WHAT WAS CLAIMED
The Melbourne Storm has issued statements about the deaths of former players and staff.
OUR VERDICT
False. The statements are fake.
AAP FACTCHECK - Melbourne Storm has not paid tribute to its inaugural captain Glen Lazarus upon his death, despite social media claims.
The NRL club confirmed the former premiership winner is alive and a statement attributed to it is fake.
The claim is in a Facebook post featuring a photo of Lazarus with the words 'IN LOVING MEMORY' and 'Rest in Peace'.
"The rugby league community is quietly mourning the passing of Glenn Lazarus, a great legend of the Melbourne Storm," the post reads.
"At the age of 60, his passing has left a profound shock to fans around the world. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to your family."
The post includes a link to an article featuring a statement attributed to the club.
"Glenn Lazarus was our first captain, our first champion, and our first true hero. He showed Melbourne what rugby league was all about," the alleged statement reads.
The page also posted a claim that a Melbourne Storm cheerleader named Adria Hight died along with a link to a similar article featuring another alleged club statement.
"Our hearts are broken," the alleged statement reads.
"She was a light in our organization for so many years."
However, a Melbourne Storm spokesperson confirmed it did not issue the statements, Lazarus was alive and the supposed cheerleader did not exist.
The page, Purple Storm Flock, claims to be based in the US, but Facebook transparency data shows it is operated from Vietnam.
Numerous similar pages have made near-identical posts about supposed cheerleaders for US sports teams who have recently died.
Other posts from the same page appear to show rival club captains giving the finger to reporters at press conferences after matches against the Storm.
One image shows Dolphins captain Tom Gilbert gesturing after his side defeated the Storm 28-10 on May 1, 2026.
However, the image is a digitally altered screenshot from a post-match press conference video published by Fox Sports.
Gilbert makes no such gesture during his appearance.
A similar post shows South Sydney captain Cameron Murray giving reporters the finger after an April match against the Storm.
However, this is also an altered screenshot from a press conference published by Fox Sports, where Murray made no such gesture
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked fake posts targeting fans of the Melbourne Storm, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos.
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