2019 Melbourne Storm season
Rugby league team season
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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.
NRL Rank1st (Minor Premier)
Play-off resultPreliminary Final Loss
2019 recordWins: 20; draws: 0; losses: 4
Points scoredFor: 631; against: 300
| 2019 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 1st (Minor Premier) | |||
| Play-off result | Preliminary Final Loss | |||
| 2019 record | Wins: 20; draws: 0; losses: 4 | |||
| Points scored | For: 631; against: 300 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Dave Donaghy | |||
| Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
| Captain |
| |||
| Stadium | AAMI Park - 30,050 Suncorp Stadium - 52,500 (1 Game) | |||
| Avg. attendance | 18,230 | |||
| High attendance | 41,612 (at Suncorp Stadium) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Josh Addo-Carr (14) | |||
| Goals | Cameron Smith (99) | |||
| Points | Cameron Smith (206) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
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- 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
| 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
Pre-season
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
Matches
Source:[6]
- (GP) - Golden Point extra time
- (pen) - Penalty try
| 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
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
| 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
- 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
List current as of 24 March 2019
Player movements
Source:[36]
|
Losses
|
Gains
|
Representative honours
This table lists all players who have played a 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] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Addo-Carr | Indigenous All Stars | New South Wales | N/a | New South Wales | New South Wales | Australia | Australia |
| Nelson Asofa-Solomona | N/a | N/a | New Zealand | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| Jesse Bromwich | Maori All Stars | N/a | New Zealand | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| Kenny Bromwich | Maori All Stars | N/a | New Zealand | N/a | N/a | N/a | New Zealand |
| Will Chambers | Indigenous All Stars | Queensland | N/a | Queensland | Queensland | N/a | N/a |
| Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | Samoa | Samoa |
| Dale Finucane | N/a | N/a | N/a | New South Wales | New South Wales | N/a | N/a |
| Jahrome Hughes | Maori All Stars | N/a | New Zealand | N/a | N/a | N/a | New Zealand |
| N/a | N/a | Fiji | N/a | N/a | N/a | Fiji | |
| Felise Kaufusi | N/a | Queensland | N/a | Queensland | Queensland | N/a | N/a |
| Isaac Lumelume | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | Fiji | Fiji |
| Cameron Munster | N/a | Queensland | N/a | Queensland | Queensland | N/a | Australia |
| Justin Olam | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | Papua New Guinea | N/a |
| Ryan Papenhuyzen | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | Australia | N/a |
| Marion Seve | N/a | N/a | Samoa | N/a | N/a | Samoa | Samoa |
| Brandon Smith | Maori All Stars | N/a | New Zealand | N/a | N/a | N/a | New Zealand |
| Suliasi Vunivalu | N/a | N/a | Fiji | N/a | N/a | Fiji | Fiji |
| Christian Welch | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | Queensland | N/a | N/a |
Statistics
This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2019 NRL season.
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Addo-Carr | 23 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| Nelson Asofa-Solomona | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Jesse Bromwich | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Kenny Bromwich | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Will Chambers | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
| Brodie Croft | 22 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| Sandor Earl | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Tom Eisenhuth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Finucane | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Harry Grant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jahrome Hughes | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Nicho Hynes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tui Kamikamica | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Felise Kaufusi | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Patrick Kaufusi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max King | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cameron Munster | 24 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
| Justin Olam | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Ryan Papenhuyzen | 22 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 40 |
| Curtis Scott | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Marion Seve | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Brandon Smith | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Cameron Smith | 27 | 2 | 104 | 0 | 216 |
| Joe Stimson | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Suliasi Vunivalu | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Billy Walters | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Welch | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Albert Vete | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 players used | — | 113 | 113 | 1 | 679 |
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 – Round 18
Losing games
Highest score in a losing game: 20 points
- Round 6 vs Sydney Roosters
Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points
- Preliminary final vs Sydney Roosters
Greatest losing margin: 8 points
- Preliminary final vs Sydney Roosters
Jersey
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.[41]
| 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.[42]
^ 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
Trophy Cabinet
Melbourne Storm Awards NightHeld at Crown Palladium, Melbourne on Tuesday 8 October.[43]
|
Dally M Awards NightHeld at The Star, Sydney on Wednesday 2 October 2019.
Rugby League Players’ Association Awards Night
Additional Awards
|
Notes
- 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.
- This column denotes the previous rugby league club the player was signed to and played first grade rugby league 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.