2014 Melbourne Storm season

The 2014 Melbourne Storm season was the 17th in the club's history. They competed in the 2014 NRL season and were coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith. In 2014 the Storm did not achieve a good level of consistent success however won enough games late in the season to qualify for the NRL finals in 6th place. The club finished outside the top four for the first time since 2005 (other than when competition points were stripped in 2010). It was a roller coaster campaign that kicked off with consecutive one-point wins, courtesy of drop goals from Smith and Cooper Cronk. Storm five wins this season came at a combined 17 points. Injuries to Cronk (broken arm) and Billy Slater (shoulder) during the Origin period saw the Storm lose four of six games during that stretch as they were left clinging to 8th spot on the NRL ladder. The team managed to steady the ship by winning six of their last eight home-and-away games to finish sixth. In a significant boost for the Club, captain Cameron Smith signed a four-year contract extension just one week into the season.[1]

2014 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank6th
Play-off result7th - Elimination Final Loss
2014 recordWins: 14; draws: 0; losses: 10
Points scoredFor: 536; against: 460
Team information
CEOMark Evans
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumAAMI Park – 30,050
Top scorers
TriesSisa Waqa (18)
GoalsCameron Smith (68)
PointsCameron Smith (145)
< 2013 List of seasons 2015 >

Season summary
  • Pre-season- New recruits took part in Melbourne Storm IDQ camp for pre season training before New Years. Matt Duffie was awarded the IDQ Iron bar with special recognition to both Justin O'Neill and Kenny Bromwich.[2]
  • Auckland Nines - The club competed in the inaugural Auckland Nines tournament on the weekend of the 15th and 16 February. After losing two of three pool games they failed to progress to the finals of the tournament. Ryan Hoffman captained the squad.
  • Round 1 - The Storm opened their season with a Golden Point extra time win over Manly Warringah. Cameron Smith kicked the winning field goal. Smith also equaled the Storm games record in the match. George Rose, Ben Roberts and Young Tonumaipea all made their debuts for the Storm. This also meant the Storm won their season opener for the 10th successive year.[3]
  • 11 March - Cameron Smith officially announces that he has signed a four-year contract which will see him end his NRL career at the Storm.[4]
  • Round 2 - Cameron Smith played his 263rd game for the Storm breaking the club record held by Matt Geyer. Also, Billy Slater played his 250th Game for the Club and NRL.
  • 18 March - Jesse Bromwich commits to the Storm by signing a new four year playing contract.[5]
  • Round 5 - Dayne Weston makes his playing debut for the Storm.
  • Round 6 - The Storm score a try after the siren to secure a 28 - 24 victory over the St George Illawarra Dragons. The Dragons with 13 minutes left on the clock, led 24-10.
  • Round 8 - ANZAC Day In front of a record NRL crowd of 28,716 at AAMI Park the Storm go down to the New Zealand Warriors 16 - 10.
  • Round 9 - Kurt Mann makes his debut for the Storm scoring the winning try in a 22-19 win over Manly.
  • Round 10 - Craig Bellamy coached his 300th NRL game and Joel Romelo made his playing debut for the club. In addition when Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Ryan Hoffman and Cooper Cronk ran out against South Sydney, it was the first time in NRL history four players of the same side had played a combined total of 1000 games.[6]
  • 29 May - Both Kevin Proctor and Young Tonumaipea sign new playing contacts with the Storm.[7]
  • 30 May - Cooper Cronk breaks his arm in the first State of Origin game ruling him out for 12 weeks. Billy Slater and Cameron Smith also suffered injuries in the game but Smith was able to follow up in the Round 12 game against North Queensland.[8]
  • Round 15 - Melbourne Storm returned to form with their biggest win of the season thus far (46-20) over the Parramatta Eels. Billy Slater also moved to equal third on the all time NRL try scorers list with Andrew Ettinghausen.[9]
  • Late June - The Storm sign Fijian Marika Koroibete from the West Tigers just before the June 30 deadline, he is one of the fastest players in the NRL and made his impact straight away scoring tries in the Storm's wins over Canberra and Brisbane.[10] This followed the news that Sisa Waqa would depart for Canberra and the end of the season and Mitch Garbutt would depart for Brisbane.
  • Rounds 19 and 20 - The Storm return to the winners list with wins over Canberra and Brisbane.
  • Round 22 - Newcastle score two converted tries in the final 3 minutes of the game to snatch victory 32-30. Sisa Waqa scores a Storm season record of 4 tries in the game, he also equals the club record for most tries in a game.
  • Round 25 - Cooper Cronk plays his 250th NRL game.
  • Round 26 - The Storm defeat the Brisbane Broncos ensuring they qualify for the 2014 NRL Finals Series.
  • Finals Week 1 - Following the conclusion of Round 26, the Storm finished in 6th place meaning they were drawn against the Canterbury Bulldogs in an Elimination Final in Week 1 of the Finals Series the Storm's higher placing than Canterbury ensured it was played at home. The Storm ultimately lost the Elimination Final 28-4 ending their season. Ryan Hoffman also played his final game with the Storm.

Milestone games
RoundPlayerMilestone
Round 1Young TonumaipeaNRL debut
Round 1George RoseStorm debut
Round 1Ben RobertsStorm debut
Round 2Cameron Smith263rd Storm game (Storm Record)
Round 2Billy Slater250th game
Round 5Dayne WestonStorm debut
Round 9Kurt MannNRL debut
Round 10Craig Bellamy300th NRL game as coach
Round 10Joel RomeloStorm debut
Round 12Cameron MunsterNRL debut
Round 19Marika KoroibeteStorm debut
Round 25Cooper Cronk250th game

Fixtures

Preseason
  • (GP) - Bonus point try
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsAttendanceReport
8 FebruaryTrial 1[11] Canberra RaidersAAMI Park, MelbourneLost1220K Proctor, Y Tonumaipea, H Hunt[12]
15 FebruaryAuckland Nines Pool Game Penrith PanthersEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandLost1114W Chambers, C Munster (BP)C Munster43,600[13][14]
15 FebruaryAuckland Nines Pool Game South Sydney RabbitohsEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandWon1810W Chambers (2 (BPx1)), M Fonua (BP)W Chambers, S Waqa[13][15]
16 FebruaryAuckland Nines Pool Game St George Illawarra DragonsEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandLost1014M Garbutt, M FonuaS Waqa45,403[13][16]
22 FebruaryTrial 2 Eastern Suburbs TigersLanglands Park, BrisbaneLost1216
23 FebruaryTrial 3 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsSuncorp Stadium, BrisbaneLost1020M Fonua, K BromwichC Smith 1/210,000[17]

Regular season
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoals/Field GoalsAttendanceReport
8 March1 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval, ManlyWin22-23Waqa (2), Hampton, K BromwichSmith 3/7, Smith 1/1 (FG)14,200[18]
15 March2 Penrith PanthersAAMI Park, MelbourneWin18-17Proctor, Fonua, WaqaSmith 2/5, Cronk 2/2 (FG)13,952[19]
24 March3 Newcastle KnightsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin28-20Waqa, Proctor, Chambers, Tonumaipea, SmithSmith 4/6[20]
29 March4 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogsnib Stadium, PerthLoss40-12Chambers, SlaterHarris 2/312,014[21]
6 April5 Gold Coast TitansAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss26-28Waqa (2), K Bromwich, ChambersSmith 5/511,930[22]
14 April6 St George-Illawarra DragonsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin28-24Chambers (2), J Bromwich, Cronk, TonumaipeaSmith 4/513,130[23]
20 April7 Canberra RaidersCanberra Stadium, CanberraLoss24-22Fonua (2), Hinchcliffe, WaqaSmith 3/4[24]
25 April8 New Zealand WarriorsAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss10-16Proctor, TonumaipeaSmith 1/228,716[25]
10 May9 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesAAMI Park, MelbourneWin22-19Slater (2), Cronk, MannSmith 3/413,273[26]
16 May10 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium, SydneyWin14-27Slater (2), Cronk, WaqaSmith 5/5, Cronk 1/1 (FG)18,508[27]
24 May11Bye
31 May12 North Queensland Cowboys1300SMILES Stadium, TownsvilleLoss22-0[28]
8 June13 Sydney RoostersAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss12-32Fonua,MannSmith 2/216,757[29]
24 June14 Gold Coast TitansSkilled Park, Gold CoastWin20-24Chambers (2), Hampton, Mann, RobertsRoberts 2/56,497[30]
16 June15 Parramatta EelsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin46-20Waqa (2), Slater (2), Mann (2), Norrie, McLeanSmith 6/7, Roberts 1/112,635[31]
30 June16 St George-Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium, WollongongLoss24-12Slater, MannSmith 2/2[32]
6 July17Bye
12 July18 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss4-6ProctorSmith 0/2[33]
19 July19 Canberra RaidersAAMI Park, MelbourneWin28-14Fonua (2), Koroibete, McLean, Proctor, WaqaSmith 2/611,479[34]
25 July20 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, BrisbaneWin8-30Hoffman (2), Cronk, Hinchcliffe, KoroibeteSmith 5/636,319[35]
4 August21 Wests TigersCampbelltown Stadium, CampbelltownWin6-28Koroibete (2), Chambers, Smith, WaqaSmith 4/57,782[36]
9 August22 Newcastle KnightsHunter Stadium, NewcastleLoss32-30Waqa (4), Slater, ChambersSmith 3/6[37]
16 August23 Cronulla SharksAAMI Park, MelbourneWin48-6Fonua (2), Glasby (2), Koroibete, Chambers, Waqa, J Bromwich, McLeanSmith 6/9[38]
25 August24 Penrith PanthersCentrebet Stadium, PenrithWin10-24Koroibete, Chambers, Roberts, SlaterSmith 4/58,994[39]
30 August25 Sydney RoostersAllianz Stadium, SydneyLoss24-12Slater (2)Smith 2/213,879[40]
5 September26 Brisbane BroncosAAMI Park, MelbourneWin22-12Fonua (2), Hoffman, CronkSmith 2/2, Chambers 1/220,032[41]

Finals Series
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoals/Field GoalsAttendanceReport
14 SeptemberWeek 1 - 2nd Elimination Final Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss4-28WaqaSmith 0/119,230[42]

Source Melbournestorm.com.au:[43]

Ladder
2014 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Sydney Roosters 2416082615385+23036
2 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2416082502399+10336
3 South Sydney Rabbitohs (P) 2415092585361+22434
4 Penrith Panthers 2415092506426+8034
5 North Queensland Cowboys 24140102596406+19032
6 Melbourne Storm 24140102536460+7632
7 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24130112446439+730
8 Brisbane Broncos 24120122549456+9328
9 New Zealand Warriors 24120122571491+8028
10 Parramatta Eels 24120122477580−10328
11 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24110132469528−5926
12 Newcastle Knights 24100142463571−10824
13 Wests Tigers 24100142420631−21124
14 Gold Coast Titans 2490152372538−16622
15 Canberra Raiders 2480162466623−15720
16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2450192334613−27914

2014 Coaches

2014 Squad

As of 26 July 2014

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
No. Nat. Player Pos First match with Club Previous club
55 Australia Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002 Australia Melbourne Storm
58 Australia Billy Slater FB 2003 Australia Melbourne Storm
62 Australia Ryan Hoffman SR,LK 2003 Australia Melbourne Storm
73 Australia Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Australia Melbourne Storm
97 Australia Will Chambers CE,WG 2007 Australia Queensland Reds
105 New Zealand Kevin Proctor SR 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
110 Australia Ryan Hinchcliffe LK,HK,SR,FE 2009 Australia Canberra Raiders
119 New Zealand Jesse Bromwich PR 2010 Australia Melbourne Storm
123 Australia Bryan Norrie PR 2010 Australia Cronulla Sharks
124 New Zealand Matt Duffie WG,CE,FB 2010 Australia Melbourne Storm
127 Vanuatu Justin O'Neill WG,CE,FB 2010 Australia Sydney Roosters
136 Fiji Sisa Waqa CE,WG,FB 2011 Australia Sydney Roosters
143 Tonga Mahe Fonua CE,WG 2012 Australia Melbourne Storm
144 New Zealand Tohu Harris SR,LK,PR,FE 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
145 Samoa Junior Moors PR,SR,LK 2013 Australia Wests Tigers
147 New Zealand Slade Griffen HK,LK,CE,SR,FE 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
149 New Zealand Kenny Bromwich PR,SR,LK 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
150 Australia Jordan McLean PR 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
151 Australia Mitch Garbutt PR,LK,SR 2013 Australia Newcastle Knights
152 Australia Ben Hampton FE,HB,FB 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
153 Australia Tim Glasby PR,SR 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
154 Samoa Young Tonumaipea WG,FB 2014 Australia Melbourne Storm
155 Australia Ben Roberts FE,HK,HB,CE 2014 Australia Parramatta Eels
156 Australia George Rose PR,SR 2014 Australia Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
157 Australia Dayne Weston PR,SR 2014 Australia Penrith Panthers
158 Australia Kurt Mann FE,FB,HB,CE,HK 2014 Australia Newcastle Knights
159 Australia Joel Romelo FE,HK,HB,LK 2014 Australia Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
160 Australia Cameron Munster FE,FB,HB,HK 2014 Australia Melbourne Storm
161 Fiji Marika Koroibete WG 2014 Australia Wests Tigers
Lebanon Travis Robinson WG,CE,FB - Australia Penrith Panthers
Australia Cody Walker HB,FE - Australia Easts Tigers
New Zealand Hymel Hunt CE,WG,SR,LK,FB - Australia Gold Coast Titans
Tonga Felise Kaufusi PR - Australia North Queensland Cowboys
Cook Islands Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad CE,WG,SR,LK,FB - Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Matthew Lodge PR,SR - Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Rhys Kennedy SR,LK - Australia Melbourne Storm

2014 Player movements

Source NRL.com:[44]

Representative honours

The following players have played a representative match in 2014. (C) = Captain

City Vs Country[45]ANZAC TestPacific TestState Of Origin 1State Of Origin 2State of Origin 3Four Nations[46]
Ryan HoffmanCity (C)--New South WalesNew South WalesNew South WalesAustralia
Cameron Smith-Australia (C)-Queensland (C)Queensland (C)Queensland (C)Australia (C)
Cooper Cronk-Australia-Queensland-QueenslandAustralia
Billy Slater-Australia-QueenslandQueenslandQueensland-
Jesse Bromwich-New Zealand----New Zealand
Tohu Harris-New Zealand----New Zealand
Kevin Proctor-New Zealand----New Zealand
Young Tonumaipea--Samoa----
Will Chambers-----QueenslandAustralia
Ben Roberts------Samoa

Statistics

Statistics Source:[47]

NameAppTGFGPtsGoal%
Jesse Bromwich242008
Kenny Bromwich182008
Will Chambers2211104650.00% (1/2)
Cooper Cronk1950323
Mahe Fonua20100040
Mitch Garbutt60000
Tim Glasby132008
Ben Hampton112008
Tohu Harris25020466.67% (2/3)
Ryan Hinchcliffe252008
Ryan Hoffman2430012
Marika Koroibete1060024
Kurt Mann860024
Jordan McLean1630012
Junior Moors100000
Cameron Munster10000
Bryan Norrie251004
Justin O'Neill40000
Kevin Proctor2550020
Ben Roberts182301442.86% (3/7)
Joel Romelo20000
George Rose90000
Billy Slater22120048
Cameron Smith23268114570.83% (68/96)
Young Tonumaipea1430012
Sisa Waqa24180072
Dayne Weston60000
27 Players used-9774454067.89% (74/109)

Most Points in a Game: 16

  • Sisa Waqa vs Newcastle (Rd 22)

Most tries in a Game: 4

  • Sisa Waqa vs Newcastle (Rd 22)

Highest score in a game: 48 points

  • vs Cronulla (Rd 23)

Greatest winning margin: 42 points

  • vs Cronulla (Rd 23)

Jersey

For the 2015 season, the Storm have released a new home jersey, once again made by BLK.[48] The 2015 jersey no longer features the "lightning bolt V", instead featuring a large navy blue panel which highlights the crown resorts logo and purple shoulders. A silver horizontal strip also features across the chest. A new away jersey is also set to be released in December.

Awards

References
  1. "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  2. Smart, Nick (22 December 2013). "Melbourne Storm players endure brutal boot camp". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. Roy Masters (14 March 2014). "NRL HQ not panicking despite doomsayers". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  4. Cameron Smith To Remain At Melbourne Storm For Four More Years After Tough Decision Herald Sun
  5. "Bromwich commits to Storm". 17 March 2014.
  6. "Cooper Cronk hails 'special bond' of Melbourne Storm's big four, set to celebrate 1000 games | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 2014-05-16.
  7. "Melbourne Storm re-signs promising winger Young Tonumaipea after retaining Kevin Proctor | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 2014-05-28.
  8. "Storm lose 'big three' to Origin injuries". ABC News. 29 May 2014.
  9. "Slater leaps up try scoring list". 22 June 2014.
  10. "Speedster Marika Koroibete could be just what Melbourne Storm need in a season-defining month | Herald Sun". Archived from the original on 2014-07-21.
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  12. "Return of injury-prone Matt Duffie pleases Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy in trial loss". Herald Sun. 9 February 2014.
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  14. "Fox Sports Stats - NRL Nines 2014 Game 7". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
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  16. "Fox Sports Stats - NRL Nines 2014 Game 23". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
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  18. "Smith kicks Field Goal to down SeaEagles". Daily Telegraph. 8 March 2014.
  19. "Storm beat Panthers in a Thriller". Herald Sun. 16 March 2014.
  20. "Storm toostrong for Gutsy Knights". Daily Telegraph. 24 March 2014.
  21. "Craig Bellamy slams his Melbourne Storm team after thrashing by Canterbury Bulldogs". Herald Sun. 30 March 2014.
  22. "Storm fans boo referee after controversial penalty give Titans win". Herald Sun. 6 April 2014.
  23. "Storm reign supreme after controversial post-siren win over Dragons through dramatic try". Herald Sun. 15 April 2014.
  24. "Craig Bellamy pleads for referee howlers to stop after controversial loss to Canberra Raiders". Herald Sun. 20 April 2014.
  25. "Storm's premiership credentials fade after Anzac Day loss to Warriors at AAMI Park". Herald Sun. 25 April 2014.
  26. "Storm rookie Kurt Mann shines for Melbourne in thrilling finish against Manly Sea Eagles". Herald Sun. 11 May 2014.
  27. "Billy Slater shows his class as Melbourne Storm claim a dominant 27-14 win over the Rabbitohs". Herald Sun. 16 May 2014.
  28. "North Queensland Cowboys demolish injury-ravaged Melbourne Storm". The Age. 1 June 2014.
  29. "Cameron Smith slams teammates attitude in defence after a heavy 32-12 defeat by the Roosters". Herald Sun. 8 June 2014.
  30. "Gold Coast Titans at crisis point as crowds and form go missing in loss to Melbourne". Herald Sun. 16 June 2014.
  31. "Melbourne Storm thump Parramatta Eels 46-20". The Age. 22 June 2014.
  32. Walter, Brad (June 30, 2014). "St George Illawarra Dragons too good for Melbourne Storm as Dugan fights off injury scares". The Age.
  33. "Canterbury Bulldogs grind out win over Melbourne Storm". The Age. 10 July 2014.
  34. "The Melbourne Storm have beaten the Canberra Raiders 28-14 at AAMI Park". Herald Sun. 25 July 2014.
  35. "The Melbourne Storm have beaten the Brisbane Broncos 30-8 at Suncorp Stadium". Herald Sun. 25 July 2014.
  36. "Cooper Cronk's outstanding form has Melbourne Storm on the verge of a top four spot". Herald Sun. 5 August 2014.
  37. "Newcastle Knights beat Melbourne Storm as Kurt Gidley scores with post-siren goal in NRL thriller". The Age. 16 August 2014.
  38. "Melbourne Storm obliterate woeful Cronulla Sharks". The Age. 16 August 2014.
  39. "Storm down ill-disciplined Panthers". NRL.com. 26 August 2014.
  40. "Roosters beat Storm with defence". NRL.com. 5 September 2014.
  41. "Storm down Broncos to secure Finals berth". NRL.com. 6 September 2014.
  42. "The Bulldogs have beaten the Melbourne Storm 28-4 in a sudden death clash at AAMI Park | dailytelegraph.com.au". Archived from the original on 2014-09-14.
  43. "2014 Draw Release". MelbourneStorm.com.au. December 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  44. "NRL Transfers 2014". NRL.com. October 2013.
  45. "Eight players selected". 27 April 2014.
  46. "TEAM LIST: Australia Kangaroos Train On Squad For Four Nations And PM XIII Against Papua New Guinea | Triple M NRL". www.triplem.com.au. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16.
  47. "Rugby League Statistics". rleague.com. 20 March 2014.
  48. "2015 Home jersey launched to members - Storm". Archived from the original on 2014-11-09. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
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