2007 Melbourne Storm season

Last updated
2007 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank1st
Play-off result Grand Final Winners
2007 recordWins: 21; draws: 0; losses: 3
Points scoredFor: 627; against: 277
Team information
CEOBrian Waldron
Coach Craig Bellamy
Captain
Stadium Olympic Park
Avg. attendance11,711
High attendance14,066 (Round 9)
Top scorers
Tries Israel Folau (21)
Goals Cameron Smith (88)
Points Cameron Smith (192)
<  2006 List of seasons 2008  >

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.

Contents

The most successful season in the club's history as the team managed 21 wins on their way to winning the NRL Grand Final. Storm's success was built on the back of incredibly strong defence. Craig Bellamy's men conceded just 11.5 points per game, the best defensive season in the club's history. The year began with seven straight wins and by Round 12 Melbourne had moved into first place, where they remained for the rest of the season. Storm earned redemption from the 2006 Grand Final loss by beating the Broncos 40–0 in the Qualifying final. They faced Manly in the decider, running away with a 34–8 victory as Greg Inglis scored a double on the night to be awarded the Clive Churchill Medal. Cameron Smith increased his standing as the best player in the game by being awarded the Golden Boot after being named the International Player of the Year while Israel Folau set an NRL rookie record, scoring 21 tries for the season. [1]

Season Summary

Milestone games

RoundPlayerMilestone
Round 1 Anthony Quinn Storm debut
Round 1 Israel Folau NRL debut
Round 1 James Aubusson NRL debut
Round 2 Ryan Shortland NRL debut
Round 2 Brett White 50th game
Round 3 Cameron Smith 100th game
Round 4 Sam Tagataese NRL debut
Round 5 Russell Aitken Storm debut
Round 7 Antonio Kaufusi 50th game
Round 10 Will Chambers NRL debut
Round 10 Sika Manu NRL debut
Round 10 Scott Anderson NRL debut
Round 12 Garret Crossman 50th game
Round 13 Clint Newton Storm debut
Round 14 Matt Geyer 100th NRL try
Round 18 Steve Turner 50th game
Round 19 Ryan Hoffman 100th game
Round 19 Dallas Johnson 100th game
Round 21 Billy Slater 100th game
Round 21 Ben Cross 50th game
Round 25 Greg Inglis 50th game

Jerseys

Continuing with apparel manufacturer Reebok, the designs of Melbourne's home and clash jerseys were unchanged from 2006.

Fixtures

Pre Season

DateRdOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsRef
17 FebruaryTrial Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans BCU International Stadium, Coffs Harbour Won326W Chambers (2), D Johnson, A Quinn, S Tagataese, B SlaterC Smith (4) [9] [10] [11]
24 FebruaryTrial Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Quad Park, Sunshine Coast Lost2030A Kaufusi, B White, L Samoa, I DonnellyL Foran, L Samoa [12] [13]
3 MarchTrial Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos MC Labour Park, Melbourne Won460C Cronk (2), R Hoffman, M King, M Geyer, J Lima, B Slater, G InglisC Smith (6), J Smith [14]

Regular season

Source: [15]

DateRdOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsRef
16 March1 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won1816I Folau, R Hoffman, J SmithC Smith 3/3 [16]
24 March2 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Canberra Stadium, Canberra Won3216I Folau (2), B White (2), M Geyer, B SlaterC Smith 4/6 [17]
1 April3 Auckland colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Olympic Park, Melbourne Won3012I Folau (2), B Slater (2), R Hoffman, M KingC Smith 3/6 [18]
7 April4 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Won2212I Folau (2), M King, A QuinnC Smith 3/4 [19]
14 April5 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons OKI Jubilee Stadium, Sydney Won2410S Turner (2), I Folau, M King, A QuinnC Smith 1/4, S Turner 1/1 [20]
21 April6 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won3020C Cronk (2), C Smith (2), R HoffmanC Smith 5/6 [21]
27 April7 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Won2818B Slater (2), I Folau, R Hoffman, S TurnerC Smith 4/6 [22]
5 May8 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Lost1230D Johnson, M KingC Smith 2/2 [23]
14 May9 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Olympic Park, Melbourne Won3814C Cronk (2), M King (2), I Folau, R HoffmanC Smith 7/7 [24]
19 May10 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Olympic Park, Melbourne Won262W Chambers, I Folau, R Hoffman, J Lima, B SlaterS Turner 3/5 [25]
26 May11 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval, Sydney Lost1213I Folau, M KingC Smith 2/2 [26]
2 June12 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Olympic Park, Melbourne Won2610M Geyer, G Inglis, M King, S TurnerC Smith 5/5 [27]
10 June13 Auckland colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Won42J SmithS Turner 0/1 [28]
16 June14 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Won5812G Inglis (2), M King (2), C Cronk, M Geyer, C Newton, J Smith, S Tagataese, S TurnerC Smith 9/10 [29]
24 June15 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons Olympic Park, Melbourne Won286S Turner (2), M Geyer, R Hoffman, M King, C NewtonC Smith 2/7 [30]
30 June16 Bye
7 July17 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Won128I Folau, M KingC Smith 2/2 [31]
16 July18 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Olympic Park, Melbourne Won440A Quinn (2), B Slater (2), S Turner (2), R Hoffman, M King, C NewtonC Smith 3/6, S Turner 1/3 [32]
21 July19 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Olympic Park, Melbourne Won346G Inglis (2), I Folau, M Geyer, M King, S TurnerC Smith 5/6 [33]
27 July20 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost1626J Aubusson, C Cronk, I FolauC Smith 2/3 [34]
6 August21 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Toyota Park, Sydney Won1716I Folau, R Hoffman, M KingI Folau 2/3C Cronk [35]
12 August22 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Olympic Park, Melbourne Won146I Folau, M Geyer, G InglisC Smith 1/3 [36]
17 August23 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Olympic Park, Melbourne Won1410B Slater, C SmithC Smith 3/3 [37]
24 August24 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Telstra Stadium, Sydney Won386I Folau (3), M Geyer, J Lima, B SlaterC Smith 6/6, I Folau 1/1 [38]
2 September25 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans Olympic Park, Melbourne Won506M Crocker, C Cronk, I Folau, R Hoffman, G Inglis, M King, A Quinn, B Slater, S TurnerC Smith 5/6, I Folau 1/1, M King 1/1 [39]

Finals

Qualifying final
Sunday, 9 September
16:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg 40 – 0 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Tries:8
Turner Ru ball.svgRu ball.svgRu ball.svg
Geyer Ru ball.svg
King Ru ball.svg
Quinn Ru ball.svg
Slater Ru ball.svg
C Smith Ru ball.svg
Goals:4
C Smith Rugby penalty.svg(3/7)
Folau Rugby penalty.svg(1/2)
1st: 28–0
2nd: 12–0
Report
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 15,522
Referee: Steve Clark

Preliminary final
Sunday, 23 September
16:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg 26 – 10 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels
Tries:4
King Ru ball.svg 54', 80'
Turner Ru ball.svg 28'
Cronk Ru ball.svg 31'
Goals:5
C Smith Rugby penalty.svg 32', pen 53', 55', pen 73', 80'(5/6)
1st: 10–4
2nd: 16–6
Report
Tries:2
Grothe Jr. Ru ball.svg 11'
Reddy Ru ball.svg 43'
Goals:1
Inu Rugby penalty.svg 44'(1/2)
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 33,427
Referee: Tony Archer
Player of the Match: Ryan Hoffman (Melbourne)

2007 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September
19:15 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg 34 – 8 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries:7
Quinn Ru ball.svg 12', 76'
Inglis Ru ball.svg 23', 55'
Crocker Ru ball.svg 44'
King Ru ball.svg 52'
Newton Ru ball.svg 72'
Goals:3
C Smith Rugby penalty.svg 13', 74', 76'(3/8)
1st: 10–4
2nd: 24–4
Report
Tries:2
Matai Ru ball.svg 39'
Hicks Ru ball.svg 62'
Goals:
Orford (0/2)
ANZStadium, Sydney
Attendance: 81,392 [40] [41]
Referee: Tony Archer
Touch judges: Steve Chiddy, Russell Turner
Clive Churchill Medal: Greg Inglis (Melbourne)

Ladder

PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 2421031627277+35044
2 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2418061597377+22038
3 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 2415091547618−7132
4 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 24131101593434+15929
5 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 24130111573481+9228
6 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24120121575528+4726
7 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 24120121408399+926
8 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 24110131511476+3524
9 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 24110131541561−2024
10 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 24101131445610−16523
11 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24100141463403+6022
12 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 24100141409559−15022
13 St. George Illawarra colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons 2490151431509−7820
14 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 2490151522650−12820
15 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 2490151418708−29020
16 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers 2480161539607−6818

2007 Coaching Staff

2007 Squad

List current as of 18 October 2021

Cap [lower-alpha 1] Nat.Player namePositionFirst Storm GamePrevious First Grade RL club [lower-alpha 2]
18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Geyer WG 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Perth Reds
26 Flag of New Zealand.svg Matt Rua SR 1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
55 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cameron Smith (c) HK 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
60 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dallas Johnson LK 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
62 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Hoffman SR, LK 2003 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
68 Flag of Tonga.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
72 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Turner WG 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Penrith Panthers
73 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
74 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jeremy Smith LK 2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
76 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brett White PR 2005 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
77 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Donnelly PR 2005 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Manly Sea Eagles
79 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Inglis CE 2005 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
83 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garrett Crossman PR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Penrith Panthers
84 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Crocker SR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sydney Roosters
86 Flag of New Zealand.svg Adam Blair PR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
88 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ben Cross PR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
89 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Bartlett SR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
90 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jeff Lima PR 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wests Tigers
91 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Anthony Quinn WG 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Newcastle Knights
92 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Israel Folau WG 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
93 Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Aubusson HK 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
94 Flag of New Zealand.svg Ryan Shortland CE 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
95 Flag of Samoa.svg Sam Tagataese PR 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
96 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Russell Aitken HK 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cronulla Sharks
97 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Chambers CE 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
98 Flag of New Zealand.svg Sika Manu SR 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
99 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Scott Anderson PR 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
100 Flag of the United States.svg Clint Newton SR 2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Newcastle Knights
- Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aiden Tolman PR Yet to Debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
- Flag of New Zealand.svg Liam Foran HB Yet to Debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
- Flag of Australia (converted).svg Danny Vaughan PR Yet to Debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm
Flag of New Zealand.svg Paletasala Ale SR Yet to Debut Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm

2007 Grand Final Winning Team

Melbourne Storm
2007 Grand Final Winning TeamInterchangeCoach

Head coach



Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)


Team of the decade

As part of their 10-year celebrations in 2007, Melbourne Storm released a team of the decade. The 17-man team was selected by former assistant coach Greg Brentnall, foundation CEO John Ribot, and then board member Frank Stanton (all 3 were members of the 1982 Kangaroo tour "Invincibles", Brentnall and Ribot as players with Stanton the coach). The trio were joined by The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) journalist Steve Mascord. [4]

Melbourne Storm
Team of the DecadeInterchangeCoach

Head coach



Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 9 August 2014
Source(s): Team of the Decade

Player movements

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2007.

Player 2007 ANZAC Test City vs Country Origin State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 2007 All Golds Tour
Michael Crocker Australia
Cooper Cronk Australia
Ben Cross Country
Israel Folau Australia
Ryan Hoffman CityNew South WalesNew South WalesAustralia
Greg Inglis QueenslandQueenslandQueenslandAustralia
Dallas Johnson QueenslandQueenslandQueenslandAustralia
Antonio Kaufusi Queensland
Matt King AustraliaNew South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales
Jeff Lima New Zealand
Anthony Quinn Country
Cameron Smith AustraliaQueenslandQueenslandQueenslandAustralia (c)
Jeremy Smith New Zealand
Brett White CountryNew South Wales

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2007 NRL season.

Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Russell Aitken 10000
Scott Anderson 20000
James Aubusson 161004
Matthew Bartlett 20000
Adam Blair 80000
Will Chambers 51004
Michael Crocker 102008
Cooper Cronk 2580133
Ben Cross 230000
Garret Crossman 140000
Ian Donnelly 50000
Israel Folau 27215094
Matt Geyer 2580032
Ryan Hoffman 25100040
Greg Inglis 2090036
Dallas Johnson 231004
Antonio Kaufusi 100000
Matt King 23201082
Jeff Lima 252008
Sika Manu 30000
Clint Newton 1540016
Anthony Quinn 2680032
Matt Rua 10000
Ryan Shortland 10000
Billy Slater 23120048
Cameron Smith 244880192
Jeremy Smith 1930012
Sam Tagataese 121004
Steve Turner 21155070
Brett White 242008
30 players used132991727

Scorers

Most points in a game: 18 points

Most tries in a game: 3

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 58 points

Lowest score in a winning game: 4 points

Greatest winning margin: 46 points

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 8

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 16 points

Lowest score in a losing game: 12 points

Greatest losing margin: 18 points

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 1

Feeder Team

For a tenth and ultimately final season, Melbourne continued their affiliation with Norths Devils, with reserve players travelling to Brisbane each week to play with the Devils in the Queensland Cup.

Coached by former Storm player Kevin Carmichael, the Devils missed the Queensland Cup finals for the second year in a row.

2007 Queensland Cup
PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
8 Norths Devils colours.svg Norths Devils 2081112507524-1721

Awards and honours

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. Bartlett was released on 1 June 2007 to join the Cowboys.
  4. Donnelly was released on 6 June 2007 to join the Titans.

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 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 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 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 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 2014 Melbourne Storm season was the 17th in the club's history. They competed in the 2014 NRL season and were coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith. In 2014 the Storm did not achieve a good level of consistent success however won enough games late in the season to qualify for the NRL finals in 6th place. The club finished outside the top four for the first time since 2005. It was a roller coaster campaign that kicked off with consecutive one-point wins, courtesy of drop goals from Smith and Cooper Cronk. Storm five wins this season came at a combined 17 points. Injuries to Cronk and Billy Slater (shoulder) during the Origin period saw the Storm lose four of six games during that stretch as they were left clinging to 8th spot on the NRL ladder. The team managed to steady the ship by winning six of their last eight home-and-away games to finish sixth. In a significant boost for the Club, captain Cameron Smith signed a four-year contract extension just one week into the season.

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.

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 2019 Melbourne Storm season was the 22nd in the club's history, competing in the 2019 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, who coached the club for his 17th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were captained by Cameron Smith, who had been the sole captain for the team since 2008. On 13 July 2019 Smith became the first NRL player to play 400 NRL games. On 31 August 2019 the Storm defeated the Manly Sea Eagles to win their fourth J. J. Giltinan Shield as the minor premiers.

The 2020 Melbourne Storm season was the 23rd in the club's history and they competed in the 2020 NRL season. The team was coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 18th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm were also captained by Cameron Smith, who had been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 13th consecutive season. The season was suspended indefinitely on 23 March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; however, on 28 April the NRL announced it would recommence on 28 May as a 20 Round competition with a revised fixture.

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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