2010 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
NRL Rank | 16th (wooden spoon) | |||
2010 record | Wins: 14; draws: 0; losses: 10 | |||
Points scored | For: 489; against: 363 | |||
Team information | ||||
CEO | Brian Waldron Matt Hanson Frank Stanton (acting) Ron Gauci | |||
Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
Captain |
| |||
Stadium | AAMI Park – 30,050 (9 Games) Etihad Stadium - 53,500 (3 Games) | |||
Avg. attendance | 14,670 | |||
High attendance | 25,480 (Round 4) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Greg Inglis (11) | |||
Goals | Cameron Smith (54) | |||
Points | Cameron Smith (116) | |||
|
The 2010 Melbourne Storm season was the 13th in the club's history and competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership. After winning the first four games of the season, Storm's season would hit a significant challenge after Round 6 when the NRL penalised the club for salary cap breaches with the team unable to play for points for the remainder of the season. These revelations also saw them stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premiership titles.
Craig Bellamy and the players maintained an incredible focus to win 14 games for the year, the same number they achieved the previous season. That would have been enough to see them finish in fifth spot on the ladder. This season remains the only time Storm have missed the finals in the Bellamy era.
Greg Inglis scored 11 tries to finish as the team's leading try scorer in his final year at Storm. Other notable players to leave included Brett White, Ryan Hoffman, Brett Finch, Jeff Lima and Aiden Tolman. However, there were several highlights during the season with youngsters Jesse Bromwich, Matthew Duffie, Luke Kelly, Rory Kostjasyn, Justin O’Neill and Gareth Widdop all bursting on the scene.
Storm also played their first ever game at AAMI Park in Round 9. Ryan Hinchcliffe was named Storm's player of the year while Ron Gauci was installed as Storm CEO midway through the difficult season and set about rebuilding the Club over the next several seasons. Craig Bellamy continues to be highly regarded for the way he led the Club throughout 2010 and had this to say when summing up the season.
"When we found out it was obviously devastating and the year has been a drawn-out and difficult one ever since. But we stayed competitive, we unearthed some good kids and we conducted ourselves with dignity. For that I’m proud of the boys. It’s sad to see guys go especially given the massive contribution they have had to this club". - Craig Bellamy [1]
On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of their titles of 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships following an alleged insider tip-off to the NRL auditing body that the club had not been complying with the NRL salary cap. The club had a long-term system of keeping two sets of books, one set displaying players incomes' complying with the NRL salary cap and another hidden set in a separate room disclosing the true player payments. Following evidence of salary cap breaches, Melbourne were also fined a record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points received in the season and barred from receiving any further premiership points (including those for the two byes) for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them zero points and the wooden spoon for 2010. [8]
On 24 April coach Craig Bellamy publicly announced that he vowed to rebuild the shattered club, and welcomed the NRL's investigation into the salary cap rorting before a training session with the team which was watched by thousands of cheering supporters. [9]
Players were still allowed to play Test and/or State of Origin matches and for some of those players it did not affect Queensland's bid for a fifth straight Origin series victory. Later in the season the Storm were also stripped of the 2010 World Club Challenge title, and Cameron Smith was stripped of his Man of the Match award as well. The team's under-20s team was not affected.
Round | Player | Milestone |
---|---|---|
Round 1 | Luke MacDougall | Storm debut |
Jesse Bromwich | NRL debut | |
Rory Kostjasyn | NRL debut | |
Round 2 | Todd Lowrie | Storm debut 100th NRL game |
Round 3 | Greg Inglis | 100th game |
Ryan Hinchcliffe | 50th NRL game | |
Bryan Norrie | Storm debut | |
Round 7 | Matthew Duffie | NRL debut |
Gareth Widdop | NRL debut | |
Round 12 | Chase Stanley | Storm debut |
Round 13 | Cooper Cronk | 150th game |
Round 14 | Justin O'Neill | NRL debut |
Round 15 | Brett Finch | 250th NRL game |
Round 21 | Aiden Tolman | 50th game |
Sione Kite | Storm debut | |
Round 24 | Sika Manu | 50th game |
Round 26 | Cameron Smith | 1000 points |
Total | Matches | Average | |
---|---|---|---|
Home | 176,041 | 12 | 14,670 |
Away | 168,109 | 12 | 14,009 |
All | 344,150 | 24 | 14,340 |
Apparel supplier KooGa redesigned the home and clash jerseys for the 2010 season. The home jersey emphasised the club's purple colour, with the back of the jersey mostly purple for the first time. Two white lightning bolts featured on the front of the jersey, with navy blue side panels and shoulders. The home jersey was worn with navy blue shorts and socks.
The club's clash jersey was a similar to the home jersey but in white, with purple-coloured lightning bolts. The clash jersey was worn with purple shorts and white socks.
A one-off design was worn in the 2010 World Club Challenge match against Leeds Rhinos, with silver lightning bolts on a gradient-faded purple design on the front and back of the jersey.
Following the exposure of the salary cap breaches, major sponsors ME Bank and Hostplus removed their corporate logos from the jersey, [10] [11] with other sponsors Jayco Australia and Suzuki hastily taking their places from round 7 onward.
Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 February | Trial | Brisbane Broncos | Browne Park, Rockhampton | Lost | 12 | 24 | L MacDougall, A Killingbeck | G Widdop 2/2 | [12] [13] [14] | |
20 February | Trial | Newcastle Knights | St John Oval, Charlestown | Lost | 10 | 66 | B Leslie, F Makimare | D O'Regan 1/2 | [15] [16] | |
21 February | UK Tour | Harlequins RL | The Stoop, London, England | Won | 34 | 10 | D Nielsen (2), A Quinn, K Proctor, H Cahill, R Kostjasyn | G Widdop 5/6 | [2] |
Leeds Rhinos | 10 – 18 | Melbourne Storm |
---|---|---|
Tries:1 McGuire 48' Goals:3/3 Sinfield pen 4'(1/1) Burrow pen 33', 49'(2/2) | 1st: 4 – 4 2nd: 6 – 14 Report | Tries:2 MacDougall 51' Quinn 78' Goals:5/5 Smith pen 7', pen 38', 52', pen 60', 79' |
Elland Road, Leeds Attendance: 27,697 Referee: Richard Silverwood Player of the Match: Cameron Smith (Note: Later stripped due to Melbourne Storm's breach of the NRL's salary cap) |
Source: [17]
Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 March | 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Stadium, Sydney | Won | 14 | 10 | G Inglis, L MacDougall | C Smith 3/3 | [18] | ||
20 March | 2 | Newcastle Knights | Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle | Won | 20 | 14 | L MacDougall, A Quinn, D Nielsen | C Smith 4/5 | [19] | ||
27 March | 3 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Won | 16 | 10 | B Finch, B Slater, L MacDougall | C Smith 2/3 | [20] | ||
2 April | 4 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Won | 17 | 4 | D Nielsen, A Quinn, B Slater | C Smith 2/5 | C Cronk | [21] | |
9 April | 5 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Gold Coast | Lost | 16 | 20 | A Quinn (3) | C Smith 2/3 | [22] | ||
19 April | 6 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Lost | 16 | 18 | C Cronk (2), B Norrie | C Smith 2/3 | [23] | ||
25 April | 7 | New Zealand Warriors | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Won | 40 | 6 | M Duffie (2), C Smith, A Blair, R Tandy, W Isa, B Slater | C Smith 6/7 | [24] | ||
1 May | 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Won | 34 | 6 | B Norrie, M Duffie, G Inglis, B Finch, D Nielsen, A Quinn, J Lima | C Smith 3/6, G Inglis 0/1 | [25] | ||
9 May | 9 | Brisbane Broncos | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Lost | 14 | 36 | M Duffie (2), A Quinn | G Inglis 1/2, C Cronk 0/1 | [26] | ||
15 May | 10 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Won | 17 | 6 | G Inglis (3) | G Inglis 2/2, C Cronk 0/1 | B Finch | [27] | |
22 May | 11 | Bye | |||||||||
30 May | 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 23 | 12 | D Nielsen, C Stanley, L MacDougall, G Widdop | G Widdop 3/4 | B Finch | [28] | |
4 June | 13 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 10 | 24 | B Slater, G Inglis | C Smith 1/2 | [29] | ||
14 June | 14 | Sydney Roosters | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Lost | 6 | 38 | R Kostjasyn | C Stanley 1/1 | [30] | ||
19 June | 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 58 | 12 | J O'Neill (3), M Duffie (2), B Slater (2), G Inglis, J Lima, C Cronk | C Smith 5/6, G Inglis 3/3, B Finch 1/1 | [31] | ||
26 June | 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | Lost | 14 | 16 | J O'Neill (2), G Inglis | C Smith 1/3 | [32] | ||
2 July | 17 | Bye | |||||||||
10 July | 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Lost | 18 | 20 | B Finch, B Slater, S Manu | C Smith 2/2, G Inglis 1/1 | [33] | ||
17 July | 19 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Lost | 6 | 13 | B Slater | C Smith | [34] | ||
24 July | 20 | Penrith Panthers | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 10 | D Nielsen, J O'Neill, M Duffie | C Smith 3/3 | [35] | ||
1 August | 21 | Canberra Raiders | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 36 | 12 | D Nielsen (2), J O'Neill (2), G Inglis, B Slater, T Lowrie | C Smith 4/5, G Inglis 0/1, A Tolman 0/1 | [36] | ||
7 August | 22 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | Lost | 6 | 26 | R Hoffman | C Smith 1/1 | [37] | ||
15 August | 23 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 16 | R Hinchcliffe (2), B Slater | C Smith 3/3 | [38] | ||
21 August | 24 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 24 | 4 | C Smith, D Nielsen, S Manu, R Hinchcliffe | C Smith 4/4 | [39] | ||
29 August | 25 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | Lost | 14 | 26 | J O'Neill, W Isa, R Hoffman | C Smith 1/3 | [40] | ||
5 September | 26 | Newcastle Knights | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 34 | 4 | G Inglis (2), R Hinchcliffe, R Hoffman, B White, A Tolman | C Smith 4/4, J Lima 1/1, R Hoffman 0/1 | [41] |
Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 518 | 299 | +219 | 38 |
2 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 645 | 489 | +156 | 34 |
3 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 537 | 503 | +34 | 34 |
4 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 520 | 498 | +22 | 34 |
5 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 539 | 486 | +53 | 32 |
6 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 559 | 510 | +49 | 32 |
7 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 499 | 493 | +6 | 30 |
8 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 28 |
9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 584 | 567 | +17 | 26 |
10 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 508 | 535 | −27 | 26 |
11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 499 | 569 | −70 | 24 |
12 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 413 | 491 | −78 | 24 |
13 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 494 | 539 | −45 | 22 |
14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 354 | 609 | −255 | 18 |
15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 425 | 667 | −242 | 14 |
16 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 489 | 363 | +126 | 01 |
1 Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches. [42]
Losses
| Gains
|
This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2010.
Player | 2010 All Stars match | 2010 ANZAC Test | City vs Country Origin | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | 2010 Four Nations | Other Internationals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Blair | NRL All Stars | New Zealand | — | — | — | — | New Zealand | — |
Cooper Cronk | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Brett Finch | NRL All Stars | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ryan Hoffman | — | — | City | — | — | — | — | — |
Greg Inglis | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | — | — |
Willie Isa | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Samoa |
Sika Manu | — | New Zealand | — | — | — | — | New Zealand | — |
Justin O'Neill | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Junior Kangaroos |
Kevin Proctor | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Māori |
Billy Slater | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Cameron Smith | NRL All Stars | Australia | — | — | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Brett White | — | — | Country | New South Wales | New South Wales | — | Australia | — |
Gareth Widdop | — | — | — | — | — | — | England | England [lower-alpha 5] |
This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2010 NRL season.
Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Blair | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Jesse Bromwich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hep Cahill | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cooper Cronk | 21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
Matthew Duffie | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Brett Finch | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Ryan Hinchcliffe | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Ryan Hoffman | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Greg Inglis | 20 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 58 |
Willie Isa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Luke Kelly | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sione Kite | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rory Kostjasyn | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Jeff Lima | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
Todd Lowrie | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Luke MacDougall | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Sika Manu | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Dane Nielsen | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Bryan Norrie | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Justin O'Neill | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
Kevin Proctor | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Anthony Quinn | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
Robbie Rochow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Billy Slater | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
Cameron Smith | 20 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 116 |
Chase Stanley | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Ryan Tandy | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Aiden Tolman | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Brett White | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Gareth Widdop | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
30 players used | – | 88 | 67 | 3 | 489 |
Most points in a game: 16 points
Most tries in a game: 3
Highest score in a winning game: 58 points
Lowest score in a winning game: 14 points
Greatest winning margin: 46 points
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4
Highest score in a losing game: 18 points
Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points
Greatest losing margin: 32 points
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 3
For the first time in club history, a reserve grade team played as Melbourne Storm, with the club entering a team into the New South Wales Cup competition. [46] Coached by former Canberra Raiders 2008 Toyota Cup winning coach, Tony Adam, Melbourne finished in seventh position on the ladder (out of 12 teams) qualifying for the finals series. They were eliminated by Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers in the first week of the finals, defeated 48-18. [47] This was the only season that Melbourne fielded a reserve grade team under their own brand.
2010 New South Wales Cup [48] | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
7 | Melbourne Storm | 25 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 627 | 727 | -100 | 22 |
In the third season of the NRL's National Youth Championship, Dean Pay replaced Brad Arthur as coach, with Melbourne finishing the regular season in 13th place on the ladder.
Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 687 | 567 | +120 | 38 |
2 | New Zealand Warriors (P) | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 731 | 481 | +250 | 37 |
3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 773 | 596 | +177 | 36 |
4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 673 | 540 | +133 | 35 |
5 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 695 | 588 | +107 | 33 |
6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 764 | 734 | +30 | 33 |
7 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 568 | 583 | -15 | 30 |
8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 581 | 663 | -82 | 29 |
9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 620 | 532 | +88 | 28 |
10 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 690 | 635 | +55 | 27 |
11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 568 | 543 | +25 | 25 |
12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 612 | 732 | -120 | 23 |
13 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 683 | 782 | -99 | 22 |
14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 492 | 634 | -142 | 21 |
15 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 643 | 838 | -195 | 20 |
16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 454 | 786 | -332 | 11 |
Source: [49]
Most points in a game: 18 points
Most tries in a game: 3
Most points (season): 180
Most tries (season): 12
Winning gamesHighest score in a winning game: 62 points
Lowest score in a winning game: 20 points
Greatest winning margin: 52 points
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 3
| Losing gamesHighest score in a losing game: 42 points
Lowest score in a losing game: 12 points
Greatest losing margin: 48 points
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 6
|
For the second consecutive season, Melbourne entered a junior representative team in the New South Wales Rugby League under-18s competition S. G. Ball Cup. Melbourne would play most of their home games at their training venue Princes Park in Carlton.
Coached by club high performance manager Kim Williams, the team would again make the finals, finishing the regular season in sixth position on the ladder with seven wins from nine matches. Melbourne would lose an elimination final against third-placed Parramatta 70–12 to end their season. [50]
Melbourne Storm Awards Night
| Dally M Awards Night
Additional Awards
|
The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). 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. They won the 2007 and 2009 grand finals, but were stripped of those premierships following salary cap breaches.
Gregory Paul Inglis, also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer, who regularly played as a centre, fullback, five-eighth and wing.
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season ten teams from New South Wales, two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach.
The 2007 Melbourne Storm season was the 10th in the club's history. They competed for NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing the season in 1st place to claim the minor premiership before going on to reach the 2007 NRL grand final, their third. In the grand final the Storm defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles to claim their second premiership. However two years after the event Melbourne were stripped of their 2007 titles after being found guilty of long-term salary cap breaches.
The 2006 Melbourne Storm season was the 9th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership, winning a record 20 out of 24 regular season games to finish in first place and win the minor premiership, eight points clear of the second-placed Bulldogs. The team backed up their stellar defensive effort the previous year to concede just 404 points in 2006. The retirement of Robbie Kearns saw a rotating captaincy introduced between David Kidwell, Scott Hill, Cameron Smith, Matt Geyer and Michael Crocker. Cooper Cronk also assumed the halfback duties following the departure of Matt Orford. Storm won 13 of their last 14 games of the season to take a great run of form into the finals where they progressed to reach their first Grand Final since 1999 after wins over the Eels and Dragons. This broke a run of three straight semi-final exits for Craig Bellamy’s team.
The 2004 Melbourne Storm season was the 7th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2004 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 6th out of 15 teams.
The 2005 Melbourne Storm season was the 8th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 6th out of 15 teams and making the finals. The season began with two big wins over the Knights and Dragons, each by more than 30 points. The form line followed a similar path to the previous season though as the team struggled to string consecutive wins together and hovered around the lower part of the eight for much of the season before ultimately finishing sixth once again. Future star Greg Inglis made his debut in Round 6. Storm finished the season with the second best defence in the competition and again went to Suncorp Stadium in Week One of the finals, producing the same result to defeat the Broncos. However for the third straight season the side was unable to progress past the semi-final stage, losing to the Cowboys. At the end of the season, Storm legends Robbie Kearns and Matt Geyer were inducted as inaugural life members of the Club.
The 2008 Melbourne Storm season was the 11th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season as minor premiers before reaching the grand final in which they were beaten by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–0, the largest margin in grand final history. The minor premiership won by the Storm in 2008 was later stripped by the NRL in 2010 when it was revealed the club had been in breach of salary cap rules.
The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first match played on 13 March and ended with the grand final, played on 4 October. The Grand Final was won by the Melbourne Storm in their fourth consecutive grand final appearance. However, they were stripped of their Premiership on 22 April 2010 after they were found to be guilty of breaching the league's salary cap.
The 2009 National Rugby League season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 13 March and ending on 6 September, followed by four weeks of play-offs which culminated in the grand final on 4 October.
The 2009 Melbourne Storm season was the 12th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 4th out of 16 teams. They then progressed to their fourth consecutive grand final, this time to be played against the Parramatta Eels and won, claiming their second premiership in three seasons, a title later stripped in 2010 after being found guilty of salary cap breaches.
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium. Sixteen teams competed for the 2010 Telstra Premiership whilst the third season of the National Youth Competition was also in progress.
The Melbourne Storm salary cap breach was a major breach of the National Rugby League's strictly enforced salary cap by the Melbourne Storm club over a period of five years. The discovery of these breaches in 2010 by the NRL resulted in it stripping the Storm of all honours achieved as a team between 2006 and 2010. This included the 2007 and 2009 premierships, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships and the 2010 World Club Challenge title.
The 2011 Melbourne Storm season was the 14th in the club's history. They competed in the 2011 NRL season and finished the regular season in first place, winning the J.J. Giltinan Shield for taking out the minor premiership.
The 2007 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive, premiership-deciding match of the 2007 NRL season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and second-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Telstra Stadium on 30 September, in front of 81,392 spectators. The 2007 Grand final was the fourth to be played between the first and second placed teams, and the first in three years. The match was the last Grand Final played at night until 2013; each Grand Final in the intervention switched to a 5:00pm AEST kick-off. This match was also the most-watched television program on Australian TV for 2007.
The 2012 Melbourne Storm season was the club's 15th NRL season. Coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith, they competed in and won the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership. The first nine weeks of the season were very successful, with the club winning all games for what was at the time their best start to a season. From round 10 to round 21 they won only three games and lost seven, including a five-game losing streak between rounds 16 and 21, their second worst ever. From round 22 onward they recovered their winning form and finished the regular season with five straight wins, finishing in second place. The Storm then went on to defeat South Sydney and Manly in the finals series before going on to face minor premiers, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the 2012 NRL Grand Final, winning 14–4 to claim the Premiership.
The 2003 Melbourne Storm season was the 6th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 5th out of 15 teams, before reaching the semi-final where they were knocked out by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. It was Craig Bellamy's first season as head coach of the club.
The 2002 Melbourne Storm season was the 5th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2002 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 10th place making it their lowest finishing position until 2010, when it was sentenced to finish that season last due to gross salary cap breaches. As of 2022, it is also the most recent time that the Storm missed the finals due to not winning enough games. It was Mark Murray's final season as coach of the club.
The 2016 Melbourne Storm season was the 19th in the club's history, they competed in the 2016 NRL season and were coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching for his 14th consecutive season during which he coached his 350th Game. Melbourne Storm were also captained in 2016 by Cameron Smith, who was the sole captain for the team since 2008 making this his 9th consecutive season. In the pre-season the Storm competed in the 2016 Auckland Nines tournament, reaching the semi-finals.
Xavier Coates is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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