2006 Melbourne Storm season
| 2006 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 1st | |||
| Play-off result | Runner Up | |||
| 2006 record | Wins: 20; draws: 0; losses: 4 | |||
| Points scored | For: 605; against: 404 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Brian Waldron | |||
| Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
| Captain |
| |||
| Stadium | Olympic Park Stadium | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Greg Inglis (18) Steve Turner (18) | |||
| Goals | Cameron Smith (79) | |||
| Points | Cameron Smith (178) | |||
| ||||
The 2006 Melbourne Storm season was the 9th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership, winning a record 20 out of 24 regular season games to finish in first place and win the minor premiership, eight points clear of the second-placed Bulldogs. The team backed up their stellar defensive effort the previous year to concede just 404 points in 2006. The retirement of Robbie Kearns saw a rotating captaincy introduced between David Kidwell, Scott Hill, Cameron Smith, Matt Geyer and Michael Crocker. Cooper Cronk also assumed the halfback duties following the departure of Matt Orford. Storm won 13 of their last 14 games of the season to take a great run of form into the finals where they progressed to reach their first Grand Final since 1999 after wins over the Eels and Dragons. This broke a run of three straight semi-final exits for Craig Bellamy’s team.
Melbourne fell just short in the decider against Brisbane however the platform had now been built for a sustained run of success. The Storm's Queensland trio of Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith and Antonio Kaufusi were selected to make their international debuts for Australia in 2006. Post-season the Storm farewelled Nathan Friend and Jake Webster (Gold Coast Titans), David Kidwell (South Sydney) and Scott Hill (Harlequins Rugby League). [1]
Match results
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | F | A | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melbourne
|
24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 605 | 404 | +201 | 44 |
| 2 |  Bulldogs
|
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 608 | 468 | +140 | 36 |
| 3 |  Brisbane
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 497 | 392 | +105 | 32 |
| 4 |  Newcastle
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 608 | 538 | +70 | 32 |
| 5 |  Manly
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 534 | 493 | +41 | 32 |
| 6 |  St George Illawarra
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 519 | 481 | +38 | 32 |
| 7 |  Canberra
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 525 | 573 | -48 | 30 |
| 8 |  Parramatta
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 506 | 483 | +23 | 28 |
| 9 |  North Queensland
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 450 | 463 | -13 | 26 |
| 10 |  New Zealand
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 552 | 463 | +89 | 24 |
| 11 |  Wests Tigers
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 490 | 565 | -75 | 24 |
| 12 |  Penrith
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 510 | 587 | -77 | 24 |
| 13 |  Cronulla
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 515 | 544 | -29 | 22 |
| 14 |  Sydney
|
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 528 | 650 | -122 | 20 |
| 15 |  South Sydney
|
24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 429 | 772 | -343 | 10 |
- New Zealand Warriors were stripped of four competition points due to breaches of the National Rugby League salary cap.
2006 Coaching Staff
- Craig Bellamy - Head Coach
- Michael Maguire- Assistant Coaches
- Stephen Kearney- Assistant Coaches
- Marc Brentnall – Development Coach
- Frank Ponissi - Football Director
- Alex Corvo -Strength and Conditioning
2006 Squad
Awards
Troohy CabinetMelbourne Storm Awards Night
|
Dally M Awards Night
RLPA Awards Night
|
References
- ^ "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ^ "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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