2019 Melbourne Storm season
The 2019 Melbourne Storm season is the 22nd in the club's history. They are competing in the 2019 NRL season. The team is coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 17th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm are also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 12th consecutive season and on 13 July 2019 he became the first NRL player to play 400 NRL games. On 31 August 2019 the Storm defeated the Manly Sea Eagles to win their 4th Minor Premiership.
Season summary
- 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 steak in Round 1 to 17 seasons. Tom Eisenhuth makes Storm debut.
- Round 3 - Storm defeat the Panthers 32-2 in Bathhurst, Marion Seve scores his first NRL try
- Round 5 - Cameron Smith becomes the games highest ever points scorer with penalty goal in the 48th minute. Smioth 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 st Brisbanes Suncorp Stadium. The Storm completed one of the biggest wins in the clubs history dominating the Parramatta Eels 64-10. Will Chambers played game 200.
- Round 11 - The Storm deafeat 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. 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 Faasuamaleaui and Billy Walters making their playing debuts.
- Round 17 - Cameron Smith becomes the first NRL player to play in 400 NRL games in the Storms 40-16 win over Cronulla.
- Round 19 - Cameron Smiths 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.
- Round 24 - Storm defeat the Manly Sea Eagles 36-6 and clinch the Minor Premiership for 2019. Nelson Asofa-Solomaona also played his 100th game.
Milestone games
Fixtures
Pre-season
Source:| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Source |
| 23 February | Trial | New Zealand Warriors | GMHBA Stadium, Geelong | Loss | 6 | 12 | |
| 2 March | Trial | North Queensland Cowboys | BB Print Stadium, Mackay | Loss | 6 | 14 |
Regular season
Source:- - Golden Point extra time
- - Penalty try
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Report |
| 14 March | 1 | Brisbane Broncos | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 22 | 12 | J Hughes, C Scott, K Bromwich, J Bromwich | C Smith 3/4 | ||
| 22 March | 2 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra | Win | 22 | 10 | S Vunivalu, N Asofa-Solomona | C Smith 3/5 | ||
| 30 March | 3 | Penrith Panthers | Carrington Park, Bathurst, New South Wales | Win | 32 | 2 | C Munster, B Croft, J Addo-Carr, M Seve, J Bromwich | C Smith 6/6, B Croft 0/1 | ||
| 7 April | 4 | Canterbury Bulldogs | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 18 | 16 | W Chambers, T Kamikamica, C Munster | C Smith 3/3 | ||
| 12 April | 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville | Win | 18 | 12 | J Addo-Carr, W Chambers | C Smith 3/5 | ||
| 19 April | 6 | Sydney Roosters | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 20 | 21 | J Addo-Carr, T Kamikamica, C Scott | B Croft 4/4 | B Croft 0/2 | |
| 25 April | 7 | New Zealand Warriors | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 13 | 12 | C Munster, J Hughes | C Munster 2/3 | B Croft 1/1 | |
| 3 May | 8 | Cronulla Sharks | Shark Park, Sydney | Loss | 18 | 20 | J Addo-Carr, J Bromwich, R Papenhuyzen | C Smith 3/4 | ||
| 11 May | 9 | Parramatta Eels | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 64 | 10 | C Munster, J Addo-Carr, D Finucane, J Hughes, C Scott, S Vunivalu, B Croft, R Papenhuyzen, K Bromwich | C Smith 9/11, W Chambers 1/1 | ||
| 16 May | 10 | Wests Tigers | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 24 | 22 | R Papenhuyzen, F Kaufusi, M Seve, W Chambers | C Smith 3/4 | ||
| 26 May | 11 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | Win | 28 | 6 | J Addo Carr, W Chambers, N Asofa-Solomona | C Smith 5/6, R Papenhuyzen 1/1 | ||
| 12 | Bye | - | ||||||||
| 8 June | 13 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Win | 32 | 10 | J Hughes, S Vunivalu, J Bromwich, M Seve | C Smith 6/7 | ||
| 15 June | 14 | Newcastle Knights | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 34 | 4 | J Stimson, J Addo-Carr, J Hughes, M Seve, S Vunivalu | C Smith 5/5, R Papenhuyzen 0/1 | ||
| 28 June | 15 | Sydney Roosters | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Win | 14 | 12 | R Papenhuyzen, B Croft | C Smith 3/3 | ||
| 4 July | 16 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Win | 16 | 14 | J Stimson, J Hughes | C Smith 4/4 | ||
| 13 July | 17 | Cronulla Sharks | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 40 | 16 | B Smith, C Munster, B Croft, J Olam, J Stimson | C Smith 8/9 | ||
| 21 July | 18 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast | Win | 38 | 18 | S Vunivalu, J Stimson, S Earl, R Papenhuyzen, C Smith, J Olam | C Smith 5/7 | ||
| 27 July | 19 | Manly Sea Eagles | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 10 | 11 | W Chambers, B Smith | C Smith 1/2 | B Croft 0/2, CMunster 0/1, C Smith 0/1 | |
| 2 August | 20 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 40 | 4 | K Bromwich, J Addo-Carr, C Welch, J Hughes, C Smith, R Papenhuyzen | C Smith 6/9 | ||
| 11 August | 21 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Central Coast Stadium, Gosford | Win | 26 | 16 | J Bromwich, J Olam, C Munster, B Croft | C Smith 5/6 | ||
| 17 August | 22 | Canberra Raiders | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 18 | 22 | J Olam, J Addo-Carr, S Vunivalu | C Smith 3/3 | ||
| 25 August | 23 | Gold Coast Titans | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 24 | 8 | K Bromwich, R Papenhuyzen, J Addo-Carr, D Finucane | C Smith 4/5 | ||
| 31 August | 24 | Manly Sea Eagles | Lottoland, Sydney | Win | 36 | 6 | J Olam, J Addo-Carr, N Asofa-Solomona, R Papenhuyzen | C Smith 6/7 | ||
| 6 September | 25 | North Queensland Cowboys | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 24 | 16 | S Earl, N Asofa-Solomona, W Chambers, M King | C Smith 4/5 |
Finals
Source:| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Report |
| 14 September | Week 1 - Qualifying Final | Canberra Raiders | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 10 | 12 | S Vunivalu | C Smith 3/4 | ||
| 21 September | Week 2 - Semi Final | Parramatta Eels | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 32 | 0 | J Addo-Carr, S Vunivalu, C Munster, J Hughes, R Papenhuyzen, N Asofa-Solomona | C Smith 2/7 | ||
| 28 September | Week 3 - Preliminary Final | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | Loss | 6 | 14 | N Asofa-Solomona | C Smith 1/1 |
Ladder
Coaching staff
- Craig Bellamy – Head Coach
- 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
- Scott Sipple – Easts Tigers Feeder Club Coach
- Craig Ingebrigtsen – Sunshine Coast Falcons Feeder Club Coach
2019 Squad
: 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.
Player movements
Source:Losses
- Cheyse Blair to Castleford Tigers
- Scott Drinkwater to North Queensland Cowboys
- Louis Geraghty to Gold Coast Titans
- Tim Glasby to Newcastle Knights
- Ryan Hoffman to Retired
- Ryley Jacks to Gold Coast Titans
- Sam Kasiano to Catalans Dragons
- Billy Slater to Retired
- Lachlan Timm to Gold Coast Titans
- Sale Finau to Newcastle Knights
- Junior Ratuva to Canterbury Crusaders
- Patrick Kaufusi to St George Illawarra Dragons
- Nicho Hynes from Sunshine Coast Falcons
- Solomone Kata from New Zealand Warriors
- Max King from Gold Coast Titans
- Isaac Lumelume from Cronulla Sharks
Representative honours
| Player | 2019 All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | 2019 Oceania Cup R1 and Internationals | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Rugby League World Cup 9s | 2019 Oceania Cup Rds 2 and 3 |
Statistics
Statistics Source:Statistics current as of the end of the 2019 NRL regular season
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
| 20 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 | |
| 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 | |
| 22 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 21 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 32 | |
| 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |
| 19 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 34 | |
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 24 | 2 | 99 | 0 | 206 | |
| 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 Players used | — | 104 | 107 | 1 | 631 |
Scorers
Most Points in a Game: 18 points
- Round 9: Cameron Smith vs Parramatta Eels
- Round 2: Suliasi Vunivalu vs. Canberra Raiders
- Round 24: Justin Olam vs. Manly Sea Eagles
Highest score in a winning game: 64 points
- Round 9: vs. Parramatta Eels
- Round 7 vs. New Zealand Warriors
- Round 9: vs. Parramatta Eels
- Round 9 to Round 18
Highest score in a losing game: 20 points
- Round 6: vs. Sydney Roosters
- Round 19: vs. Manly Sea Eagles
- Round 22: vs. Canberra Raiders
Jersey
Awards
Trophy Cabinet
- 2019 J. J. Giltinan Shield
- 2019 Michael Moore Trophy
Melbourne Storm Awards Night
- Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Dale Finucane
- Billy Slater Rookie of the Year: Ryan Papenhuyzen
- Melbourne Storm Members' Player of Year: Cameron Smith
- Melbourne Storm Most Improved: Tui Kamikamica
- Melbourne Storm Best Back: Jahrome Hughes
- Melbourne Storm Best Forward: Cameron Smith
- Cooper Cronk Feeder Club Player of the Year: Harry Grant
- Darren Bell U20s Player of the Year: Trent Toelau
- U20s Best Back:
- U20s Best Forward:
- Greg Brentnall Young Achievers Award:
- Mick Moore Club Person of the Year:
- Life Member Inductee: Will Chambers
- Chairman's Award:
- Best Try: Josh Addo-Carr Semi-Final vs Eels
Dally M Awards Night
- Dally M Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
- Dally M Captain of the Year: Cameron Smith
- Dally M Hooker of the Year: Cameron Smith
- Dally M Five-Eight of the Year: Cameron Munster
- Dally M Interchange Player of the Year: Brandon Smith
Rugby League Players’ Association Awards Night
- RLPA Indigenous Academic Excellence Award: Josh Addo-Carr
- RLPA Five-Eighth of the Year: Cameron Munster
- RLPA Hooker of the Year: Cameron Smith
- RLPA Second Rower of the Year: Kenny Bromwich
Additional Awards
- I Don’t Quit Iron Bar: Aaron Booth
- Spirit of ANZAC Medal: Cameron Smith
- NSWRL True Blue Award: Josh Addo-Carr