2009 Melbourne Storm season

2009 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank4th
Play-off resultGrand Final Winners
2009 recordWins: 14; draws: 1; losses: 9
Points scoredFor: 505; against: 348
Team information
CEOBrian Waldron
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumOlympic Park
Avg. attendance11,978
High attendance27,687 (Preliminary Final)
Top scorers
TriesBilly Slater (18)
GoalsCameron Smith (65)
PointsCameron Smith (142)
← 2008 List of seasons 2010 →

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.

A slow start to the season saw Melbourne win just three of their first seven games. However the team rallied, losing just one of their next seven to move into fourth position by Round 14, where they would remain for the rest of the season. The finals series was when Melbourne really hit their straps, winning their first two finals by 28 and 30 points respectively. In the Grand Final, Storm defeated Parramatta 23–16 with Billy Slater named the Clive Churchill Medalist.[1]

Melbourne played all their regular season home games at Olympic Park, the final season playing at the venue before moving to the new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium the following season.

Season summary

  • 2 February – New signing Arana Taumata is sacked by the club after he was arrested following an alcohol-fuelled brawl. Three other Storm players were involved in the incident, but only Taumata eventually faced charges. Melbourne became the fourth club in as many years to sack Taumata for disciplinary reasons.[2][3][4] Taumata would later plead guilty to assault.[5]
  • Round 1 – A field goal in the fourth minute of golden point extra time by Greg Inglis gives Melbourne a thrilling 17–16 win over St George Illawarra Dragons in the 2009 season opening game at Olympic Park. The game was the first played under the NRL's dual-referee system.[6]
  • Round 2 – A try by former Storm player Israel Folau and a highly controversial try by Peter Wallace hands Brisbane Broncos a 16–14 win over Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium. It is the Broncos first win over Melbourne since the 2006 NRL Grand Final.[6]
  • 14 April – After being informed that he was not fit into their long-term plans, Parramatta Eels' halfback Brett Finch signs with Melbourne, joining the club for the remainder of the 2009 season.[6]
  • Round 7 – Hosting a match on ANZAC Day for just the second time, Melbourne drew 14–14 against New Zealand Warriors in wet and slippery conditions at Olympic Park. Warriors fullback Lance Hohaia looked to have broken the deadlock with less than a minute left in golden point extra time, before the video referee disallowed his successful field goal attempt due to a knock-on in the lead up from Stacey Jones. The drawn result was the club's first since the institution of golden point in 2003.[7]
  • Round 8 – Melbourne exact a small amount of revenge on Manly with a 22–8 win at Brookvale Oval in their first rematch since the 2008 NRL Grand Final.[6]
  • Round 9 – With eight players backing up from the midseason test only three nights earlier, regular captain Cameron Smith starts from the bench, with Cooper Cronk taking over as acting captain. Melbourne defeat Sydney Roosters 28–12 in front of a small crowd at Gosford.[6]
  • 13 May – Part-time specialist coach Matthew Johns indefinitely parted ways with the club following his involvement in a sex scandal.[8]
  • Round 10 – Melbourne claim their 14th-straight win over Canberra Raiders, winning 46–6, their greatest winning margin over the Raiders.[6]
  • Round 13 – Two days after the opening State of Origin match, Melbourne thrash Brisbane 48–4 at Olympic Park, with Joe Tomane scoring 24 points (three tries, six goals).[6]
  • Round 14 – Melbourne returned to Perth for the first time since 1999, defeating South Sydney Rabbitohs 28–22 at Members Equity Stadium.
  • Round 15 – Dane Nielsen becomes the first player sent off for the season, after a high tackle on Wests Tigers winger Beau Ryan. With only a few minutes remaining after Nielsen's dismissal, Melbourne hold on to win 14–12.[6]
  • Round 16 – Canberra defeat Melbourne 26–16 at Canberra Stadium, to win their first game against Storm since 2002.
  • 30 July – Brett Finch signs a one-year deal to stay with Melbourne in 2010.[6]
  • 7 August – Melbourne announce that they will end their feeder club arrangement with Central Coast Storm and establish their own team in the NSW Cup in 2010.[6][9]
  • 10 August – Greg Inglis is charged by police for assaulting his girlfriend Sally Robinson. He is immediately stood-down by Melbourne, with club sponsor ME Bank reportedly reviewing their position with the club.[6]
  • 27 August – The Melbourne Storm board allow Greg Inglis to resume playing, despite still facing assault charges.[6]
  • Round 25 – In the club's last game at Olympic Park, the return of Greg Inglis sparked Melbourne to a 38–4 win over Sydney Roosters, ending a two-game losing streak. Melbourne finish with 104 wins from 136 games at Olympic Park, an imposing 76.5 winning percentage.[6]
  • Round 26 – Melbourne book a top-four finish, with an impressive 30–0 win over New Zealand Warriors to regain the Michael Moore Trophy.
  • Qualifying Final – Returning to Etihad Stadium, Melbourne thrash Manly 40-12 led by four tries from Billy Slater. The win, coupled with upsets in the other qualifying finals earns Melbourne a week off and a preliminary final in Melbourne.
  • Preliminary Final – Held on the night of the 2009 AFL Grand Final, a crowd of 27,687 watches Melbourne demolish Brisbane 40–10 to make their fourth successive Grand Final. A hat-trick of tries to Greg Inglis helping Melbourne end Brisbane's season in disappointment for the third year in a row.[6]
  • Grand Final – Melbourne Storm win their 3rd Grand Final in their 11-year history, beating the Parramatta Eels 23–16 at ANZ Stadium in front of crowd of 82,538. Billy Slater is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, as Melbourne lead all night withstanding a late Parramatta comeback.
  • 12 November – Salary cap pressure forces Melbourne to bid farewell to Dallas Johnson who subsequently signs with Catalans Dragons on a three-year deal.[6]

Milestone games

Round Player Milestone
Round 1 Willie Isa Storm debut
Ryan Hinchcliffe Storm debut
Wairangi Koopu Storm debut
Round 5 James Maloney NRL debut
Matthew Cross Storm debut
Round 6 Cameron Smith 150th game
Round 7 Brett Finch Storm debut
Round 15 Brett White 100th game
Round 19 Luke Kelly NRL debut
Round 20 Hep Cahill NRL debut
Round 22 Billy Slater 150th game
Dallas Johnson 150th game
Steve Turner 100th NRL game
Round 23 Matthew Cross 50th NRL game
Round 24 Ryan Tandy Storm debut
Round 25 Ryan Hoffman 150th game
Preliminary Final Billy Slater 100th NRL try

Jerseys

New apparel supplier KooGa kept the same home and clash jersey design as worn in 2008. ME Bank replaced Medibank as the main jersey advertiser, with all other advertisers continuing their sponsorships from 2008.

In Round 10 against Canberra, Melbourne wore a heritage jersey based on the design of the 2001-02 clash jersey, featuring purple with silver thunderbolts. This would be the first time the club had worn an away or clash jersey at Olympic Park.

Fixtures

Pre season

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
12 February Trial New Zealand Warriors Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand Lost 12 24 W Isa, J Tomane J Maloney, J Williams [10][11][12][13]
21 February Trial Newcastle Knights Visy Park, Melbourne Won 32 24 W Isa (2), J Lima, R Hoffman, G Inglis, A Quinn C Smith (4) [14][15][16][17]
28 February Trial Brisbane Broncos Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast Won 20 6 W Isa, J Tomane, B Slater, W Chambers G Inglis (2) [18][19][20]

Regular season

Result by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundHAAHHAHAAHA–HAHAH–AHAHAHHA
ResultWLWLWLDWWWLBWWWLWBLWLWLLWW
Position78487786657654444444444444
Points22446679111313151719212123252527272929293133
Source: Rugby League Tables
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Source:[21]

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
13 March 1 St George Illawarra Dragons Olympic Park, Melbourne Won
(g.p.)		 17 16 C Cronk, G Inglis, B Slater C Smith 2/3 G Inglis [22]
20 March 2 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Lost 14 16 K Proctor, B Slater C Smith 3/3 [23]
28 March 3 North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Won 26 12 C Cronk, G Inglis, A Quinn, S Turner C Smith 5/5 [24]
4 April 4 Gold Coast Titans Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 6 18 J Tomane C Smith 1/1 [25]
11 April 5 Penrith Panthers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 16 14 A Quinn, B Slater C Smith 4/4 [26]
20 April 6 Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Lost 6 16 R Hoffman C Smith 1/1 [27]
25 April 7 New Zealand Warriors Olympic Park, Melbourne Draw 14 14 W Chambers, B Slater, S Turner C Smith 1/3 [28]
1 May 8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval, Sydney Won 22 8 M Cross, G Inglis, B Slater, S Turner C Smith 3/5 [29]
11 May 9 Sydney Roosters Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Won 28 12 B Finch, R Hoffman, J Lima, S Turner, B White J Tomane 4/5 [30]
18 May 10 Canberra Raiders Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 46 6 B Slater (2), A Blair, M Cross, R Hoffman, G Inglis, J Lima, S Turner C Smith 6/7, J Tomane 1/1 [31]
23 May 11 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Lost 10 26 W Chambers (2) C Smith 1/2 [32]
30 May 12 Bye
5 June 13 Brisbane Broncos Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 48 4 J Tomane (3), C Cronk (2), W Chambers, G Inglis, B Slater, A Tolman J Tomane 6/9 [33]
13 June 14 South Sydney Rabbitohs Members Equity Stadium, Perth Won 28 22 C Cronk, R Hoffman, G Inglis, W Koopu, J Tomane, S Turner C Smith 2/5, J Tomane 0/1 [34]
21 June 15 Wests Tigers Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 14 12 C Cronk, M Cross J Tomane 3/3 [35]
28 June 16 Canberra Raiders Canberra Stadium, Canberra Lost 16 26 W Chambers, G Inglis, C Smith C Smith 2/2, J Tomane 0/1 [36]
4 July 17 Newcastle Knights Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 18 14 W Chambers, G Inglis, B Slater C Smith 3/3 [37]
11 July 18 Bye
20 July 19 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Lost 16 18 R Hoffman, D Nielsen, J Tomane J Tomane 2/3 [38]
25 July 20 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 30 10 B Anderson (2), W Chambers, R Hinchcliffe, C Smith, J Tomane C Smith 2/5, J Tomane 1/2 [39]
31 July 21 St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Jubilee Oval, Sydney Lost 12 26 B Finch, G Inglis C Smith 2/3 [40]
7 August 22 North Queensland Cowboys Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 20 8 C Cronk, B Finch, J Tomane, S Turner C Smith 2/4 [41]
17 August 23 Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Lost 14 26 B Anderson, C Cronk, S Turner C Smith 1/3 [42]
23 August 24 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 16 20 J Tomane (2), W Chambers C Smith 2/3 [43]
29 August 25 Sydney Roosters Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 38 4 G Inglis (2), S Turner (2), W Chambers, B Slater, A Tolman C Smith 5/6, R Hoffman 0/1 [44]
5 September 26 New Zealand Warriors Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Won 30 0 W Chambers (2), R Hinchcliffe, G Inglis, D Nielsen, B Slater C Smith 3/5, G Inglis 0/1 [45]

Finals

Qualifying final
11 September 2009
19:45 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm 40 – 12 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries: 7
Slater rugby ball (4)
Nielsen rugby ball
Smith rugby ball
Tolman rugby ball
Goals: 6
Smith rugby goalposts icon (5/6)
Turner rugby goalposts icon (1/1)
 [46]
 Tries: 2
Foran rugby ball
Matai rugby ball
Goals: 2
Orford rugby goalposts icon (2/2)
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 21,155
Referees: Gavin Badger, Shayne Hayne
Preliminary final
26 September 2009
19:45 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm 40 – 10 Brisbane Broncos
Tries: 7
Inglis rugby ball 39', 45', 69'
Slater rugby ball 20', 73'
Chambers rugby ball 3'
Johnson rugby ball 25'
Goals: 6
Smith rugby goalposts icon (6/7)
 1st: 22–0
2nd: 18–10
[47]
 Tries: 2
Glenn rugby ball 59'
Folau rugby ball 80'
Goals: 1
Parker rugby goalposts icon 60' (1/1)
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 27,687
Referees: Shayne Hayne, Jared Maxwell
Main article: 2009 NRL Grand Final
2009 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 4 October
17:15 AEDT (UTC+11)
Melbourne Storm 23 – 16 Parramatta Eels
Tries: 4
Hoffman rugby ball 5'
Blair rugby ball 24'
Inglis rugby ball 49'
Slater rugby ball 55'
Goals: 3
Smith rugby goalposts icon 7', 50', 57' (3/4)
Field goals: 1
Inglis rugby goalposts icon 77'
 1st: 10–0
2nd: 13–16
 Tries: 3
Grothe rugby ball 45'
Reddy rugby ball 70'
Moimoi rugby ball 72'
Goals: 2
Burt rugby goalposts icon 46', 70' (2/3)
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,538
Referees: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne
Touch judges: Paul Holland, David Abood
Clive Churchill Medal: Billy Slater (Melbourne)

Ladder

Main article: 2009 NRL season
2009 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 17 0 7 2 548 329 +219 38
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 18 0 6 2 575 428 +147 381
3 Gold Coast Titans 24 16 0 8 2 514 467 +47 36
4 Melbourne Storm 24 14 1 9 2 505 348 +157 33
5 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 14 0 10 2 549 459 +90 32
6 Brisbane Broncos 24 14 0 10 2 511 566 −55 32
7 Newcastle Knights 24 13 0 11 2 508 491 +17 30
8 Parramatta Eels 24 12 1 11 2 476 473 +3 29
9 Wests Tigers 24 12 0 12 2 558 483 +75 28
10 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 11 1 12 2 566 549 +17 27
11 Penrith Panthers 24 11 1 12 2 515 589 −74 27
12 North Queensland Cowboys 24 11 0 13 2 558 474 +84 26
13 Canberra Raiders 24 9 0 15 2 489 520 −31 22
14 New Zealand Warriors 24 7 2 15 2 377 565 −188 20
15 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 5 0 19 2 359 568 −209 14
16 Sydney Roosters 24 5 0 19 2 382 681 −299 14

1 The Bulldogs were deducted 2 competition points after an interchange breach in Round 2.

2009 Coaching Staff

2009 squad

List current as of 3 May 2022[48]

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
Cap [a] Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club [b]
55 Australia Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002 Australia Melbourne Storm
58 Australia Billy Slater FB 2003 Australia Melbourne Storm
60 Australia Dallas Johnson SR, LK 2003 Australia Melbourne Storm
62 Australia Ryan Hoffman SR, LK 2003 Australia Melbourne Storm
72 Australia Steve Turner FB, WG 2004 Australia Penrith Panthers
73 Australia Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Australia Melbourne Storm
76 Australia Brett White PR 2005 Australia Melbourne Storm
79 Australia Greg Inglis FE, CE, 2005 Australia Melbourne Storm
86 New Zealand Adam Blair SR, PR 2006 Australia Melbourne Storm
90 New Zealand Jeff Lima PR, LK 2006 Australia Wests Tigers
91 Australia Anthony Quinn WG, CE 2007 Australia Newcastle Knights
97 Australia Will Chambers CE 2007 Australia Melbourne Storm
98 New Zealand Sika Manu SR 2007 Australia Melbourne Storm
99 Australia Scott Anderson SR, PR 2007 Australia Melbourne Storm
102 Australia Aiden Tolman PR 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
103 Australia Brett Anderson WG, CE 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
104 Australia Dane Nielsen WG, CE 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
105 New Zealand Kevin Proctor SR 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
107 Samoa Joseph Tomane WG, CE 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
109 Tonga Sinbad Kali SR, LK 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
110 Australia Ryan Hinchcliffe HK, LK 2009 Australia Canberra Raiders
111 Samoa Willie Isa WG, CE 2009 Australia Penrith Panthers
112 New Zealand Wairangi Koopu SR, LK 2009 New Zealand New Zealand Warriors
113 Australia James Maloney HB, FE 2009 Australia Melbourne Storm
114 Australia Matt Cross PR 2009 Australia Gold Coast Titans
115 Australia Brett Finch HB, FE 2009 Australia Parramatta Eels
116 Australia Luke Kelly FE, HB 2009 Australia Melbourne Storm
117 New Zealand Hep Cahill LK, SR 2009 Australia Melbourne Storm
118 Republic of Ireland Ryan Tandy PR, SR 2009 Australia Wests Tigers
New Zealand Louis Fonene CE Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
New Zealand Jesse Bromwich PR Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
New Zealand Slade Griffen HK Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Lucas Miller HB, FE Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Gerrard Tibbetts SR, CE Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Republic of Ireland Rory Kostjasyn HK, LK Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Tonga Andre Itula FB, WG Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Italy Aidan Guerra SR, LK Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Vanuatu Justin O'Neill CE Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm

2009 NRL Grand Final Winning Team

Melbourne Storm
2009 Grand Final Winning Team Interchange Coach

Head coach


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



Player movements

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2009.

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm representatives
Player 2009 ANZAC Test City vs Country Origin State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 2009 Four Nations
Adam Blair New Zealand – – – – New Zealand
Cooper Cronk – – – – – Australia
Ryan Hoffman – City – – – Australia
Greg Inglis Australia – Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia
Dallas Johnson – – Queensland Queensland Queensland –
Jeff Lima New Zealand – – – – New Zealand
Sika Manu New Zealand – – – – –
Billy Slater Australia – Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia
Cameron Smith Australia – Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia
Brett White – Country – – New South Wales Australia

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2009 NRL season.

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm records
Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Brett Anderson 2 3 0 0 12
Scott Anderson 18 0 0 0 0
Adam Blair 25 2 0 0 8
Hep Cahill 3 0 0 0 0
Will Chambers 27 12 0 0 48
Cooper Cronk 27 8 0 0 32
Matthew Cross 14 3 0 0 12
Brett Finch 20 3 0 0 12
Ryan Hinchcliffe 26 2 0 0 8
Ryan Hoffman 25 6 0 0 24
Greg Inglis 23 16 0 2 66
Willie Isa 2 0 0 0 0
Dallas Johnson 24 1 0 0 4
Luke Kelly 1 0 0 0 0
Wairangi Koopu 12 1 0 0 4
Jeff Lima 25 2 0 0 8
James Maloney 4 0 0 0 0
Sika Manu 10 0 0 0 0
Dane Nielsen 10 3 0 0 12
Kevin Proctor 7 1 0 0 4
Anthony Quinn 9 2 0 0 8
Billy Slater 26 18 0 0 72
Cameron Smith 25 3 65 0 142
Ryan Tandy 6 0 0 0 0
Aiden Tolman 27 3 0 0 12
Joe Tomane 15 10 17 0 74
Steve Turner 25 10 1 0 42
Brett White 21 1 0 0 4
28 players used – 110 83 2 608

Scorers

Most points in a game: 24 points

  • Round 13 – Joe Tomane (3 tries, 6 goals) vs Brisbane Broncos

Most tries in a game: 4

  • Qualifying Final – Billy Slater vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 48 points

  • Round 13 vs Brisbane Broncos

Lowest score in a winning game: 14 points

  • Round 15 vs Wests Tigers

Greatest winning margin: 42 points

  • Round 13 vs Brisbane Broncos

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 5

  • Round 25 – Grand Final

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 16 points

  • Round 16 vs Canberra Raiders
  • Round 19 vs Parramatta Eels
  • Round 24 vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points

  • Round 4 vs Gold Coast Titans
  • Round 6 vs Wests Tigers

Greatest losing margin: 16 points

  • Round 11 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

  • Round 23 – Round 24

NRL Under 20s

Main article: 2009 NRL Under-20s season

In the second season of the NRL's National Youth Championship, Melbourne were again coached by Brad Arthur finishing the regular season in third place on the ladder to qualify for the finals.

Ladder

National Youth Competition season 2009
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 19 1 4 2 879 417 +462 43
2 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 19 0 5 2 758 461 +297 42
3 Melbourne Storm (P) 24 19 0 5 2 833 597 +236 42
4 Wests Tigers 24 15 1 8 2 709 588 +121 35
5 Brisbane Broncos 24 15 0 9 2 698 551 +147 34
6 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 13 1 10 2 776 568 +208 31
7 New Zealand Warriors 24 13 1 10 2 725 612 +113 31
8 Canberra Raiders 24 11 2 11 2 706 685 +21 28
9 North Queensland Cowboys 24 12 0 12 2 668 683 -15 28
10 Newcastle Knights 24 9 1 14 2 596 756 -160 23
11 Canterbury Bulldogs 24 9 1 14 2 649 867 -218 23
12 Parramatta Eels 24 8 0 16 2 604 698 -94 20
13 Penrith Panthers 24 8 0 16 2 573 755 -182 20
14 Gold Coast Titans 24 8 0 16 2 542 738 -196 20
15 Sydney Roosters 24 6 0 18 2 443 736 -293 16
16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 4 0 20 2 391 838 -447 12

Finals

Qualifying final
11 September 2009 		Melbourne Storm 54–18
[51] 		South Sydney Rabbitohs Etihad Stadium
5:30pm AEST
 Tries:
Dane Chisholm (5)
Justin O'Neill (2)
Jesse Bromwich
Matt Duffie
Fred Makimare
Goals:
Gareth Widdop 7/10 		Tries:
Jason Clark
Josh Mansour
Taioalo Vaivai
Goals:
Adam Reynolds 3/3
Referee: Gavin Reynolds
Preliminary final
26 September 2009 		Melbourne Storm 40–16
[52] 		Brisbane Broncos Etihad Stadium
5:15pm AEST
 Tries:
Matt Duffie (3)
Dane Chisholm (2)
Jai Jones-Wiegold
Gareth Widdop
Goals:
Gareth Widdop 6/7 		Tries:
Dane Gagai
Kurtis Lingwoodock
Mitch Rivett
Goals:
Corey Norman 2/3
Referee: Adam Devcich
Grand Final
4 October 2009 		Melbourne Storm 24–22
[53] 		Wests Tigers ANZ Stadium
2:10pm AEDT
 Tries:
Gareth Widdop (2)
Matt Duffie
Justin O'Neill
Billy Rogers
Goals:
Gareth Widdop 2/5 		Tries:
Jake Mullaney (2)
Rhys Curran
Robert Lui
Goals:
Jake Mullaney 3/4
Referee: Gavin Reynolds

2009 NRL Under 20s Premiership Team

Melbourne Storm
2009 NRL Under 20s Premiership Team Interchange Coach

Head coach


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



Statistics

Source:[54]

Scorers

Most points in a game: 20 points

  • Round 2 – Gareth Widdop (2 tries, 6 goals) vs Brisbane Broncos
  • Round 17 – Gareth Widdop (1 try, 8 goals) vs Newcastle Knights
  • Round 20 – Gareth Widdop (2 tries, 6 goals) vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Most tries in a game: 5

  • Qualifying Final – Dane Chisholm vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

Most points (season): 294

  • Gareth Widdop (18 tries, 111 goals)

Most tries (season): 25

  • Matt Duffie

S. G. Ball Cup

For the first time in club history, Melbourne entered a junior representative team in the New South Wales Rugby League under-18s competition S. G. Ball Cup.

Coached by club high performance manager Kim Williams, the team finished the regular season in fourth place, winning six of their nine matches. During the finals, the team stunned more fancied rivals, defeating Illawarra 50–10, Newcastle 22–16, and Manly 28–14 to progress to the competition's Grand Final against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[55]

Grand Final
7 May 2009 		Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 42–16
[56] 		Melbourne Storm St Marys Leagues Stadium
3:00pm AEST
 Tries:
Lachlan Burr (3)
Richard Irwin
Aiden Sezer
Liam Ayoub
Ali Hijazi
Goals:
Ali Hijazi (7) 		Tries:
Slade Griffin (2)
Robbie Kurth
Goals:
John Aldridge (2)
Referee: Daniel Olford

Feeder Team

For a second successive season, Melbourne sent their back-up players to play with Central Coast Storm, coached by former Storm player Jamie Feeney.

Central Coast made the finals, finishing in 2nd position (out of 11 teams), behind eventual premiers Bankstown City Bulls. Central Coast were eliminated from the NSW Cup finals after successive defeats against Western Suburbs[57] and Balmain Ryde-Eastwood.

Main article: 2009 New South Wales Cup
2009 New South Wales Cup[58]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
2 Central Coast Storm 20 13 1 6 526 462 +64 31

Awards

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. ^ Crocker could not obtain a work permit to take up his contract with Hull FC and subsequently signed with South Sydney during the 2009 NRL season.

References

  1. ^ "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Storm show troublesome Taumata the door". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  3. ^ Edmund, Sam (3 February 2009). "Late-night fight costs serial brawler Arana Taumata contract". Herald-Sun. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  4. ^ Lawton, Aaron (8 February 2009). "Sacked Taumata finally faces his demons". smh.com.au. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  5. ^ Paxinos, Stathi (18 June 2009). "Taumata pleads guilty to assault". smh.com.au. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Middleton, David. 2009 Official Rugby League Annual. Surrey Hills: News Magazines.
  7. ^ "ANZAC Day 2009". melbournestorm.com.au. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  8. ^ Vaughan, Robert (13 May 2009). "Melbourne Storm and Johns part ways". ninemsn.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Storm to enter Melbourne-based team in 2010 NSW Cup". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. ^ "NRL Trials 2009 – dates and venues". leagueunlimited.com. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  11. ^ Ritchie, Dean (13 February 2009). "Jones back as Warriors roll Storm". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney, New South Wales: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 131.
  12. ^ Gould, Russell (13 February 2009). "Bellamy soaks up loss". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 102.
  13. ^ "Solid Win For Vodafone Warriors In First 2009 NRL Trial". voxy.co.nz. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Isa grabs his chances in the Storm's win over Newcastle". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australia: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. 22 February 2009. p. 70.
  15. ^ "Two-try Isa impressed for Storm". The Sunday Territorian. Darwin, Northern Territory: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. 22 February 2009. p. 27.
  16. ^ Woods, Melissa (22 February 2009). "Storm may switch Smith to five eighth". AAP.
  17. ^ Gould, Russell (22 February 2009). "More trials and tribulations at Knights". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney, New South Wales: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 49.
  18. ^ "Lockyer rusty as Storm beat Broncos in trial". AAP Sports News Wire. 28 February 2009.
  19. ^ "Rusty Lockyer struggles in Broncos' loss". The Sunday Territorian. Darwin, Northern Territory: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. 1 March 2009. p. 24.
  20. ^ Davis, Greg (1 March 2009). "Storm make most of a rusty Locky". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Queensland: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 107.
  21. ^ "Rugby League Tables – Melbourne". Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  22. ^ "NRL 2009 – Round 1". Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  23. ^ "NRL 2009 – Round 2". Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  24. ^ "NRL 2009 – Round 3". Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  25. ^ "NRL 2009 – Round 4". Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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