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2015 Melbourne Storm season

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2015 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank4th
Play-off resultPreliminary Final Loss
2015 recordWins: 14; draws: 0; losses: 10
Points scoredFor: 467; against: 348
Team information
CEOMark Evans
Dave Donaghy
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumAAMI Park – 30,050
Top scorers
TriesMarika Koroibete (16)
GoalsCameron Smith (71)
PointsCameron Smith (146)
← 2014 List of seasons 2016 →

The 2015 Melbourne Storm season is the 18th in the club's history. They competed in the 2015 NRL season and were coached by Craig Bellamy, who was coach for the 13th consecutive season and captained by Cameron Smith, sole captain for the 8th consecutive season. He played his 300th NRL Game in Round 19 becoming only the 24th player in history to do so.

With the youngest Storm side ever assembled under Craig Bellamy, the team once again managed a 14–10 record for the second straight season. This time it was enough to see Melbourne clinch a top four spot on the final day of the season. In Week One of the finals they took on Minor Premiers the Sydney Roosters, who went into the clash on the back of a 12-game winning streak. Storm managed to pull off a two-point upset win but were unable to reach the Grand Final, going down to the Cowboys at home two weeks later. Storm's defence was a vital part of the team's success in 2015. The men in purple managed to keep their opponents to single digit scores on six occasions throughout the season, five of which were against sides that finished inside the top eight. A highlight of the season was the emergence of youngster Cameron Munster. Following Billy Slater's season-ending shoulder surgery in Round 10, 21-year-old Munster produced a string of outstanding performances at fullback for the Storm that provided Storm fans with an exciting look to the future. Cameron Smith and Craig Bellamy became the first player and coach to reach the illustrious 300 game milestone for the club. After two years at the helm, Mark Evans handed over the position of CEO to 32-year-old Dave Donaghy.[1]

Season summary

  • Auckland Nines - The club competed in the second annual Auckland Nines competition over 31 January-1 February. The Storm lost two of their three pool games thus not progressing to the final stage. Will Chambers captained the squad, with the team wearing sleeveless jerseys.
  • February 7 - The Storm play Canberra in a preseason trial and go down 32–20 in very hot conditions.
  • February 13 - Will Chambers and Jesse Bromwich represent Melbourne in the Annual All Star game.
  • February 21 - The Storm complete their trial match period with a come from behind 32–30 win over Canterbury Bulldogs. The Storm added 24 points in the second half.
  • Round 1 - The Storm commence the 2015 Season with a win over St George Illawarra. Dale Finucane, Felise Kaufusi and Blake Green all make their playing debuts for the Storm. Ryan Hinchcliffe plays his 150th Game.
  • Round 2 - Tom Learoyd-Lahrs makes his playing debut for the Storm.
  • Round 4 - The Storm suffer their second loss of the season, during Golden Point extra time. The Storm lost the game after the Cowboys leveled the scores after being 17-10 down with 5 minutes remaining in normal time.
  • Round 8 - Nelson Asofa-Solomona makes his playing debut after being elevated from the NYC team.
  • 1 May - Representative weekend - 15 Storm Players are chosen to represent the various teams over representative weekend [2]
  • Round 9 - Christian Welch makes his playing debut after being elevated from the NYC team. Billy Slater scores two tries on his return game following a shoulder injury. The tries take Slater's career total to 172, surpassing Ken Irvine's Australian record for most tries with a single first grade club. Melbourne equal their biggest win of the season thus far defeating the Eels by 18 points.
  • Round 12 - The Storm suffer their worst loss of the season thus far losing to the Roosters by 22 points. The storm failed to score a try in the match.
  • Round 13 - The Storm bounced back from the Round 12 loss with their biggest win of the season so far with a 20 nil win over the Panthers. Richard Kennar also makes his playing debut.
  • Round 14 - The storm suffer a narrow loss against the Eels playing without their State of Origin representatives. Hymel Hunt plays his first game for the Storm since transferring from the Titans.
  • Round 18 - The Storm suffer their fourth consecutive loss in a 28–14 loss to the Warriors.
  • Round 19 - Cameron Smith joined an elite group in NRL circles as he lined up for his 300th Melbourne Storm and NRL Game becoming only the 24th player to achieve this.[3] The game was also notable as it became the Storms biggest win for the season thus far (42 points) and also scored their highest total (52 points) thus far scoring 10 tries.
  • Round 20 - The Storm will stage a home game in ay McLean Park in Napier New Zealand. Storm player Tohu Harris has designed the jersey for the game which takes in his New Zealand, Polynesian and Maori Heritage [4]
  • Round 21 - Cameron Smith sets another record as he captained Melbourne Storm for the 200th time against Wests Tigers. Mahe Fonua also played his 50th game.
  • Round 22 - Cameron Munster scores a Hat-trick of tries as the Storm beat Gold Coast by 22 points
  • Round 23 - Kevin Proctor plays his 150th NRL Game in the Storm's big win over Cronulla Sharks.
  • Rounds 25 and 26 - The Storm complete the regular season with two hard fought wins over Cowboys and Broncos. Both teams also finished the season in the Top 4. The two wins mean the Storm finished the season in the Top 4.
  • Finals Week 1 - The Storm defeat the 1st placed Sydney Roosters in an upset 20–18 to secure a week off and a Home Preliminary Final in Week 3.
  • Finals Week 3 - The Storm suffer defeat in their home Preliminary Final against the North Queensland Cowboys ending their 2015 season one game short of the Grand Final. The game was also notable as the attendance of 29,315 spectators was officially the highest attendance so far at AAMI Park for a Storm game.

Milestone games

Round Player Milestone
Round 1 Dale Finucane Storm debut
Round 1 Blake Green Storm debut
Round 1 Felise Kaufusi NRL debut
Round 1 Ryan Hinchcliffe 150th Storm game
Round 2 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs Storm debut
Round 8 Nelson Asofa-Solomona NRL debut
Round 9 Christian Welch NRL debut
Round 13 Richard Kennar NRL debut
Round 14 Hymel Hunt Storm debut
Round 19 Cameron Smith 300th game
Round 21 Mahe Fonua 50th game
Round 23 Kevin Proctor 150th game

Fixtures

Preseason

Source:[5]

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Source
31 January Auckland Nines Pool Game North Queensland Cowboys Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Loss 8-17 [6]
31 January Auckland Nines Pool Game Penrith Panthers Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Win 20-4 [7]
1 February Auckland Nines Pool Game South Sydney Rabbitohs Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Loss 24-4 [8]
7 February Trial 1 Canberra Raiders E.W. Moore Oval, Griffith, New South Wales Loss 32-20 [9]
14 February Trial 2 Eastern Suburbs Tigers Gosch's Paddock, Melbourne Win 44-12 [10]
21 February Trial 3 Canterbury Bulldogs AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 32-30 [11]

Regular season

Source:[12]

  • FG - Field Goal
  • GP - Golden Point extra time
Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals/Field Goals Report
9 March 1 St George-Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong Win 4-12 Tonumaipea, Chambers Smith 2/2 [13]
14 March 2 Manly Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval, Manly Loss 24-22 Green (2), Tonumaipea, Chambers Smith 3/4 [14]
21 March 3 Cronulla Sharks AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 36-18 Harris (2), Cronk, Smith, Koroibete, Chambers Smith 6/6 [15]
30 March 4 North Queensland Cowboys 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville Loss 18-17 (GP) Mann, Koroibete, Kaufusi Smith 2/3, Cronk 1/2 (FG) [16]
6 April 5 New Zealand Warriors AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 30-14 Koroibete (2), Fonua, Glasby, Chambers Smith 5/5 [17]
12 April 6 Canberra Raiders GIO Stadium, Canberra Win 10-14 Fonua, Munster Smith 3/3 [18]
18 April 7 Sydney Roosters AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 17-16 Koroibete, Kaufusi, Chambers Smith 2/3, Cronk 1/1 (FG) [19]
25 April 8 Manly Sea Eagles AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 10-12 Koroibete, Cronk Smith 1/2 [20]
10 May 9 Parramatta Eels Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta Win 10-28 Slater (2), Koroibete, Chambers, Finucane Smith 4/5 [21]
16 May 10 South Sydney Rabbitohs AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 16-12 J Bromwich, Chambers Smith 4/4 [22]
24 May 11 Bye
1 June 12 Sydney Roosters Allianz Stadium, Sydney Loss 24-2 - Smith 1/1 [23]
6 June 13 Penrith Panthers Sportingbet Stadium, Penrith Win 0-20 Green (2), Munster Smith 4/4 [24]
15 June 14 Parramatta Eels AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 22-26 Harris, Hampton, Green, Hunt Harris 3/4 [25]
21 June 15 Brisbane Broncos AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 12-14 Green (2) Smith 2/2 [26]
29 June 16 Canterbury Bulldogs Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Loss 20-4 Koroibete Smith 0/1 [27]
6 July 17 Bye
12 July 18 New Zealand Warriors Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Loss 28-14 K Bromwich (2), Koroibete Smith 1/3 [28]
17 July 19 Penrith Panthers AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 52-10 Cronk (2), Proctor (2), Koroibete (2), Harris, Green, Fonua, Kennar Smith 6/10 [29]
25 July 20 St George Illawarra Dragons McLean Park, Napier Win 22-4 Asofa-Solomona, Koroibete, Proctor, Fonua Smith 3/4 [30]
31 July 21 Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Balmain Loss 34-16 Koroibete (2), J Bromwich Smith 2/3 [31]
9 August 22 Gold Coast Titans AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 36-14 Munster (3), Duffle (2), Koroibete, Chambers Smith 4/7 [32]
17 August 23 Cronulla Sharks Remondis Stadium, Cronulla Win 2-30 Duffie (2), J Bromwich, Finucane, Munster Smith 5/5 [33]
24 August 24 Newcastle Knights AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 6-20 Munster Smith 1/1 [34]
29 August 25 North Queensland Cowboys AAMI Park, Melbourne Win 14-6 K Bromwich, Chambers Smith 2/2 [35]
3 September 26 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Win 8-15 Mann (2), Chambers Smith 1/3, Cronk 1/1 (FG) [36]

Finals

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Score Tries Goals/Field Goals Report
11 September 1st Qualifying Final - Week 1 Sydney Roosters Allianz Stadium, Sydney Win 18-20 Koroibete, Mann, Glasby Smith 4/4 [37]
26 September 1st Preliminary Final - Week 3 North Queensland Cowboys AAMI Park, Melbourne Loss 12-32 Cronk, Harris Smith 2/2 [38]

Ladder

2015 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Sydney Roosters 24 18 0 6 2 591 300 +291 40
2 Brisbane Broncos 24 17 0 7 2 574 379 +195 38
3 North Queensland Cowboys (P) 24 17 0 7 2 587 454 +133 38
4 Melbourne Storm 24 14 0 10 2 467 348 +119 32
5 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 14 0 10 2 522 480 +42 32
6 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 14 0 10 2 469 476 −7 32
7 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 13 0 11 2 465 467 −2 30
8 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 12 0 12 2 435 408 +27 28
9 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 11 0 13 2 458 492 −34 26
10 Canberra Raiders 24 10 0 14 2 577 569 +8 24
11 Penrith Panthers 24 9 0 15 2 399 477 −78 22
12 Parramatta Eels 24 9 0 15 2 448 573 −125 22
13 New Zealand Warriors 24 9 0 15 2 445 588 −143 22
14 Gold Coast Titans 24 9 0 15 2 439 636 −197 22
15 Wests Tigers 24 8 0 16 2 487 562 −75 20
16 Newcastle Knights 24 8 0 16 2 458 612 −154 20

2015 Coaches

2015 Squad

As of 20 June 2015

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
73 Australia Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Australia Melbourne Storm
97 Australia Will Chambers CE 2007 Australia Queensland Reds
105 New Zealand Kevin Proctor SR 2008 Australia Melbourne Storm
110 Australia Ryan Hinchcliffe HK 2009 Australia Canberra Raiders
119 New Zealand Jesse Bromwich PR 2010 Australia Melbourne Storm
124 New Zealand Matt Duffie WG,CE,FB 2010 Australia Melbourne Storm
143 Tonga Mahe Fonua CE,WG 2012 Australia Melbourne Storm
144 New Zealand Tohu Harris SR,LK,FE 2013 Australia Melbourne Storm
147 New Zealand Slade Griffen HK,LK 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
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
157 Australia Dayne Weston PR,SR 2014 Australia Penrith Panthers
158 Australia Kurt Mann FE,FB,HB,CE 2014 Australia Melbourne Storm
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
162 Australia Blake Green FE,HB 2015 England Wigan Warriors
163 Australia Dale Finucane PR,SR,LK 2015 Australia Canterbury Bulldogs
164 Tonga Felise Kaufusi PR 2015 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
165 Australia Tom Learoyd-Lahrs PR,SR 2015 Australia Canberra Raiders
166 New Zealand Nelson Asofa-Solomona SR, PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
167 Australia Christian Welch SR, PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
168 Samoa Richard Kennar WG 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
169 New Zealand Hymel Hunt CE,WG 2015 Australia Gold Coast Titans
Lebanon Travis Robinson WG,CE,FB Yet to Debut Australia Penrith Panthers
Australia Dean Britt SR Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Billy Brittain HK Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Australia Shaun Nona FE Yet to Debut Australia Northern Pride
Cook Islands Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad CE,WG,SR,LK,FB Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm
Cook Islands Aaron Teroi HK,HB Yet to Debut Australia Melbourne Storm

Player movements

Source NRL.com:[39]

Representative honours

The following players played representative matches in 2015. (C) = Captain

2015 All Stars match City Vs Country Rugby League internationals
ANZAC Test - AUS vs NZL
Pacific Tests - FIJ vs PNG and SAM vs TGA		 State Of Origin 1 State Of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Kiwis Tour
Jesse Bromwich NRL All Stars - New Zealand - - - New Zealand
Will Chambers Indigenous All Stars - Australia Queensland Queensland Queensland -
Ryan Hinchcliffe - Country - - - - -
Dale Finucane - Country - - - - -
Cameron Smith - - Australia (C) Queensland (C) Queensland (C) Queensland (C) -
Cooper Cronk - - Australia Queensland - Queensland -
Kevin Proctor - - New Zealand - - - New Zealand
Tohu Harris - - New Zealand - - - New Zealand
Marika Koroibete - - Fiji - - - -
Mahe Fonua - - Tonga - - - -
Felise Kaufusi - - Tonga - - - -
Billy Slater - - - Queensland Queensland - -

Statistics

Statistics Source:[40] Current as of the end of the 2015 NRL season.

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm records
Name App T G FG Pts Goal%
Nelson Asofa-Solomona 12 1 0 0 4
Jesse Bromwich 26 3 0 0 12
Kenny Bromwich 18 3 0 0 12
Will Chambers 25 10 0 0 40
Cooper Cronk 23 5 0 3 23
Matt Duffie 9 4 0 0 16
Dale Finucane 23 2 0 0 8
Mahe Fonua 13 4 0 0 16
Tim Glasby 26 2 0 0 8
Blake Green 26 8 0 0 32
Ben Hampton 3 1 0 0 4
Tohu Harris 26 5 3 0 26 75.00% (3/4)
Ryan Hinchcliffe 26 0 0 0 0
Hymel Hunt 3 1 0 0 4
Felise Kaufusi 17 2 0 0 8
Richard Kennar 6 1 0 0 4
Marika Koroibete 23 16 0 0 64
Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 1 0 0 0 0
Kurt Mann 20 4 0 0 16
Jordan McLean 15 0 0 0 0
Cameron Munster 19 7 0 0 28
Kevin Proctor 26 3 0 0 12
Billy Slater 7 2 0 0 8
Cameron Smith 25 1 71 0 146 78.89% (71/90)
Young Tonumaipea 4 2 0 0 8
Christian Welch 10 0 0 0 0
Dayne Weston 10 0 0 0 0
27 Players used 87 74 3 499 78.72% (74/94)

Most Points in a Game: 16

  • Cameron Smith (1 Try, 6 Goals) vs Cronulla Sharks (Round 3)

Most tries in a Game: 3

  • Cameron Munster vs Gold Coast Titans (Round 22)

Highest score in a winning game: 52 points

  • vs Penrith Panthers (Round 19)

Lowest score in a winning game: 12 points

  • vs St George Illawarra Dragons (Round 1)

Greatest winning margin: 42 points

  • vs Penrith Panthers (Round 19)

Highest score in a losing game: 22 points

  • vs Manly Sea Eagles (Round 2)
  • vs Parramatta Eels (Round 14)

Lowest score in a losing game: 2 points

  • vs Sydney Roosters (Round 12)

Greatest losing margin: 22 points

  • vs Sydney Roosters (Round 12)

Greatest number of Games won consecutively: 3

  • Between Rounds 5 and 7

Greatest number of Games lost consecutively: 4

  • Between Rounds 14 and 18

Jersey

In 2015 the Storm jerseys were manufactured by BLK and new jerseys were designed for 2015. The home Jersey was predominantly navy blue with Purple across the shoulders and a Silver strip running horizontally across the chest.[41] The Away Jersey Features a White design with purple hoops down the jersey.[42] The Storm also broke new ground for Rugby League featuring an AFL style sleeveless jersey for the Auckland Nines.[43]

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.

References

  1. ^ "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Storm take over Rep weekend". Melbournestorm.com.au. May 2015.
  3. ^ "Cameron Smith to join elite company". nrl.com. July 2015.
  4. ^ "Kiwis forward Tohu Harris designs Melbourne Storm jersey for Napier Match". stuff.co.nz. June 2015.
  5. ^ "2015 Preseason Fixtures". NRL.com. December 2014.
  6. ^ "2015 Auckland Nines Resulta". Flashscore.com. February 2015.
  7. ^ "2015 Auckland Nines Resulta". Flashscore.com. February 2015.
  8. ^ "2015 Auckland Nines Resulta". Flashscore.com. February 2015.
  9. ^ "Raiders calm Storm in trial". SBS. February 2015.
  10. ^ "Storm youngsters overrun easts tigers". NRL.com. February 2015.
  11. ^ "Storm edge Bulldogs". NRL.com. February 2015.
  12. ^ "2015 Draw and Results". NRL.com. December 2014.
  13. ^ "Dragons v Storm". NRL.com. March 2015.
  14. ^ "Sea-Eagles v Storm". NRL.com. March 2015.
  15. ^ "Storm v Sharks". NRL.com. March 2015.
  16. ^ "Cowboys v Storm". NRL.com. March 2015.
  17. ^ "Storm v Warriors". NRL.com. April 2015.
  18. ^ "Raiders v Storm". NRL.com. April 2015.
  19. ^ "Storm v Roosters". NRL.com. April 2015.
  20. ^ "Storm v Sea-Eagles". NRL.com. April 2015.
  21. ^ "Eels v Storm". NRL.com. May 2015.
  22. ^ "Storm v Rabbitohs". NRL.com. May 2015.
  23. ^ "Roosters v Storm". NRL.com. May 2015.
  24. ^ "Panthers v Storm". NRL.com. June 2015.
  25. ^ "Storm v Eels". NRL.com. June 2015.
  26. ^ "Storm v Broncos". NRL.com. June 2015.
  27. ^ "Bulldogs v Storm". NRL.com. June 2015.
  28. ^ "Warriors v Storm". NRL.com. July 2015.
  29. ^ "Storm v Panthers". NRL.com. July 2015.
  30. ^ "Storm v Dragons". NRL.com. July 2015.
  31. ^ "Tigers v Storm". NRL.com. August 2015.
  32. ^ "Storm v Titans". NRL.com. August 2015.
  33. ^ "Sharks v Storm". NRL.com. August 2015.
  34. ^ "Storm v Knights". NRL.com. August 2015.
  35. ^ "Storm v Cowboys". NRL.com. September 2015.
  36. ^ "Broncos v Storm". NRL.com. September 2015.
  37. ^ "Roosters v Storm". NRL.com. September 2015.
  38. ^ "Storm v Cowboys". NRL.com. September 2015.
  39. ^ "2015 Player Transfers". National Rugby League. 18 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  40. ^ "Rugby League Statistics". rleague.com. 20 March 2014.
  41. ^ "2015 Home Jersey Launch". MelbourneStorm.com.au. December 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-09. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  42. ^ "2015 away Jersey Launch". MelbourneStorm.com.au. December 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  43. ^ "Melbourne Storm AFL inspired sleeveless jersey". HeraldSun.com.au. December 2014.
  44. ^ "Melbourne Storm 2015 Awards". March 2018.
  45. ^ "Jesse Bromwich POTYA Speech". March 2018.
  46. ^ "Melbourne Storm twitter". Twitter. Melbourne Storm. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Andrew Moore and Storm member Valerie present the Suzuki Members' Player of the Year to Cooper Cronk and Jesse Bromwich #POTYA #purplepride
  47. ^ Walsh, Dan (29 May 2016). "NRL 2016: Inside Craig Bellamy's brutal bootcamp acid test for Melbourne Storm recruits". Fox Sports. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
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