourne. On face value, they were saying nice things but behind our backs, the AFL were hindering us,” he said.
Johns’ provocative comments come as Melbourne confronts Brisbane in what shapes as an epic Sunday night NRL grand final.
It will be the Storm’s 12th grand final appearance in their 27-year history.
These days, Johns and former Test cricket Ian Healy own 10 Hoppy’s car wash franchises through southeast Queensland where they employ more than 200 employees.
While he fought for the Storm to be accepted in Melbourne over his five-year tenure, Johns was confronted with a multitude of obstacles created by the AFL.
He said the AFL and their clubs obstructed the Storm when the fledgling club attempted to hire high-performance and medical staff while also making it difficult by blocking the use of training fields and hampering marketing opportunities.
Johns, who played in Brisbane’s first-ever NSWRL match in 1988, was appointed inaugural Storm chief executive in 1998, the franchise remarkably winning a premiership the following year.
Asked whether the AFL sabotaged Melbourne Storm in the club’s developing years, Johns said: “One hundred per cent. We had lovely meetings with the AFL (Commission) and they were nice as pie and then you’d even meet with the clubs to try and form a relationship.
“On face value, they were saying nice things but behind our backs, the AFL were hindering us. We were at war with these people.
“All of a sudden, the clubs would say to you: ‘We’ve been told not to deal with you or give you any f***ing support’. They went out of their way to make it difficult for us.
“We forged some really good friendships but there were definitely warnings from the AFL hierarchy to give the Melbourne Storm and rugby league boys no favours and not help the franchise.
“We were rugby league pioneers and wanted to put rugby league on the map in Melbourne. It was a battleground where we were trying to establish an outpost.”
Even today, Johns remains highly wary of Melbourne’s AFL officialdom.
A former NSW and Australian centre, Johns said Melbourne quite simply doesn’t want the Storm or rugby league in their city.
“The AFL won’t come out and say it publicly but, make no mistake, they are at war with us and they don’t want us to be successful in Melbourne. There is no doubt at all about that in my mind,” Johns said.
“I’m still wary of the AFL governing body – they don’t want rugby league around, full stop. They don’t want rugby league to take off in Victoria – the AFL would rather we weren’t in Melbourne, definitely not.
“For decades, the NRL has welcomed the Sydney Swans and different codes in our state but, behind the scenes, I can guarantee you, they are not friendly. The AFL are a very arrogant lot. They think their game is better than our game.
“Melbourne Storm can’t damage the AFL or take over Melbourne but the Storm is an introduction for the people of Melbourne to look at rugby league.
“The people down there watch a Storm game and then all of a sudden they’re watching a Broncos game, or Cowboys match. They then have an option they never had.
“When I first went to Melbourne, every cab driver was a mad Collingwood or Essendon supporter. That’s all they could talk about. No one knew anything about rugby league.
“But you go down there now and get into a cab, they know about Melbourne Storm; they know about rugby league. Melbourne Storm has now paved the way for fans to be a Storm fan and a Collingwood fan.
“I don’t think they are insecure but more aggressive than us. We have been the ‘nice guy’ for too long while they’ve been absolute bully boys.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subsc ... -2-NOSCORE
