Like many other parts of the country, it’s been a stormy start to 2024 in Wyndham.
However, on Saturday a different type of storm rolled into town, one whose arrival was actually welcomed: The Melbourne Storm.
The NRL powerhouse came to Wyndham for an open training session at Alcock Reserve in Truganina, part of their preparations for the 2024 campaign.
Held with the support of Wyndham council, the open training session was the first time the Storm’s four teams – NRL, Jersey Flegg ( 21 and under ) S.G Ball (under 19) Harold Matthews (under 16) – had trained together in 2024.
Held in hot and sunny conditions, the training session attracted a strong turnout with Storm supporters from Wyndham and beyond getting the chance to get up close and personal with their NRL heroes who stayed back to sign autographs and take photos.
Among them were star Five-Eighth Cameron Munster and Victorian born Sualauvi Fa’alogo.
The Storm hope open training sessions like Saturday’s in Truganina will lead to more Victorians following in Fa’alogo’s footsteps and playing for the club.
To date only 5 Victoria born players have appeared for the Storm since their inception in 1998.
It’s one of the reasons why this year the Storm has taken over the state’s junior representative teams, meaning they can not only identify but also develop Victorian talent.
They’ll be hoping some of that talent will have been in attendance at Alcock Reserve on the weekend.
Cade Lucas.