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2019 Melbourne Storm season

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2019 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank1st (Minor Premier)
Play-off resultPreliminary Final Loss
2019 recordWins: 20; draws: 0; losses: 4
Points scoredFor: 631; against: 300
Team information
CEODave Donaghy
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumAAMI Park - 30,050
Suncorp Stadium - 52,500 (1 Game)
Avg. attendance18,230
High attendance41,612 (at Suncorp Stadium)
Top scorers
TriesJosh Addo-Carr (14)
GoalsCameron Smith (99)
PointsCameron Smith (206)
← 2018 List of seasons 2020 →

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.

Season summary

[edit]
Cameron Smith holding the Michael Moore Trophy
Cameron Smith playing his 400th NRL match
  • Pre-season – New recruits took part in Melbourne Storm IDQ camp for pre season training before New Years. Tom Eisenhuth was awarded the IDQ Iron bar with special recognition to both Sandor Earl & Nicho Hynes.[1]
  • Round 1 – Prior to the commencement of play, the northern stand of AAMI Park was renamed "The Slater Stand" after Billy Slater. Storm defeated the Broncos 22–12 extending their winning streak in Round 1 to 17 seasons. Tom Eisenhuth makes Storm debut.
  • Round 3 – Storm defeat the Panthers 32–2 in Bathurst, Marion Seve scores his first NRL try
  • Round 5 – Cameron Smith becomes the game's highest ever points scorer with penalty goal in the 48th minute. Smith finished the game on 2422 points. Sandor Earl made his debut for the Storm and also played his first game following a four year ban from the game.
  • Round 9 – The NRL stage their first Magic Round at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. The Storm completed one of the biggest wins in the club's history dominating the Parramatta Eels 64-10. Will Chambers played game 200.
  • Round 11 – The Storm defeat the Bulldogs away at Belmore Oval Sydney with Cameron Smith playing his 500th first grade game. Cameron Munster also played his 100th Game.
  • Round 16 – Missing 7 players due to State of Origin, Storm win 16–14 against St George Illawarra. The game was notable due to the large number of milestones; with Cameron Smith scoring his 2500th career point, Sandor Earl played his 50th NRL game, Craig Bellamy coached his 300th win and both Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Billy Walters making their playing debuts.
  • Round 17 – Cameron Smith becomes the first NRL player to play in 400 NRL games in the Storm's 40-16 win over Cronulla.
  • Round 19 – Cameron Smith captains his 300th NRL Game.
  • Round 22 – The Storm lose to the Canberra Raiders 22–18 after leading 18–0 shortly before half time. This result meant that it was the Storm's worst collapse in the history of the club.[2]
  • Round 24 – Storm defeat the Manly Sea Eagles 36-6 and clinch the J. J. Giltinan Shield as the minor premiers for 2019. Nelson Asofa-Solomaona also played his 100th game.

Milestone games

[edit]
Round Player Milestone
Round 1 Tom Eisenhuth Storm debut
Round 2 Marion Seve NRL debut
Round 4 Ryan Papenhuyzen NRL debut
Round 5 Sandor Earl Storm debut
Round 5 Cameron Smith NRL points scoring record
Round 9 Will Chambers 200th Game
Round 11 Cameron Munster 100th Game
Round 15 Felise Kaufusi 100th Game
Round 16 Tino Faasuamaleaui NRL debut
Round 16 Billy Walters NRL debut
Round 16 Cameron Smith 2500th point
Round 16 Sandor Earl 50th Game
Round 16 Craig Bellamy 300th win as coach
Round 17 Cameron Smith 400th Game
Round 20 Cameron Smith 300th Game as Captain
Round 21 Nicho Hynes NRL debut
Round 21 Joe Stimson 50th Game
Round 22 Max King Storm debut
Round 24 Nelson Asofa-Solomona 100th Game
Prelim Final Kenny Bromwich 150th Game

Fixtures

[edit]

Pre-season

[edit]

Source:[3]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Source
23 February Trial New Zealand Warriors GMHBA Stadium, Geelong Lost 6 12 [4]
2 March Trial North Queensland Cowboys BB Print Stadium, Mackay Lost 6 14 [5]

Regular season

[edit]

Source:[6]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field Goals Report
14 March 1 Brisbane Broncos AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 22 12 J Hughes, C Scott, K Bromwich, J Bromwich C Smith 3/4 [7]
22 March 2 Canberra Raiders GIO Stadium, Canberra Won 22 10 S Vunivalu (3), N Asofa-Solomona C Smith 3/5 [8]
30 March 3 Penrith Panthers Carrington Park, Bathurst, New South Wales Won 32 2 C Munster, B Croft, J Addo-Carr, M Seve, J Bromwich C Smith 6/6, B Croft 0/1 [9]
7 April 4 Canterbury Bulldogs AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 18 16 W Chambers (pen), T Kamikamica, C Munster C Smith 3/3 [10]
12 April 5 North Queensland Cowboys 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville Won 18 12 J Addo-Carr (2), W Chambers C Smith 3/5 [11]
19 April 6 Sydney Roosters AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost
(GP)
20 21 J Addo-Carr, T Kamikamica, C Scott
B Croft 4/4 B Croft 0/2 [12]
25 April 7 New Zealand Warriors AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 13 12 C Munster, J Hughes C Munster 2/3 B Croft 1/1 [13]
3 May 8 Cronulla Sharks Shark Park, Sydney Lost 18 20 J Addo-Carr, J Bromwich, R Papenhuyzen C Smith 3/4 [14]
11 May 9 Parramatta Eels Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Won 64 10 C Munster (2), J Addo-Carr (2), D Finucane, J Hughes, C Scott, S Vunivalu, B Croft, R Papenhuyzen, K Bromwich C Smith 9/11, W Chambers 1/1 [15]
16 May 10 Wests Tigers AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 24 22 R Papenhuyzen, F Kaufusi, M Seve, W Chambers C Smith 3/4 [16]
26 May 11 Canterbury Bulldogs Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Won 28 6 J Addo Carr (2), W Chambers, N Asofa-Solomona C Smith 5/6, R Papenhuyzen 1/1 [17]
12 Bye
8 June 13 New Zealand Warriors Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Won 32 10 J Hughes (2), S Vunivalu, J Bromwich, M Seve C Smith 6/7 [18]
15 June 14 Newcastle Knights AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 34 4 J Stimson (2), J Addo-Carr, J Hughes, M Seve, S Vunivalu C Smith 5/5, R Papenhuyzen 0/1 [19]
28 June 15 Sydney Roosters Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Won 14 12 R Papenhuyzen, B Croft C Smith 3/3 [20]
4 July 16 St George-Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong Won 16 14 J Stimson, J Hughes C Smith 4/4 [21]
13 July 17 Cronulla Sharks AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 40 16 B Smith (2), C Munster, B Croft, J Olam, J Stimson C Smith 8/9 [22]
21 July 18 Gold Coast Titans Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast Won 38 18 S Vunivalu (2), J Stimson, S Earl, R Papenhuyzen, C Smith, J Olam C Smith 5/6, J Stimson 0/1 [23]
27 July 19 Manly Sea Eagles AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost
(GP)
10 11 W Chambers, B Smith C Smith 1/2 B Croft 0/2, CMunster 0/1, C Smith 0/1 [24]
2 August 20 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Won 40 4 K Bromwich (2), J Addo-Carr, C Welch, J Hughes, C Smith, R Papenhuyzen C Smith 6/9 [25]
11 August 21 South Sydney Rabbitohs Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Won 26 16 J Bromwich, J Olam, C Munster, B Croft C Smith 5/6 [26]
17 August 22 Canberra Raiders AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost 18 22 J Olam, J Addo-Carr, S Vunivalu C Smith 3/3 [27]
25 August 23 Gold Coast Titans AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 24 8 K Bromwich, R Papenhuyzen, J Addo-Carr, D Finucane C Smith 4/5 [28]
31 August 24 Manly Sea Eagles Lottoland, Sydney Won 36 6 J Olam (3), J Addo-Carr, N Asofa-Solomona, R Papenhuyzen C Smith 6/7 [29]
6 September 25 North Queensland Cowboys AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 24 16 S Earl, N Asofa-Solomona, W Chambers, M King C Smith 4/5 [30]

Finals

[edit]

Source:[31]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field Goals Report
14 September Week 1 - Qualifying Final Canberra Raiders AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost 10 12 S Vunivalu C Smith 3/4 [32]
21 September Week 2 - Semi Final Parramatta Eels AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 32 0 J Addo-Carr (2), S Vunivalu, C Munster, J Hughes, R Papenhuyzen, N Asofa-Solomona C Smith 1/6, R Papenhuyzen 1/1, C Munster 0/1 [33]
28 September Week 3 - Preliminary Final Sydney Roosters Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Lost 6 14 N Asofa-Solomona C Smith 1/1 [34]

Ladder

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne Storm 24 20 0 4 1 631 300 +331 42
2 Sydney Roosters 24 17 0 7 1 627 363 +264 36
3 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 16 0 8 1 521 417 +104 34
4 Canberra Raiders 24 15 0 9 1 524 374 +150 32
5 Parramatta Eels 24 14 0 10 1 533 473 +60 30
6 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 14 0 10 1 496 446 +50 30
7 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 12 0 12 1 514 464 +50 26
8 Brisbane Broncos 24 11 1 12 1 432 489 −57 25
9 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 1 475 486 −11 24
10 Penrith Panthers 24 11 0 13 1 413 474 −61 24
11 Newcastle Knights 24 10 0 14 1 485 522 −37 22
12 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 10 0 14 1 326 477 −151 22
13 New Zealand Warriors 24 9 1 14 1 433 574 −141 21
14 North Queensland Cowboys 24 9 0 15 1 378 500 −122 20
15 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 8 0 16 1 427 575 −148 18
16 Gold Coast Titans 24 4 0 20 1 370 651 −281 10

Coaching staff

[edit]
  • Craig Bellamy – Head Coach[35]
  • Jason Ryles – Senior Assistant Coach
  • Marc Brentnall – Assistant Coach
  • Ben Jack – U/20s Head Coach
  • Aaron Bellamy – Development Coach
  • Ryan Hinchcliffe – Development Coach
  • Frank Ponissi – Football Director
  • Ryan Hoffman – Football Administration Coordinator
  • Nick Maxwell – Leadership Coach
  • Craig McRae – Kicking & Catching Coach
  • Billy Slater – Specialist Coach (Part time)
  • Scott Sipple – Easts Tigers Feeder Club Coach
  • Craig Ingebrigtsen – Sunshine Coast Falcons Feeder Club Coach

2019 Squad

[edit]

List current as of 24 March 2019 (a): 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.

Cap Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club (a)
55 Australia Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002 Australia Melbourne Storm
97 Australia Will Chambers CE 2007 Australia Melbourne Storm
119 New Zealand Jesse Bromwich PR 2010 Australia Melbourne Storm
149 New Zealand Kenny Bromwich PR,SR,LK 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
160 Australia Cameron Munster FE,FB 2014 Australia Melbourne Storm
163 Australia Dale Finucane PR,SR,LK 2015 Australia Canterbury Bulldogs
164 Tonga Felise Kaufusi PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
166 New Zealand Nelson Asofa-Solomona SR, PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
167 Australia Christian Welch SR, PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
170 Australia Curtis Scott CE,WG 2016 Australia Melbourne Storm
171 Fiji Suliasi Vunivalu WG 2016 Australia Melbourne Storm
174 Australia Brodie Croft HB 2016 Australia Melbourne Storm
176 Australia Josh Addo-Carr WG, FB 2017 Australia Wests Tigers
179 Australia Joe Stimson SR, LK 2017 Australia Melbourne Storm
181 Fiji Tui Kamikamica SR, PR 2017 Australia Melbourne Storm
182 New Zealand Brandon Smith HK 2017 Australia Melbourne Storm
184 New Zealand Jahrome Hughes FE, FB 2017 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
187 Papua New Guinea Justin Olam WG, CE 2018 Australia Melbourne Storm
188 Australia Harry Grant HK 2018 Australia Melbourne Storm
190 Tonga Albert Vete PR 2018 Australia New Zealand Warriors
192 Australia Tom Eisenhuth SR 2019 Australia Penrith Panthers
193 Samoa Marion Seve WG 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
194 Australia Ryan Papenhuyzen FB 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
195 New Zealand Sandor Earl WG 2019 Australia Canberra Raiders
196 Australia Billy Walters FE 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
197 Samoa Tino Fa'asuamaleaui PR 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
198 Australia Nicho Hynes FB 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
199 Australia Max King PR 2019 Australia Gold Coast Titans
New Zealand Kayleb Milne SR Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Cooper Johns FE Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Tonga Solomone Kata CE Yet to debut Australia New Zealand Warriors
Fiji Isaac Lumelume WG Yet to debut Australia Cronulla Sharks
New Zealand Aaron Pene PR Yet to debut Australia Central Queensland Capras
Australia Darryn Schonig PR Yet to debut Australia Sunshine Coast Falcons

Player movements

[edit]

Source:[36]

Representative honours

[edit]

The following players have played a first grade representative match in 2019.

Player 2019 All Stars match State of Origin 1 2019 Oceania Cup R1 and Internationals [37] State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Rugby League World Cup 9s 2019 Oceania Cup Rds 2 and 3[38]
-
Australia
Australia
-
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
Australia
-
-
-
-
-
-
New Zealand
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fiji
-
-
Fiji
Fiji
-
-
Fiji
-
-
-
Fiji
-
-
Samoa
-
-
Samoa
Samoa
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Australia
-
-
-
-
-
-
Papua New Guinea
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fiji
Fiji
-
-
-
-
-
Samoa
Samoa

Statistics

[edit]

Statistics Source:[39] Statistics current as of the end of the 2019 NRL regular season (this table does not include finals matches)

Name Appearances Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Josh Addo-Carr 20 14 0 0 56
Nelson Asofa-Solomona 24 4 0 0 16
Jesse Bromwich 24 5 0 0 20
Kenny Bromwich 24 5 0 0 20
Will Chambers 21 6 1 0 26
Brodie Croft 22 5 4 1 29
Sandor Earl 5 2 0 0 8
Tom Eisenhuth 4 0 0 0 0
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 5 0 0 0 0
Dale Finucane 23 2 0 0 8
Harry Grant 1 0 0 0 0
Jahrome Hughes 21 8 0 0 32
Nicho Hynes 1 0 0 0 0
Tui Kamikamica 18 2 0 0 8
Felise Kaufusi 22 1 0 0 4
Patrick Kaufusi 1 0 0 0 0
Max King 3 1 0 0 4
Cameron Munster 21 7 2 0 32
Justin Olam 11 7 0 0 28
Ryan Papenhuyzen 19 8 1 0 34
Curtis Scott 7 3 0 0 12
Marion Seve 12 4 0 0 16
Brandon Smith 20 3 0 0 12
Cameron Smith 24 2 99 0 206
Joe Stimson 13 5 0 0 20
Suliasi Vunivalu 22 9 0 0 36
Billy Walters 2 0 0 0 0
Christian Welch 16 1 0 0 4
Albert Vete 1 0 0 0 0
29 Players used 104 107 1 631

Scorers

Most Points in a Game: 18 points

  • Round 9: Cameron Smith (9 Goals) vs Parramatta Eels

Most tries in a Game: 3

  • Round 2: Suliasi Vunivalu vs. Canberra Raiders
  • Round 24: Justin Olam vs. Manly Sea Eagles

Winning Games

Highest score in a winning game: 64 points

  • Round 9: vs. Parramatta Eels

Lowest score in a winning game: 13 points

  • Round 7 vs. New Zealand Warriors

Greatest winning margin: 54 points

  • Round 9: vs. Parramatta Eels

Greatest number of Games won consecutively: 9

  • Round 9 to Round 18

Losing Games

Highest score in a losing game: 20 points

  • Round 6: vs. Sydney Roosters

Lowest score in a losing game: 10 points

  • Round 19: vs. Manly Sea Eagles

Greatest losing margin: 4 points

  • Round 22: vs. Canberra Raiders

Jersey

[edit]

On 7 February the Storm announced that the 2019 Jersey will remain the same from 2018 however with updated NRL logos and the new 2019 Melbourne Storm logo. In addition the jersey now features the new Storm sponsor Purple Bricks.[40]

Jersey choice
RD1 RD2 RD3 RD4 RD5 RD6 RD7 RD8 RD9 RD10 RD11 RD12 RD13 RD14 RD15 RD16 RD17 RD18 RD19 RD20 RD21 RD22 RD23 RD24 RD25 QF SF PF
Home Home Clash Home Clash Home ANZAC Clash Home Home Indigenous# Clash Home Clash Home CAM400^ Clash Heritage^^ Clash Clash WIL& Home Clash Home Home Home Clash

# Designed by Lenny Briggs.[41]
^ Special jersey designed for Cameron Smith's 400th NRL game.
^^ Heritage jersey inspired by the 2009 home jersey; celebrating both the 1999 NRL Grand Final premiership and 2009 NRL Grand Final winning teams.
& Women in League jersey featuring pink thunderbolts motif.

Awards

[edit]

Trophy Cabinet

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ward, Roy (19 December 2018). "Ryan Hinchcliffe back at Storm and straight into 'I Don't Quit' camp". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Raiders pull off incredible come back to stun Storm". NRL. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. ^ "2019 pre-season trial dates". Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Warriors win pre-season arm wrestle against Storm". 22 February 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Cowbays grind out tough trial win over Storm". 2 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. ^ "2019 NRL Draw". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Bromwich boys spark Storm as Broncos lose Roberts". 14 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Vunivalu bags hat-trick as Storm beat Raiders". 22 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Edwards nightmare helps Storm sizzle in the central west". 30 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Storm v Bulldogs". Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Cowboys vs Storm". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Storm v Roosters - Round 6, 2019 - Match Centre". National Rugby League. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Storm v Warriors". NRL. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Sharks vs Storm". NRL. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Storm v Eels". NRL. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Storm v Wests Tigers". NRL. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Bulldogs v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Warriors v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Storm v Knights". NRL. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  20. ^ "Roosters v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Dragons v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Storm v Sharks". NRL. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  23. ^ "Titans v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Storm v Sea Eagles". NRL. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Broncos v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Rabbitohs v Storm". NRL. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Raiders pull off incredible come back to stun Storm". NRL. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Storm vs Titans". NRL. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Sea Eagles vs Storm". NRL. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Storm vs Cowboys". NRL. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Week 1 finals draw, match-ups". Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  32. ^ "Storm v Raiders". NRL. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Storm v Eels". NRL. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  34. ^ "Roosters V Storm". NRL. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Storm announce 2019 Football department structure". 5 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  36. ^ "NRL Transfer Centre". 4 December 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  37. ^ "Storm players ready to rip in for rep round". 17 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Test match teams: Samoa v Fiji, Great Britain v NZ, Australia v Tonga". November 2019.
  39. ^ "2019 Melbourne Point Scorers". afltables.com. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  40. ^ "An update on our 2019 jerseys". 7 February 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  41. ^ "The story behind our Indigenous jersey". 22 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  42. ^ "Finucane named Player of the Year". melbournestorm.com.au. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  43. ^ "Dale Finucane - 'To be held in similar regard to previous winners is surreal'". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  44. ^ Ward, Roy (19 December 2018). "Ryan Hinchcliffe back at Storm and straight into 'I Don't Quit' camp". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2019.