Official thread and signing news
Yep that’s HugoStorm Spirit wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 12:26 pmSallymay…is that Hugo Peel in the latest Insta post with Tui & Harry promoting the round 1 matches for pathways teams ?
If so that’s an incredible sign (to me anyway) that the Club has a massive wrap on him as a future FG player. If it’s Hugo, he’s almost as tall as Tui…WOW a future FB with big physical presence.
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Storm Spirit
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Thanks Sallymaysallymay wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 6:52 pmYep that’s HugoStorm Spirit wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 12:26 pmSallymay…is that Hugo Peel in the latest Insta post with Tui & Harry promoting the round 1 matches for pathways teams ?
If so that’s an incredible sign (to me anyway) that the Club has a massive wrap on him as a future FG player. If it’s Hugo, he’s almost as tall as Tui…WOW a future FB with big physical presence.
Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time
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As reported today by Fox Sports...
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... e2af817653
STORM RECRUIT DOGS HOOKER
The Melbourne Storm have recruited dummy-half Alan Holten to their inaugural NSW Cup reserve-grade squad.
Named in this week’s Pre-Season Challenge match for the Storm, Holten arrives at the club from the Canterbury Bulldogs in which he made two appearances for their NSW Cup side during the 2025 campaign.
In these two games, Holten crossed the line for one try and had 29 total tackles (93.6 per cent efficiency rate) to go with 90 running metres.
He previously spent time in the Sydney Roosters pathways system and even appeared for them during the 2024 NRL Pre-Season Challenge.
The Storm have also signed multi-time Italian international Joey Tramontana.
A former Peter Sterling Medallist, the 28-year-old has been named in the club’s team list for their upcoming pre-season match against the Canberra Raiders and will look to make a lasting impression.
He previously spent time in the Parramatta Eels and Bulldogs system as a junior and attended the famed Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown in which he went to school with Christian Crichton, Tyrone May, Soni Luke and Tyrell Fuimaono.s reported today by Fox Sports....
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... e2af817653
STORM RECRUIT DOGS HOOKER
The Melbourne Storm have recruited dummy-half Alan Holten to their inaugural NSW Cup reserve-grade squad.
Named in this week’s Pre-Season Challenge match for the Storm, Holten arrives at the club from the Canterbury Bulldogs in which he made two appearances for their NSW Cup side during the 2025 campaign.
In these two games, Holten crossed the line for one try and had 29 total tackles (93.6 per cent efficiency rate) to go with 90 running metres.
He previously spent time in the Sydney Roosters pathways system and even appeared for them during the 2024 NRL Pre-Season Challenge.
The Storm have also signed multi-time Italian international Joey Tramontana.
A former Peter Sterling Medallist, the 28-year-old has been named in the club’s team list for their upcoming pre-season match against the Canberra Raiders and will look to make a lasting impression.
He previously spent time in the Parramatta Eels and Bulldogs system as a junior and attended the famed Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown in which he went to school with Christian Crichton, Tyrone May, Soni Luke and Tyrell Fuimaono.s reported today by Fox Sports....
Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 1eeda6fe1b
Starting to get a bit messy this, as it was always going to. Not sure how I feel about it if true. Surely storm + nrl respond to this. If untrue, parra may have just sealed their fate. Seems to me like parra are doing a lot of lashing out and leaking info to sway public opinion and defame prior to court hearing (which i dont think helps a cause come the hearing itself)as they know they are fighting a losing batttle. What happened to 'making no comment as the matter is before the courts?'.
Starting to get a bit messy this, as it was always going to. Not sure how I feel about it if true. Surely storm + nrl respond to this. If untrue, parra may have just sealed their fate. Seems to me like parra are doing a lot of lashing out and leaking info to sway public opinion and defame prior to court hearing (which i dont think helps a cause come the hearing itself)as they know they are fighting a losing batttle. What happened to 'making no comment as the matter is before the courts?'.
The most interesting part of that is the line about salary cap relief;
It's pretty clear that they are being unreasonable and if nothing else, they will be successful in stopping Lomax from playing in round one - but I still don't think that they'll win the case beyond that point.
And it blows my mind how fans in general seem to get so angry about this whole story, based purely on "how dare he break a contract, he signed it, if he can play for the Storm then contracts don't mean anything anymore!!!!!" - and they just somehow disregard or forget all of the players (and clubs) that have broken agreements and contracts in the past, like this is some kind of new thing....I guess it's ok until the Storm are involved
If Lomax was still a contracted Eels player, he'd just "agitate for a release" (ie. stomp and shout and carry on until he gets what he wants) like every player before him, and the Eels would get next to nothing from the whole ordeal.
I'm not certain how that works (Storm pay some of the Eels cap with money from their own?) but it flat out destroys the argument that the Eels and their fans seem to have relating to money not helping their team. Beyond that I understand the Storm offered to take on the contract of Ryan Matterson from the Eels - essentially taking one of their unwanted players off of their books, that's in addition to the salary cap relief.According to the court documents, the Storm made an offer of $300,000, with $211,000 to be in the form of salary cap relief and the remaining $89,000 to come in the form of a transfer fee.
It's pretty clear that they are being unreasonable and if nothing else, they will be successful in stopping Lomax from playing in round one - but I still don't think that they'll win the case beyond that point.
And it blows my mind how fans in general seem to get so angry about this whole story, based purely on "how dare he break a contract, he signed it, if he can play for the Storm then contracts don't mean anything anymore!!!!!" - and they just somehow disregard or forget all of the players (and clubs) that have broken agreements and contracts in the past, like this is some kind of new thing....I guess it's ok until the Storm are involved
If Lomax was still a contracted Eels player, he'd just "agitate for a release" (ie. stomp and shout and carry on until he gets what he wants) like every player before him, and the Eels would get next to nothing from the whole ordeal.Traylor the fans are so upset because of their irrational hatred for the Storm, which is fuelled by the media (I follow a lot of sport and I haven't seen a group of media so biased as the NSW NRL media).
The Storm are the "only" team that has a wrestling coach, invented all the bad tackles - chicken wing, grapple, Canon ball etc. Only tram thst makes illegal tackles, cue the normal articles a month or so before finals.
Only team that breached the salary cap. Some fans still believe we only won GFs because of breaching the salary cap. Even though we have won 3 premierships and made countless GFs since then.
The Storm are the "only" team that has a wrestling coach, invented all the bad tackles - chicken wing, grapple, Canon ball etc. Only tram thst makes illegal tackles, cue the normal articles a month or so before finals.
Only team that breached the salary cap. Some fans still believe we only won GFs because of breaching the salary cap. Even though we have won 3 premierships and made countless GFs since then.
Don't mind it either, hell, lets get both if we can.
Another 2 targets I'd like to see the club go after now that linday smith has resigned and that's not happening is cambell graham if he gets stuck on the wing which looks to be the case, or tray fuller if hammer boots him from the first grade side and sua don't work out - he's elite.
