2004 Melbourne Storm season

Last updated
2004 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank6th
Play-off resultSemi-final Loss
2004 recordWins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 11
Points scoredFor: 684; against: 517
Team information
CEO Frank Stanton (Interim)
Coach Craig Bellamy
Captain
Stadium Olympic Park
Avg. attendance8,886
High attendance10,621 (Round 16)
Top scorers
Tries Steven Bell (18)
Goals Matt Orford (56)
Points Matt Orford (153)
  2003 List of seasons 2005  

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.

Contents

Inconsistency plagued Storm in Craig Bellamy’s second season in charge, but the team won four games in a row during the middle part of the year to move into the top four. They could not maintain their run though, eventually finishing sixth. Once again Storm won its first final, a 31-14 triumph over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium before bowing out to the Bulldogs for the second straight season the following week. John Ribot departed the club early in the 2004 season with Frank Stanton stepping in as acting CEO for the next 12 months. [1]

Season Summary

Milestone games

RoundPlayerMilestone
Round 2 Ben MacDougall Storm debut
Round 2 Alex Chan Storm debut
Round 3 Steve Turner Storm debut
Round 6 Danny Williams 200th game
Round 7 David Kidwell 100th game
Round 8 Kirk Reynoldson 50th game
Round 9 Cooper Cronk NRL debut
Round 12 Stephen Kearney 200th game
Round 16 Matt Geyer 150th game
Round 19 Scott Hill 150th game
Round 21 Robbie Kearns 250th game
Round 22 Matt Orford 100th game
Round 22 Rodney Howe 150th game
Round 23 Jeremy Smith NRL debut
Round 26 Andrew McFadden 100th game

Jerseys

Melbourne's jerseys were unchanged from the designs implemented by Canterbury of New Zealand in 2003. The club's clash colours were again a mostly white design with a purple chevron and gold thunderbolts, worn with navy shorts. Honda finished up as sponsor at the end of 2003, and there was no sleeve sponsor for 2004.

Fixtures

Pre Season

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.Source
24 January Rugby League World Sevens Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon Aussie Stadium, Sydney Won2722
24 January Rugby League World Sevens St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost1029
25 January Rugby League World Sevens Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost1722
DateRdOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsRef
14 FebruaryTrial Western Suburbs colours.svg Tweed Heads Seagulls Noosa District Sports Complex, Tewantin Won2814 [5] [6]
21 FebruaryTrial Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba Lost1014M Geyer, S HillM Geyer (1) [7]
28 FebruaryTrial Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga Wagga Lost2030G Turner, F Moala, M King, B SlaterC Smith (2) [8] [9] [10]
7 MarchTrial Newtown colours.svg Newtown Jets Henson Park, Sydney Won540S Turner (3), F Moala (2), M King (2), B Slater, P Robinson, K ReynoldsonC Smith (5), M Geyer [11] [12] [13]

Regular season

Source: [14]

DateRdOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsRef
13 March1 Bye
21 March2 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost2636S Hill, F Moala, B Slater, G TurnerC Smith 5/5 [15]
28 March3 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons Olympic Park, Melbourne Won346S Turner (2), D Cooper, M King, B MacDougall, M OrfordC Smith 4/7, D Cooper 1/1 [16]
4 April4 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Lost2634M King (2), S Hill, R Hoffman, B SlaterC Smith 3/5, M Orford 0/1 [17]
11 April5 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Penrith Park, Sydney Lost2630M King (2), D Cooper, M Orford, P RobinsonC Smith 3/5 [18]
17 April6 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Olympic Park, Melbourne Won504J Webster (3), D Williams (2), D Cooper, D Kidwell, M Orford, C SmithC Smith 5/6, M Orford 1/1, D Williams 1/1, D Cooper 1/1 [19]
24 April7 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Olympic Park, Melbourne Won286S Bell, M Geyer, D Johnson, K Reynoldson, B SlaterC Smith 3/5, M Orford 1/1 [20]
2 May8 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Lost1420S Bell (2), S HillC Smith 1/3 [21]
8 May9 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost2636S Bell (2), D Cooper (2), B SlaterC Smith 3/5 [22]
16 May10 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Won3616D Cooper (2), S Bell, D Johnson, R Kearns, C SmithC Smith 6/8 [23]
22 May11 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Olympic Park, Melbourne Won2218C Cronk, S Hill, S Kearney, B MacDougallM Orford 3/4 [24]
29 May12 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Won2818M Geyer (3), S Hill, B SlaterC Smith 4/5 [25]
5 June13 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won3024S Bell, D Johnson, R Kearns, D Kidwell, B SlaterM Orford 3/4, C Smith 2/3 [26]
12 June14 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost2628A Chan (2), S Bell, D Cooper, D KidwellM Orford 3/5 [27]
19 June15 Bye
26 June16 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Olympic Park, Melbourne Won426M King (3), B MacDougall (2), S Bell, D Kidwell, B SlaterM Orford 4/7, D Cooper 1/1 [28]
2 July17 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won6614S Turner (3), C Cronk (2), M King (2), S Hill, R Hoffman, D Kidwell, B MacDougallM Orford 11/12 [29]
11 July18 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sydney Showground, Sydney Lost1825D Kidwell, B Slater, C SmithM Orford 3/3 [30]
17 July19 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Lost1832B Slater (2), M OrfordM Orford 3/3 [31]
24 July20 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Olympic Park, Melbourne Won2216M Orford (3), M KingM Orford 3/5 [32]
1 August21 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost1026M King, C SmithM Orford 1/2 [33]
6 August22 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong Lost1434S Bell, M King, M OrfordM Orford 1/3 [34]
15 August23 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Canberra Stadium, Canberra Won3618S Bell, M Geyer, M King, B MacDougall, M Orford, B Slater, J SmithM Orford 4/7 [35]
22 August24 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Olympic Park, Melbourne Won2212S Bell, S Hill, D JohnsonM Orford 5/6 [36]
28 August25 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Toyota Park, Sydney Won3628M Geyer (2), S Bell, D Johnson, D Kidwell, B MacDougall, B SlaterM Orford 4/7, S Kearney 0/1 [37]
5 September26 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval, Sydney Lost2830S Bell (2), S Hill (2), C CronkC Smith 4/5 [38]

Finals

Qualifying final
11 September 2004
Brisbane Broncos Brisbane colours.svg 14 - 31
[39]
Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Tries:
Tonie Carroll
Brent Tate
Goals:
Darren Lockyer 3/3
Tries:
Steven Bell
Matt Geyer
Scott Hill
Matt King
Matt Orford
Billy Slater
Goals:
Matt Orford 3/6
Field Goal:
Matt Orford
Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 31,100
Referee: Steve Clark

Semi final
19 September 2004
Bulldogs Canterbury colours.svg 43 - 18
[40]
Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Tries:
Johnathan Thurston (2)
Hazem El Masri
Luke Patten
Adam Perry
Andrew Ryan
Willie Tonga
Goals:
Hazem El Masri 7/8
Field Goal:
Brent Sherwin
Tries:
Steven Bell (2)
Billy Slater
Goals
Matt Orford 3/3
Aussie Stadium
Attendance: 23,750
Referee: Paul Simpkins

Ladder

PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 2419052710368+34242
2 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (P)2419052760491+26942
3 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 2416172602533+6937
4 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 2415092672567+10534
5 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons 24140102624415+20932
6 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 24130112684517+16730
7 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 24121112526514+1229
8 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 24110132554613−5926
9 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 24100142509534−2524
10 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 24100142516617−10124
11 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24100142528645−11724
12 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 2490152517626−10922
13 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2490152615754−13922
14 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 2460182427693−26616
15 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 2452172455812−35716

2004 Coaching Staff

2004 squad

List current as of 20 September 2021 [42]

Cap [lower-alpha 1] Nat.Player namePositionFirst Storm GamePrevious First Grade RL club [lower-alpha 2]
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robbie Ross FB 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Hunter Mariners
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Scott Hill FE 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Hunter Mariners
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rodney Howe PR 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Perth Reds
9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Danny Williams LK, SR, HK 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg North Sydney Bears
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robbie Kearns PR 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Perth Reds
18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Geyer WG 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Perth Reds
28 Flag of New Zealand.svg Stephen Kearney SR 1999 Flag of Australia (converted).svg New Zealand Warriors
34 Flag of Tonga.svg Fifita Moala WG 2000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
37 Flag of New Zealand.svg Glen Turner SR 2000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
38 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Robinson SR 2000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
43 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Orford HB 2001 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Northern Eagles
44 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steven Bell CE 2001 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
55 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cameron Smith HK 2002 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
56 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kirk Reynoldson SR 2002 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
58 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Billy Slater FB 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
59 Flag of New Zealand.svg David Kidwell SR 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sydney Roosters
60 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dallas Johnson LK 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
61 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jake Webster WG 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
62 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Hoffman SR 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
63 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew McFadden HB 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Parramatta Eels
64 Flag of New Zealand.svg Robert Tanielu PR 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brisbane Broncos
66 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dustin Cooper WG 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
67 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nathan Friend HK 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brisbane Broncos
68 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Antonio Kaufusi PR 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
69 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt King CE 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
70 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ben MacDougall CE 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
71 Flag of New Zealand.svg Alex Chan PR 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Parramatta Eels
72 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Turner WG 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Penrith Panthers
75 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
76 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jeremy Smith SR 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Dyer CE Yet to debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Penrith Panthers [lower-alpha 3]
Flag of Tonga.svg Sione Finefeuiaki PR Yet to debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm

Player movements

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2004.

Player 2004 ANZAC Test City vs Country Origin State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Tri-Nations [lower-alpha 4]
Scott Hill CountryAustralia
Stephen Kearney New Zealand
David Kidwell New ZealandNew Zealand
Matt King Country
Matt Orford City
Billy Slater QueenslandQueenslandQueensland
Cameron Smith QueenslandQueenslandQueensland

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2004 NRL season.

Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Steven Bell 24180072
Alex Chan 182008
Dustin Cooper 1382036
Cooper Cronk 1340016
Nathan Friend 30000
Matt Geyer 2180032
Scott Hill 24100040
Ryan Hoffman 202008
Rodney Howe 230000
Dallas Johnson 1950020
Antonio Kaufusi 60000
Stephen Kearney 241004
Robbie Kearns 222008
David Kidwell 2670028
Matt King 20150060
Andrew McFadden 20000
Ben MacDougall 2270028
Fifita Moala 11004
Matt Orford 2510561153
Kirk Reynoldson 201004
Peter Robinson 61004
Billy Slater 22140056
Cameron Smith 234430102
Jeremy Smith 21004
Robert Tanielu 30000
Glen Turner 101004
Steve Turner 750020
Jake Webster 630012
Danny Williams 1721010
29 players used1321021733

Scorers

Most points in a game: 22 points

Most tries in a game: 3

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 66 points

Lowest score in a winning game: 22 points

Greatest winning margin: 52 points

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 28 points

Lowest score in a losing game: 10 points

Greatest losing margin: 25 points

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

Feeder Team

Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Coached for a second season by Gary Greinke, Norths returned to the finals, finishing second in the regular season behind eventual premiers Burleigh Bears. However, the Devils were bundled out of the finals in straight sets. Melbourne Storm rookie Jeremy Smith won the Devils Player of the Year Award.

During the season, Greg Inglis made his first grade debut as a 17-year-old, scoring two tries. Inglis would play six Queensland Cup games for the season, scoring eight tries, also representing Queensland in underage representative games. [45]

2004 Queensland Cup
PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
2 Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils 221516789503+28631

Awards and honours

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

Dally M Awards Night

Notes

  1. Players are listed with the cap number as they appear on the Melbourne Storm honour board. Additional squad members do not have a cap number.
  2. This column denotes the previous RL club the player was signed to and played first grade RL for. If they are yet to debut then this is stipulated. If they were merely signed to the club but did not play then it is not counted.
  3. Luke Dyer played in the 2004 World Sevens tournament for Melbourne before transferring back to Penrith Panthers, making his first grade debut against Melbourne later in the 2004 NRL season.
  4. Including Australian tour matches against Papua New Guinea, France, and USA

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Storm</span> Australian rugby league football club

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.

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 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 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 1999 Melbourne Storm season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Glenn Lazarus, they competed in the National Rugby League's 1999 season, finishing the regular season in 3rd out of 17 teams. Melbourne reached the 1999 NRL Grand Final and defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons, claiming their first premiership.

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.

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 1998 Melbourne Storm season was the first in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's inaugural Premiership and their first season was a major surprise to many, with the new team reaching the top of the ladder in Round 15 and finishing the regular season in 3rd place, only one win behind minor premiers Brisbane. Adopting coach Chris Anderson's new "flat-line" attack, the big Storm forwards laid a platform for their young halves Scott Hill and Brett Kimmorley to wreak havoc on opposing teams. Melbourne's front-rowers Glenn Lazarus, Robbie Kearns and Rodney Howe were all selected to play for New South Wales in the 1998 State of Origin series. A late season injury to captain Lazarus combined with a lack of Finals experience saw the Storm knocked out in the play-offs. The club though had proven they were to be taken seriously, and they had easily produced the best debut season of any new team in the game's history.

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 2001 Melbourne Storm season was the 4th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2001 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 9th place.

The 2000 Melbourne Storm season was the third in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2000 Premiership and finished the regular season in sixth place, being eliminated in the first week of the finals.

The 2017 Melbourne Storm season was the 20th in the club's history. They competed in the 2017 NRL season and at the end of the Regular season had finished in 1st place earning them their third legitimate minor premiership. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 15th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 10th consecutive season. Cameron Smith broke a number of league, club and personal records throughout the 2017 season including the NRL games record for the most games played, league record for the most wins as a captain, a personal best for the most points in a game and also scored his 2000th career point and 1000th career goal, the first time any player has achieved this.

The 2018 Melbourne Storm season was the 21st in the club's history. They competed in the 2018 NRL season and did so as the reigning Premiers and Minor Premiers. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 16th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm was also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008 — making it his 11th consecutive season. In 2018, the club celebrated its 20th anniversary, which was launched on 30 October 2017 with the announcement that a new logo would feature for the duration of the 20 year celebrations including on a newly designed jersey.

The 2021 Melbourne Storm season was the 24th in the club's history competing in the 2021 NRL season. The team is coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 19th consecutive season. On 19 February 2021, the Melbourne Storm announced that Jesse Bromwich and Dale Finucane succeeded Cameron Smith, as co-captains of the club.

The 2022 Melbourne Storm season was the 25th in the club's history, competing in the 2022 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 20th consecutive season and for the second straight season, Melbourne had co-captains with Jesse Bromwich, and Christian Welch sharing the duties, following the departure of Dale Finucane.

The 2023 Melbourne Storm season was the 26th in the club's history, competing in the 2023 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 21st consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were captained by Christian Welch who was captain for the second consecutive season.

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