2009 Melbourne Storm season

2009 Melbourne Storm season
2009 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank	4th
Play-off result	Grand Final Winners
2009 record	Wins: 14; Draws: 1; Losses: 9
Points scored	For: 505; Against: 348
Team information
CEO	Brian Waldron
Coach	Craig Bellamy
Captain	Cameron Smith (24 Games) ; Cooper Cronk (3 Games);
Stadium	Olympic Park
Top scorers
Tries	Billy Slater (18)
Goals	Cameron Smith (65)
Points	Cameron Smith (142)

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]

Season summary[]

Early in the season Matthew Johns, assistant coach, was stood down following his involvement in a sex scandal.^[2]
Melbourne Storm won their 3rd Grand Final in their 11 year history, beating the Parramatta Eels 23–16 at ANZ Stadium in front of crown of approximately 82,500.
During the regular season, the Storm played all home games at Olympic Park and it was their final season playing at the venue before moving to the new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium the following season.
In addition, the Storm played an away game against South Sydney in round 14 at Members Equity Stadium in Western Australia, their first visit since playing at Lathlain Oval in 1999.

Fixtures[]

Pre Season[]

Match	Opponent	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Date	Venue
Trial Match	New Zealand Warriors	Loss	12	24	12 Feb	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand
Trial Match	Newcastle Knights	Win	32	24	21 Feb	Princes Park
Trial Match	Brisbane Broncos	Win	20	6	28 Feb	Sunshine Coast Stadium

Regular season[]

Round 1
14 March 2009
7:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	17–16	St. George Illawarra Dragons
Tries: Cronk, Inglis, Slater Goals: Smith 2/3 Field Goals: Inglis		Tries: Cooper, Hornby Goals: Soward 2/2

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 14,780
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gavin Badger

Round 2
21 March 2009
7:30pm Local

Brisbane Broncos	16–14	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Folau, Michaels, Wallace Goals: Parker 3/3		Tries: Slater, Proctor Goals: Smith 2/2 Penalties: Smith 1/1

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 36,647
Referee: Ben Cummins, Tony De Las Heras

Round 3
27 March 2009
7:35pm Local

North Queensland Cowboys	12–26	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Bolton, Williams Goals: Thurston 2/2		Tries: Cronk, Inglis, Quinn, Turner Goals: Smith 4/4 Penalties Smith 1/1

Skilled Park, Townsville
Attendance: 21,489
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gerard Sutton

Round 4
4 April 2009
2:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	6–18	Gold Coast Titans
Tries: Tomane Goals: Smith 1/1		Tries: Bailey, Walker Goals: Rogers 2/2 Penalties Rogers 3/3

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 11,698
Referee: Ashley Klein, Brett Suttor

Round 5
13 April 2009
7:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	16–14	Penrith Panthers
Tries: Slater, Quinn Goals: Smith 2/2, Penalties Smith 2/2		Tries: Tighe, Lewis Goals: Gordon 2/2 Penalties Gordon 1/1

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,110
Referee: Chris James, Tony Archer

Round 6
20 April 2009
7:00pm Local

Wests Tigers	16–6	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Lawrence 2, Moltzen Goals: Marshall 2/2		Tries: Hoffman Goals: Smith 1/1

Leichhardt Oval, Leichhardt
Attendance: 12,646
Referee: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne

Round 7
25 April 2009
5:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	14–14	New Zealand Warriors
Tries: Chambers, Slater, Turner Goals: Smith 1/3		Tries: Vatuvei 2, Ah Van, Penalties: Kemp 1/3

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 15,200
Referee: Archer, Cecchin

Round 8
1 May 2009
7:00pm Local

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	8–22	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Williams, Robertson		Tries: Cross, Turner, Slater, Inglis Goals: Smith 3/4 Penalties: Smith 1/1

Brookvale Oval, Manly
Attendance: 10,752
Referee: Hayne, De Las Heras

Round 9
11 May 2009
7:00pm Local

Sydney Roosters	12–28	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Perrett, Sa Goals: Fitzgibbon 2/2		Tries: White, Turner, Lima, Finch, Hoffman Goals: Tomane 4/5

Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 8,412
Referee: De Las Heras, James

Round 10
18 May 2009
7:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	46–6	Canberra Raiders
Tries: Slater 2, Turner, Hoffman, Lima, Cross, Inglis, Blair Goals: Smith 5/6 Tomane 1/1		Tries: Monaghan Goals: Campese 1/1

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,112
Referee: Archer, Sutton

Round 11
11 May 2009
7:00pm Local

Canterbury Bulldogs	26–12	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Ryan, Goodwin, Millard, Warburton Goals: El Masri 4/4 Penalties: El Masri 1/1		Tries: Chambers 2 Goals: Smith 1/2

Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 10,923
Referee: Sutton, Hayne

Round 12
5 June 2009

.	Bye	.

Round 13
5 June 2009
7:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	48–4	Brisbane Broncos
Tries: Tomane 3, Cronk 2, Slater , Inglis, Tolman Goals: Tomane 6/9		Tries: Folau

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 15,318
Referee: Cummins, Badger

Round 14
13 June 2009
7:30pm Local

South Sydney Rabbitohs	22–28	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Simpson 2, Fa'alogo, Merritt Goals: Sandow 1/1, Luke 2/3		Tries: Inglis, Turner, Hoffman, Tomane, Cronk, Koopu Goals: Smith 2/6

Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 15,197
Referee: James, Klein

Round 15
21 June 2009
7:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	14–12	Wests Tigers
Tries: Cronk, Cross Goals: Tomane 2/2 Penalties: Tomane 1/1		Tries: Ayshford, Moltzen Goals: Marshall 2/2

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,417
Referee: Lyons, Klein

Round 16
17 August 2009
19:00pm Local

Canberra Raiders	26–16	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Carney 2, Monaghan 2, Harrison Goals: Campese 3/5		Tries: Smith, Inglis, Chambers Goals: Smith 2/3

Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 9,551
Referee: Bagder, Suttor

Round 17
4 July 2009
19:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	18–14	Newcastle Knights
Tries: Inglis, Slater, Chambers Goals: Smith 3/3		Tries: Naiqama, Uate Goals: Gidley 2/2 Penalties: Gidley 1/1

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 9,551
Referee: Lyons, Klein

Round 18
10 July 2009

.	Bye	.

Round 19
20 July 2009
19:00pm Local

Parramatta Eels	18–16	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Lowrie, Moimoi, Robson Goals: Burt 2/3 Penalties: Burt 1/1		Tries: Tomane, Hoffman, Nielsen Goals: Tomane 2/3

Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Attendance: 10,804
Referee: Sutton, Klein

Round 20
25 July 2009
19:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	30–10	Cronulla Sharks
Tries: Anderson 2, Tomane, Hinchcliffe, Chambers, Smith Goals: Smith 1/3, Tomane 1/3 Penalties: Smith 1/1		Tries: Covell, Ferguson Goals: Covell 1/2

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,553
Referee: Suttor, Cummins

Round 21
31 July 2009
19:35pm Local

St. George Illawarra Dragons	26–12	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Sailor 2, Morris, Green, Scott Goals: Soward 3/5		Tries: Inglis, Finch Goals: Smith 1/2 Penalties: Smith 1/1

Jubilee Oval, Kogarah
Attendance: 16,474
Referee: Cecchin, Maxwell

Round 22
7 August 2009
19:35pm Local

Melbourne Storm	20–8	North Queensland Cowboys
Tries: Turner, Finch, Cronk, Tomane Goals: Smith 2/4		Tries: Tonga 2

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,510
Referee: Sutton, Archer

Round 23
17 August 2009
19:00pm Local

Newcastle Knights	26–14	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Mullen, Taufua, Hilder, Vuna Goals: Gidley 4/4 Penalties: Gidley 1/1		Tries: Cronk, Turner, Anderson Goals: Smith 1/3

EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Attendance: 13,580
Referee: Robinson, Haines

Round 24
23 August 2009
15:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	16–20	Manly Sea Eagles
Tries: Tomane 2, Chambers Goals: Smith 2/3		Tries: Williams, Foran, Lyon Goals: Orford 3/3 Penalties: Orford 1/1

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 12,601
Referee: Archer, Hayne

Round 25
23 August 2009
15:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	38–4	Sydney Roosters
Tries: Inglis 2, Turner 2, Chambers, Slater, Tolman Goals: Smith 5/7		Tries: Shaun Kenny-Dowall

Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 13,332
Referee: Maxwell, Suttor

Round 26
5 September 2009
19:30pm Local

New Zealand Warriors	0–30	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Goals:		Tries: Chambers 2, Hinchcliffe, Inglis, Nielsen, Slater Goals: Smith 3/6

Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland
Attendance: 14,734
Referee: Klein, Shortall

Finals[]

Qualifying Final
11 September 2009
19:45pm Local

Melbourne Storm	40–12	Manly Sea Eagles
Tries: Slater 4, Nielsen, Smith, Tolman Goals: Smith 5/6, Turner 1/1		Tries: Foran, Matai Goals: Orford 2/2

Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 21,155
Referee: Badger, Hayne

Preliminary Final
26 September 2009
19:45pm Local

Melbourne Storm	40–10	Brisbane Broncos
Tries: Inglis 3, Slater 2, Chambers, Johnson Goals: Smith 6/7		Tries: Folau, Glenn Goals: Parker 1/2

Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 27,687
Referee: Hayne, Maxwell

Grand Final
4 October 2009
17:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	23–16	Parramatta Eels
Tries: Blair, Hoffman, Inglis, Slater Goals: Smith 3/4 Field Goals: Inglis		Tries: Grothe, Reddy, Moi Moi Goals: Burt 2/3

ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,528
Referee: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne

Ladder[]

2009 NRL season v t
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[]

Craig Bellamy - Head Coach
Michael Maguire- Assistant Coaches
Stephen Kearney- Assistant Coaches
Brad Arthur – U/20s Coach
Frank Ponissi - Football Director
Alex Corvo -Strength and Conditioning

2009 Squad[]

No.	Player	Pos	First match with Club	Previous club
55	Cameron Smith (c)	HK	2002	Melbourne Storm
58	Billy Slater	FB	2003	Melbourne Storm
60	Dallas Johnson	SR,LK	2003	Melbourne Storm
62	Ryan Hoffman	SR,LK	2003	Melbourne Storm
72	Steve Turner	FB,WG	2004	Penrith Panthers
73	Cooper Cronk	HB	2004	Melbourne Storm
76	Brett White	PR	2005	Melbourne Storm
79	Greg Inglis	FE,CE,	2005	Melbourne Storm
86	Adam Blair	SR,PR	2006	Melbourne Storm
90	Jeff Lima	PR,LK	2006	Wests Tigers
91	Anthony Quinn	WG,CE	2007	Newcastle Knights
97	Will Chambers	CE	2007	Melbourne Storm
98	Sika Manu	SR	2007	Melbourne Storm
99	Scott Anderson	SR,PR	2007	Melbourne Storm
102	Aiden Tolman	PR	2008	Melbourne Storm
103	Brett Anderson	WG,CE	2008	Melbourne Storm
104	Dane Nielsen	WG,CE	2008	Melbourne Storm
105	Kevin Proctor	SR	2008	Melbourne Storm
107	Joseph Tomane	WG,CE	2008	Melbourne Storm
109	Sinbad Kali	SR, LK	2008	Melbourne Storm
110	Ryan Hinchcliffe	HK,LK	2009	Canberra Raiders
111	Willie Isa	WG,CE	2009	Penrith Panthers
112	Wairangi Koopu	SR, LK	2009	New Zealand Warriors
113	James Maloney	HB, FE	2009	Melbourne Storm
114	Matt Cross	PR	2009	Gold Coast Titans
115	Brett Finch	HB, FE	2009	Parramatta Eels
116	Luke Kelly	FE,HB	2009	Melbourne Storm
117	Hep Cahill	LK, SR	2009	Melbourne Storm
118	Ryan Tandy	PR,SR	2009	Wests Tigers
		CE	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
	Jesse Bromwich	PR	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
	Slade Griffen	HK	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
		HB, FE	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
		SR, CE	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
	Rory Kostjasyn	HK,LK	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
		FB,WG	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
	Aidan Guerra	SR,LK	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm
	Justin O'Neill	CE	Yet to Debut	Melbourne Storm

2009 NRL Grand Final Winning Team[]

Melbourne Storm
2009 Grand Final Winning Team						Interchange		Coach
1 Billy Slater – FB 2 Steve Turner – WG 3 Will Chambers – CE 4 Greg Inglis – CE 5 Dane Neilsen – WG 6 Brett Finch – FE 7 Cooper Cronk – HB 8 Aiden Tolman – PR 9 Cameron Smith (c) – HK 10 Brett White – PR 11 Adam Blair – SR 12 Ryan Hoffman – SR 13 Dallas Johnson – LK						14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Jeff Lima 16 Ryan Tandy 17 Scott Anderson		Head coach Craig Bellamy Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice captain(s)

2009 NYC Grand Final Winning Team[]

Melbourne Storm
2009 NYC Grand Final Winning Team						Interchange		Coach
1 Gareth Widdop – FB 2 Sam Joe – WG 3 Justin O'Neill – CE 4 Pita Maile – CE 5 Matt Duffie – WG 6 Dane Chisholm – FE 7 Luke Kelly (c) – HB 8 – PR 9 – HK 10 Jesse Bromwich – PR 11 Robbie Rochow – SR 12 Theodore Stuart – SR 13 Billy Rogers – LK						14 15 Jordan McLean 16 Kevin Proctor 17 Fred Makimare		Head coach Brad Arthur Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice captain(s)

Awards[]

Trophy Cabinet[]

Melbourne Storm Awards Night[]

Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Billy Slater^[3]
Members' Player of the Year: Billy Slater
Best Back: Greg Inglis
Best Forward: Cameron Smith
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Proctor
Most Improved: Aiden Tolman
Best Try: Will Chambers v Canberra Raiders (Round 16)
Greatest Hit: Adam Blair v Manly (Round 24)
Darren Bell U20s Player of the Year Award: Gareth Widdop
U20s Most Improved:
U20s Best Forward: Jesse Bromwich
U20s Best Back: Luke Kelly
Mick Moore Club Person of the Year:
Greg Brentnall Young Achievers Trophy:
Community Award: Steve Turner
Life Member Inductee: Cameron Smith^[4]
U18 SG Ball Player of the Year: Slade Griffin

Dally M Awards Night[]

Dally M Representative Player of the Year: Greg Inglis

Rugby League World Golden Boot Awarda Night[]

Golden Boot Award: Greg Inglis

RLPA Awards Night[]

RLPA Australia Representative Player of the Year: Greg Inglis

RLIF Awards[]

RLIF Coach of the Year: Craig Bellamy
RLIF Centre of the Year: Greg Inglis
RLIF Hooker of the Year: Cameron Smith

Additional Awards[]

Clive Churchill Medal: Billy Slater
Wally Lewis Medal: Greg Inglis
QRL Ron McAuliffe Medal: Greg Inglis
Rugby League Four Nations Player of the Series: Greg Inglis
: Luke Kelly
Sprit of ANZAC Medal: Adam Blair
New Zealand Kiwis Player of the Year : Adam Blair

References[]

^ "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
^ 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.
^ "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
^ "Slater wins Storm's Player of the Year Award". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

[1] "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.

[2] 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.

[3] "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.

[4] "Slater wins Storm's Player of the Year Award". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

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v t Melbourne Storm
Est. 1998 in Melbourne, Victoria
The club	Records Players Representatives Coaches History (2010 Salary cap breach)
Home grounds	Olympic Park (1998–2000, 2002–09) Docklands Stadium (2001, 2007-10) AAMI Park (2010–)
Culture	Rivalry with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (Battle of Brookvale) We Are the Storm Michael Moore Trophy
Important figures	John Ribot Chris Anderson Glenn Lazarus Matt Geyer Craig Bellamy Cameron Smith Billy Slater Cooper Cronk Life members
League	NRL
Titles	Premierships (4) 1999 ~~2007~~ ~~2009~~ 2012 2017 2020 World Club Challenge (3) 2000 ~~2010~~ 2013 2018
Seasons (25)	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Other competitions	National Youth Competition NRL Nines New South Wales Cup S. G. Ball Cup
Affiliations	Eastern Suburbs Tigers Sunshine Coast Falcons Sunshine Coast Lightning
A strike indicates a title stripped due to salary cap breaches