The 2010 Melbourne Storm season was the 13th in the club's history and competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership. After winning the first four games of the season, Storm's season would hit a significant challenge after Round 6 when the NRL penalised the club for salary cap breaches with the team unable to play for points for the remainder of the season. These revelations also saw them stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premiership titles.
2010 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
NRL Rank | 16th (wooden spoon) | |||
2010 record | Wins: 14; draws: 0; losses: 10 | |||
Points scored | For: 489; against: 363 | |||
Team information | ||||
CEO | Brian Waldron Matt Hanson Frank Stanton (acting) Ron Gauci | |||
Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
Captain |
| |||
Stadium | AAMI Park – 30,050 (9 Games) Etihad Stadium - 53,500 (3 Games) | |||
Avg. attendance | 14,670 | |||
High attendance | 25,480 (Round 4)[a] | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Greg Inglis (11) | |||
Goals | Cameron Smith (54) | |||
Points | Cameron Smith (116) | |||
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Craig Bellamy and the players maintained an incredible focus to win 14 games for the year, the same number they achieved the previous season. That would have been enough to see them finish in fifth spot on the ladder. This season remains the only time Storm have missed the finals in the Bellamy era.
Greg Inglis scored 11 tries to finish as the team's leading try scorer in his final year at Storm. Other notable players to leave included Brett White, Ryan Hoffman, Brett Finch, Jeff Lima and Aiden Tolman. However, there were several highlights during the season with youngsters Jesse Bromwich, Matthew Duffie, Luke Kelly, Rory Kostjasyn, Justin O’Neill and Gareth Widdop all bursting on the scene.
Storm also played their first ever game at AAMI Park in Round 9. Ryan Hinchcliffe was named Storm's player of the year while Ron Gauci was installed as Storm CEO midway through the difficult season and set about rebuilding the Club over the next several seasons. Craig Bellamy continues to be highly regarded for the way he led the Club throughout 2010 and had this to say when summing up the season.
"When we found out it was obviously devastating and the year has been a drawn-out and difficult one ever since. But we stayed competitive, we unearthed some good kids and we conducted ourselves with dignity. For that I’m proud of the boys. It’s sad to see guys go especially given the massive contribution they have had to this club". - Craig Bellamy[1]
On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of their titles of 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships following an alleged insider tip-off to the NRL auditing body that the club had not been complying with the NRL salary cap. The club had a long-term system of keeping two sets of books, one set displaying players incomes' complying with the NRL salary cap and another hidden set in a separate room disclosing the true player payments. Following evidence of salary cap breaches, Melbourne were also fined a record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points received in the season and barred from receiving any further premiership points (including those for the two byes) for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them zero points and the wooden spoon for 2010.[8]
On 24 April coach Craig Bellamy publicly announced that he vowed to rebuild the shattered club, and welcomed the NRL's investigation into the salary cap rorting before a training session with the team which was watched by thousands of cheering supporters.[9]
Players were still allowed to play Test and/or State of Origin matches and for some of those players it did not affect Queensland's bid for a fifth straight Origin series victory. Later in the season the Storm were also stripped of the 2010 World Club Challenge title, and Cameron Smith was stripped of his Man of the Match award as well. The team's under-20s team was not affected.
Round | Player | Milestone |
---|---|---|
Round 1 | Luke MacDougall | Storm debut |
Jesse Bromwich | NRL debut | |
Rory Kostjasyn | NRL debut | |
Round 2 | Todd Lowrie | Storm debut 100th NRL game |
Round 3 | Greg Inglis | 100th game |
Ryan Hinchcliffe | 50th NRL game | |
Bryan Norrie | Storm debut | |
Round 7 | Matthew Duffie | NRL debut |
Gareth Widdop | NRL debut | |
Round 12 | Chase Stanley | Storm debut |
Round 13 | Cooper Cronk | 150th game |
Round 14 | Justin O'Neill | NRL debut |
Round 15 | Brett Finch | 250th NRL game |
Round 21 | Aiden Tolman | 50th game |
Sione Kite | Storm debut | |
Round 24 | Sika Manu | 50th game |
Round 26 | Cameron Smith | 1000 points |
Total | Matches | Average | |
---|---|---|---|
Home | 176,041 | 12 | 14,670 |
Away | 168,109 | 12 | 14,009 |
All | 344,150 | 24 | 14,340 |
Apparel supplier KooGa redesigned the home and clash jerseys for the 2010 season. The home jersey emphasised the club's purple colour, with the back of the jersey mostly purple for the first time. Two white lightning bolts featured on the front of the jersey, with navy blue side panels and shoulders. The home jersey was worn with navy blue shorts and socks.
The club's clash jersey was a similar to the home jersey but in white, with purple-coloured lightning bolts. The clash jersey was worn with purple shorts and white socks.
A one-off design was worn in the 2010 World Club Challenge match against Leeds Rhinos, with silver lightning bolts on a gradient-faded purple design on the front and back of the jersey.
Following the exposure of the salary cap breaches, major sponsors ME Bank and Hostplus removed their corporate logos from the jersey,[10][11] with other sponsors Jayco Australia and Suzuki hastily taking their places from round 7 onward.
Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 February | Trial | Brisbane Broncos | Browne Park, Rockhampton | Lost | 12 | 24 | L MacDougall, A Killingbeck | G Widdop 2/2 | [12][13][14] | |
20 February | Trial | Newcastle Knights | St John Oval, Charlestown | Lost | 10 | 66 | B Leslie, F Makimare | D O'Regan 1/2 | [15][16] | |
21 February | UK Tour | Harlequins RL | The Stoop, London, England | Won | 34 | 10 | D Nielsen (2), A Quinn, K Proctor, H Cahill, R Kostjasyn | G Widdop 5/6 | [2] |
Leeds Rhinos | 10 – 18 | Melbourne Storm |
---|---|---|
Tries: 1 McGuire 48' Goals: 3/3 Sinfield pen 4' (1/1) Burrow pen 33', 49' (2/2) |
1st: 4 – 4 2nd: 6 – 14 Report |
Tries: 2 MacDougall 51' Quinn 78' Goals: 5/5 Smith pen 7', pen 38', 52', pen 60', 79' |
Elland Road, Leeds
Attendance: 27,697 Referee: Richard Silverwood Player of the Match: Cameron Smith (Note: Later stripped due to Melbourne Storm's breach of the NRL's salary cap) |
Source:[17]
Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 March | 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Stadium, Sydney | Won | 14 | 10 | G Inglis, L MacDougall | C Smith 3/3 | [18] | ||
20 March | 2 | Newcastle Knights | Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle | Won | 20 | 14 | L MacDougall, A Quinn, D Nielsen | C Smith 4/5 | [19] | ||
27 March | 3 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Won | 16 | 10 | B Finch, B Slater, L MacDougall | C Smith 2/3 | [20] | ||
2 April | 4 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Won | 17 | 4 | D Nielsen, A Quinn, B Slater | C Smith 2/5 | C Cronk | [21] | |
9 April | 5 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park, Gold Coast | Lost | 16 | 20 | A Quinn (3) | C Smith 2/3 | [22] | ||
19 April | 6 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Lost | 16 | 18 | C Cronk (2), B Norrie | C Smith 2/3 | [23] | ||
25 April | 7 | New Zealand Warriors | Etihad Stadium, Melbourne | Won | 40 | 6 | M Duffie (2), C Smith, A Blair, R Tandy, W Isa, B Slater | C Smith 6/7 | [24] | ||
1 May | 8 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Won | 34 | 6 | B Norrie, M Duffie, G Inglis, B Finch, D Nielsen, A Quinn, J Lima | C Smith 3/6, G Inglis 0/1 | [25] | ||
9 May | 9 | Brisbane Broncos | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Lost | 14 | 36 | M Duffie (2), A Quinn | G Inglis 1/2, C Cronk 0/1 | [26] | ||
15 May | 10 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Won | 17 | 6 | G Inglis (3) | G Inglis 2/2, C Cronk 0/1 | B Finch | [27] | |
22 May | 11 | Bye | |||||||||
30 May | 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 23 | 12 | D Nielsen, C Stanley, L MacDougall, G Widdop | G Widdop 3/4 | B Finch | [28] | |
4 June | 13 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 10 | 24 | B Slater, G Inglis | C Smith 1/2 | [29] | ||
14 June | 14 | Sydney Roosters | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Lost | 6 | 38 | R Kostjasyn | C Stanley 1/1 | [30] | ||
19 June | 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 58 | 12 | J O'Neill (3), M Duffie (2), B Slater (2), G Inglis, J Lima, C Cronk | C Smith 5/6, G Inglis 3/3, B Finch 1/1 | [31] | ||
26 June | 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | Lost | 14 | 16 | J O'Neill (2), G Inglis | C Smith 1/3 | [32] | ||
2 July | 17 | Bye | |||||||||
10 July | 18 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Lost | 18 | 20 | B Finch, B Slater, S Manu | C Smith 2/2, G Inglis 1/1 | [33] | ||
17 July | 19 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Lost | 6 | 13 | B Slater | C Smith | [34] | ||
24 July | 20 | Penrith Panthers | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 10 | D Nielsen, J O'Neill, M Duffie | C Smith 3/3 | [35] | ||
1 August | 21 | Canberra Raiders | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 36 | 12 | D Nielsen (2), J O'Neill (2), G Inglis, B Slater, T Lowrie | C Smith 4/5, G Inglis 0/1, A Tolman 0/1 | [36] | ||
7 August | 22 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | Lost | 6 | 26 | R Hoffman | C Smith 1/1 | [37] | ||
15 August | 23 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 16 | R Hinchcliffe (2), B Slater | C Smith 3/3 | [38] | ||
21 August | 24 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 24 | 4 | C Smith, D Nielsen, S Manu, R Hinchcliffe | C Smith 4/4 | [39] | ||
29 August | 25 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval, Sydney | Lost | 14 | 26 | J O'Neill, W Isa, R Hoffman | C Smith 1/3 | [40] | ||
5 September | 26 | Newcastle Knights | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Won | 34 | 4 | G Inglis (2), R Hinchcliffe, R Hoffman, B White, A Tolman | C Smith 4/4, J Lima 1/1, R Hoffman 0/1 | [41] |
Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. George Illawarra Dragons (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 518 | 299 | +219 | 38 |
2 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 645 | 489 | +156 | 34 |
3 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 537 | 503 | +34 | 34 |
4 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 520 | 498 | +22 | 34 |
5 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 539 | 486 | +53 | 32 |
6 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 559 | 510 | +49 | 32 |
7 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 499 | 493 | +6 | 30 |
8 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 28 |
9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 584 | 567 | +17 | 26 |
10 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 508 | 535 | −27 | 26 |
11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 499 | 569 | −70 | 24 |
12 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 413 | 491 | −78 | 24 |
13 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 494 | 539 | −45 | 22 |
14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 354 | 609 | −255 | 18 |
15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 425 | 667 | −242 | 14 |
16 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 489 | 363 | +126 | 01 |
1 Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches.[42]
Losses
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Gains
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This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2010.
Player | 2010 All Stars match | 2010 ANZAC Test | City vs Country Origin | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | 2010 Four Nations | Other Internationals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Blair | NRL All Stars | New Zealand | — | — | — | — | New Zealand | — |
Cooper Cronk | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Brett Finch | NRL All Stars | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ryan Hoffman | — | — | City | — | — | — | — | — |
Greg Inglis | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | — | — |
Willie Isa | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Samoa |
Sika Manu | — | New Zealand | — | — | — | — | New Zealand | — |
Justin O'Neill | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Junior Kangaroos |
Kevin Proctor | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Māori |
Billy Slater | — | Australia | — | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Cameron Smith | NRL All Stars | Australia | — | — | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | — |
Brett White | — | — | Country | New South Wales | New South Wales | — | Australia | — |
Gareth Widdop | — | — | — | — | — | — | England | England[e] |
This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2010 NRL season.
Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Blair | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Jesse Bromwich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hep Cahill | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cooper Cronk | 21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
Matthew Duffie | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Brett Finch | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Ryan Hinchcliffe | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Ryan Hoffman | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Greg Inglis | 20 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 58 |
Willie Isa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Luke Kelly | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sione Kite | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rory Kostjasyn | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Jeff Lima | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
Todd Lowrie | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Luke MacDougall | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Sika Manu | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Dane Nielsen | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Bryan Norrie | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Justin O'Neill | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
Kevin Proctor | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Anthony Quinn | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
Robbie Rochow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Billy Slater | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
Cameron Smith | 20 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 116 |
Chase Stanley | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Ryan Tandy | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Aiden Tolman | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Brett White | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Gareth Widdop | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
30 players used | – | 88 | 67 | 3 | 489 |
Most points in a game: 16 points
Most tries in a game: 3
Highest score in a winning game: 58 points
Lowest score in a winning game: 14 points
Greatest winning margin: 46 points
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4
Highest score in a losing game: 18 points
Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points
Greatest losing margin: 32 points
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 3
For the first time in club history, a reserve grade team played as Melbourne Storm, with the club entering a team into the New South Wales Cup competition.[46] Coached by former Canberra Raiders 2008 Toyota Cup winning coach, Tony Adam, Melbourne finished in seventh position on the ladder (out of 12 teams) qualifying for the finals series. They were eliminated by Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers in the first week of the finals, defeated 48-18.[47] This was the only season that Melbourne fielded a reserve grade team under their own brand.
2010 New South Wales Cup[48] | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
7 | Melbourne Storm | 25 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 627 | 727 | -100 | 22 |
In the third season of the NRL's National Youth Championship, Dean Pay replaced Brad Arthur as coach, with Melbourne finishing the regular season in 13th place on the ladder.
Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 687 | 567 | +120 | 38 |
2 | New Zealand Warriors (P) | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 731 | 481 | +250 | 37 |
3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 773 | 596 | +177 | 36 |
4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 673 | 540 | +133 | 35 |
5 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 695 | 588 | +107 | 33 |
6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 764 | 734 | +30 | 33 |
7 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 568 | 583 | -15 | 30 |
8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 581 | 663 | -82 | 29 |
9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 620 | 532 | +88 | 28 |
10 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 690 | 635 | +55 | 27 |
11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 568 | 543 | +25 | 25 |
12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 612 | 732 | -120 | 23 |
13 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 683 | 782 | -99 | 22 |
14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 492 | 634 | -142 | 21 |
15 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 643 | 838 | -195 | 20 |
16 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 454 | 786 | -332 | 11 |
Source:[49]
Most points in a game: 18 points
Most tries in a game: 3
Most points (season): 180
Most tries (season): 12
Winning games editHighest score in a winning game: 62 points
Lowest score in a winning game: 20 points
Greatest winning margin: 52 points
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 3
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Losing games editHighest score in a losing game: 42 points
Lowest score in a losing game: 12 points
Greatest losing margin: 48 points
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 6
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For the second consecutive season, Melbourne entered a junior representative team in the New South Wales Rugby League under-18s competition S. G. Ball Cup. Melbourne would play most of their home games at their training venue Princes Park in Carlton.
Coached by club high performance manager Kim Williams, the team would again make the finals, finishing the regular season in sixth position on the ladder with seven wins from nine matches. Melbourne would lose an elimination final against third-placed Parramatta 70–12 to end their season.[50]
Melbourne Storm Awards Night edit
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Dally M Awards Night edit
Additional Awards edit
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