2020 Melbourne Storm season
The 2020 Melbourne Storm season is the 23rd in the club's history and they are competing in the 2020 NRL season. The team is coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 18th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm are also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 13th consecutive season. The season was suspended indefinitely on March 23 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic; however, on 28 April the NRL announced it would recommence on 28 May as a 20 Round competition with a revised fixture.
After the recommencement of the season, Melbourne Storm initially played home games at AAMI Park as usual; however, an escalation in coronavirus cases and a subsequent second lock-down in the state of Victoria forced the Storm to relocate in late June, firstly, to New South Wales and then to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. This has meant that the Storm have had to play home games at multiple venues interstate throughout the 2020 season including Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Sydney, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Stadium on the Sunshine Coast.
Season summary
- Round 1 - The Storm continued their unbeaten run in Round 1 matches a record that stretches back to 2001 by defeating Manly at Brookvale Oval.
- Round 2 - The Melbourne Storm defeated Cronulla at an empty WIN Stadium. All NRL matches were played in empty stadiums for the first time in the league's history, in response to government restrictions on non-essential public gatherings of 500 or more people due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- 23 March - Due to the escalating coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NRL season was indefinitely suspended, for the first time in history.
- 28 April - The NRL announce that the competition will resume on the 28th May and that it would be cut back a 20-round season, with the first two rounds scores and points remaining. The NRL will also release a revised fixture.
- 4 May - The Storm announce that they will temporarily set up a training camp in Albury, New South Wales to prepare for the resumption of the NRL season. Restrictions on group gatherings mean't it could not happen in Victoria.
- 7 May - The Storm begin their training camp at the home of Albury Tigers Football Club after the Albury Council elected to prevent the club using the local government managed Greenfield Park.
- 11 May - The Victorian State Government ease restrictions allowing the Storm to train in Victoria.
- 15 May - The NRL release the revised fixture for Rounds 3 and 4. Melbourne Storm will play the Round 3 fixture on the 30th May.
- 21 May - The full revised fixture is released for the remainder of 2020. Venues are only confirmed to Round 9, with the Storm to play home games at AAMI Park at this stage with no crowd.
- Round 3 - On 30th May the Melbourne Storm recommenced their season with a 22-6 loss against the Canberra Raiders.
- Round 4 - The Storm return to the winners list with a win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Brenko Lee and Chris Lewis both make their playing debuts. Brenko Lee also became the 200th player to play a game for the Melbourne Storm.
- 23 June - The Melbourne Storm and NRL announce that the team will relocate indefinitely to either NSW or QLD after a sharp increase in corona-virus cases over the previous week in Victoria
- Round 7 - The Storm defeat the NZ Warriors 50-6 in their home game at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Sydney the match was notable as following the game Cameron Smith, Craig Bellamy and Ryan Hoffman all went into the Warriors' room to thank and acknowledge the sacrifice that they are making by moving to Australia during the COVID pandemic. In addition, West Tigers Loan player Paul Momirovski made his debut for the Storm scoring 2 tries.
- 27 June - Further to the report on 23 June the Storm confirm that they will indefinitely relocate to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland playing home games out of Suncorp Stadium.
- Round 8 - The Storm defeat the Sydney Roosters 27-25 after the game was sent into Golden Point with Ryan Papenhuyzen leveling the scores by kicking a field goal with 10 seconds remaining in regular time.
- 8 July - Melbourne Storm announce that they will play their next three home matches at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
- Round 9 - The Storm defeat the Canberra Raiders 20-14. Darryn Schonig made his NRL debut and Cameron Smith reached another milestone with 300 wins in the NRL.
- Round 10 - Melbourne Storm play their first home game on the Sunshine Coast with a 42-6 win over the Gold Coast Titans.
Milestone games
Fixtures
Pre-season
Source:| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Source |
| 14 February | 2020 NRL Nines Pool Game | Manly Sea Eagles | HBF Park, Perth | Loss | 4 | 18 | |
| 15 February | 2020 NRL Nines Pool Game | Brisbane Broncos | HBF Park, Perth | Loss | 8 | 12 | |
| 22 February | Trial | New Zealand Warriors | Palmerston North, New Zealand | Win | 18 | 16 | |
| 29 February | Trial | North Queensland Cowboys | Casey Fields, Cranbourne | Win | 22 | 14 |
Regular season
Source:- - Golden Point extra time
- - Penalty try
| Date | Round | Opponent | Home/away | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Report |
| 15 March | 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | Away | Lottoland, Sydney | Win | 18 | 4 | S Vunivalu, T Eisenhuth | C Smith 3/4 | ||
| 21 March | 2 | Cronulla Sharks | Away | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney | Win | 12 | 10 | T Kamikamica | C Smith 4/4 | ||
| 30 May | 3 | Canberra Raiders | Home | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 6 | 22 | D Finucane | C Smith 1/1 | ||
| 5 June | 4 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Home | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 22 | 8 | R Papenhuyzen, S Vunivalu, J Addo-Carr, J Olam | C Smith 3/5 | ||
| 13 June | 5 | Newcastle Knights | Away | Central Coast Stadium, Gosford | Win | 26 | 12 | R Jacks, S Vunivalu, T Faasuamaleaui, B Smith | C Smith 5/5 | ||
| 19 June | 6 | Penrith Panthers | Away | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 14 | 21 | F Kaufusi, B Lee | C Smith 3/3 | ||
| 26 June | 7 | New Zealand Warriors | Home | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney | Win | 50 | 6 | S Vunivalu, P Momirovski, R Papenhuyzen, B Smith, J Addo-Carr | C Smith 7/9 | ||
| 2 July | 8 | Sydney Roosters | Home | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 27 | 25 | J Hughes, J Addo-Carr, P Momirovski | C Smith 5/5 | R Papenhuyzen 1/1 | |
| 11 July | 9 | Canberra Raiders | Away | GIO Stadium, Canberra | Win | 20 | 14 | B Lee, J Addo-Carr, R Papenhuyzen | C Smith 4/4 | ||
| 17 July | 10 | Gold Coast Titans | Home | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast | Win | 42 | 6 | J Addo-Carr, N Asofa-Solomona, C Munster, B Lee, B Smith | C Smith 7/8 | ||
| 24 July | 11 | Brisbane Broncos | Away | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | Win | 46 | 8 | J Addo-Carr, J Hughes, T Faasuamaleaui, K Bromwich, R Papenhuyzen | C Smith 7/9 | ||
| 2 August | 12 | Newcastle Knights | Home | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast | |||||||
| 8 August | 13 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Home | Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast | |||||||
| 13 August | 14 | Sydney Roosters | Away | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |||||||
| 20 August | 15 | Parramatta Eels | Away | Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta | |||||||
| 30 August | 16 | Manly Sea Eagles | Home | TBC | |||||||
| 4 September | 17 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Away | TBC | |||||||
| 13 September | 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | Home | TBC | |||||||
| 19 September | 19 | Wests Tigers | Home | TBC | |||||||
| 27 September | 20 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | Away | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney |
Original regular season fixture
Source:This was the original fixture for the Melbourne Storm prior to the coronavirus pandemic causing the season to be altered and rescheduled.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue |
| 15 March | 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | Lottoland, Sydney |
| 21 March | 2 | Cronulla Sharks | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney |
| 28 March | 3 | Penrith Panthers | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 2 April | 4 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 11 April | 5 | Gold Coast Titans | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 16 April | 6 | North Queensland Cowboys | North Queensland Stadium, Townsville |
| 25 April | 7 | New Zealand Warriors | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 3 May | 8 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 11 May | 9 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney |
| 16 May | 10 | Parramatta Eels | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 26 May | 11 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| 12 | Bye | - | |
| 6 June | 13 | Canberra Raiders | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 13 June | 14 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle |
| 26 June | 15 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 3 July | 16 | Wests Tigers | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 11 July | 17 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast |
| 18 July | 18 | Canterbury Bulldogs | HBF Park, Perth |
| 24 July | 19 | Cronulla Sharks | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 30 July | 20 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta |
| 6 August | 21 | North Queensland Cowboys | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 14 August | 22 | Parramatta Eels | Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta |
| 21 August | 23 | Sydney Roosters | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 29 August | 24 | Brisbane Broncos | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 5 September | 25 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium, Canberra |
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
- Craig Hodges – Easts Tigers Feeder Club Coach
- Sam Mawhiniy – Sunshine Coast Falcons Feeder Club Coach
2020 squad
1
Player movements
Source:Losses
- Will Chambers to Suntory Sungoliath, Japan Rugby Football Union
- Brodie Croft to Brisbane Broncos
- Solomone Kata to ACT Brumbies, Super Rugby
- Curtis Scott to Canberra Raiders
- Joe Stimson to Canterbury Bulldogs
- Billy Walters to Wests Tigers
- Harry Grant to Wests Tigers 2
- Ryley Jacks from Gold Coast Titans
- Paul Momirovski from West Tigers 2
Representative honours
This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NRL moved the 2020 State of Origin Series from its usual time slot in June/July and it will now be played post-season over three consecutive weeks in November. In addition all internationals have now been cancelled for 2020.| Player | 2020 All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 |
Statistics
This table contains playing statistics for Melbourne Storm in the 2020 NRL season. Players are added as they play their first game for 2020. The table is up to date as of Round 11.Statistics source:
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Points |
| 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | |
| 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 11 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 98 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 players used | — | 46 | 42 | 1 | 283 |
Scorers
Most points in a game: 14 points
- Round 7: Cameron Smith vs. New Zealand Warriors
- Round 10: Cameron Smith vs. Gold Coast Titans
- Round 11: Cameron Smith vs. Brisbane Broncos
- Round 7: Suliasi Vunivalu vs. New Zealand Warriors
Highest score in a winning game: 50 points
- Round 7: vs. New Zealand Warriors
- Round 2: vs. Cronulla Sharks
- Round 7: vs. New Zealand Warriors
- Round 7 - Round 11
Highest score in a losing game: 14 points
- Round 6 vs. Penrith Panthers
- Round 3 vs. Canberra Raiders
- Round 3 vs. Canberra Raiders
Jersey
Awards
Trophy Cabinet
- 2020 Michael Moore Trophy
Melbourne Storm Awards Night
- Melbourne Storm Player of the Year:
- Billy Slater Rookie of the Year:
- Melbourne Storm Members' Player of Year:
- Melbourne Storm Most Improved:
- Melbourne Storm Best Back:
- Melbourne Storm Best Forward:
- Cooper Cronk Feeder Club Player of the Year:
- Darren Bell U20s Player of the Year:
- U20s Best Back:
- U20s Best Forward:
- Greg Brentnall Young Achievers Award:
- Mick Moore Club Person of the Year:
- Life Member Inductee:
- Chairman's Award:
- Best Try:
Dally M Awards Night
Rugby League Players' Association Awards Night
Additional awards
- I Don't Quit Iron Bar: Aaron Booth
- Preston Campbell Medal: Brandon Smith