2020 Melbourne Storm season
The 2020 Melbourne Storm season is the 23rd in the club's history and they are competing in the 2020 NRL season. The team is coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for his 18th consecutive season. Melbourne Storm are also captained by Cameron Smith, who has been the sole captain for the team since 2008—making this his 13th consecutive season. The season was suspended indefinitely on March 23 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, however, on the 28 April the NRL announced it would recommence on 28 May as a 20 Round competition with a revised fixture.
| 2020 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 6th | |||
| 2020 record | Wins: 4; Draws: 0; Losses: 2 | |||
| Points scored | For: 98; Against: 77 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Dave Donaghy | |||
| Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | AAMI Park (30,050 capacity) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Suliasi Vunivalu (4) | |||
| Goals | Cameron Smith (19) | |||
| Points | Cameron Smith (38) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
- Round 1 - The Storm continued their unbeaten run in Round 1 matches a record that stretches back to 2001 by defeating Manly at Brookvale Oval.
- Round 2 - The Melbourne Storm defeated Cronulla at an empty WIN Stadium. All NRL matches were played in empty stadiums for the first time in the league's history, in response to government restrictions on non-essential public gatherings of 500 or more people due to the Corona Virus pandemic.[1]
- 23 March - Due to the escalating coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NRL season was indefinitely suspended, for the first time in history.[2]
- 28 April - The NRL announce that the competition will resume on the 28th May and that it would be cut back a 20-round season, with the first two rounds scores and points remaining. The NRL will also release a revised fixture.[3]
- 4 May - The Storm announce that they will temporarily set up a training camp in Albury to prepare for the resumption of the NRL season. Restrictions on group gatherings mean't it could not happen in Victoria.[4]
- 7 May - The Storm begin their training camp in Albury at the home of Albury Tigers Football Club after the Albury council elected to prevent the club using the local government managed Greenfield park.[5]
- 11 May - The Victorian State Government ease restrictions allowing the Storm to train in Victoria.
- 15 May - The NRL release the revised fixture for Rounds 3 and 4.[6] Melbourne Storm will play the Round 3 fixture on the 30th May.
- 21 May - The full revised fixture is released for the remainder of 2020. Venues are only confirmed to Round 9, with the Storm to play home games at AAMI Park at this stage with no crowd.[7]
- Round 3 - On 30th May the Melbourne Storm recommenced their season with a 22-6 loss against the Canberra Raiders.
- Round 4 - The Storm return to the winners list with a win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Brenko Lee and Chris Lewis both make their playing debuts (For the Storm and NRL respectively). Brenko Lee also became the 200th player to play a game for the Melbourne Storm.
- 23 June - The Melbourne Storm and NRL announce that the team will relocate indefinitely to either NSW or QLD after a sharp increase in corona-virus cases over the previous week in Victoria [8]
Milestone games
| Round | Player | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Round 4 | Brenko Lee | Storm debut |
| Round 4 | Chris Lewis | NRL debut |
| Round 6 | Suliasi Vunivalu | 100th Game |
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 February | 2020 NRL Nines Pool Game |  | HBF Park, Perth | Loss | 4 | 18 | [11] |
| 15 February | 2020 NRL Nines Pool Game |  | HBF Park, Perth | Loss | 8 | 12 | [12] |
| 22 February | Trial |  | Palmerston North, New Zealand | Win | 18 | 16 | [13] |
| 29 February | Trial |  | Casey Fields, Cranbourne | Win | 22 | 14 |
Regular season
Source:[14]
- (GP) - Golden Point extra time
- (pen) - Penalty try
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March | 1 | | Lottoland, Sydney | Win | 18 | 4 | S Vunivalu (2), T Eisenhuth | C Smith 3/4 | [15] | |
| 21 March | 2 |  | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney | Win | 12 | 10 | T Kamikamica | C Smith 4/4 | [16] | |
| 30 May | 3 |  | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Loss | 6 | 22 | D Finucane | C Smith 1/1 | [17] | |
| 5 June | 4 |  | AAMI Park, Melbourne | Win | 22 | 8 | R Papenhuyzen, S Vunivalu, J Addo-Carr, J Olam | C Smith 3/5 | [18] | |
| 13 June | 5 |  | Central Coast Stadium, Gosford | Win | 26 | 12 | R Jacks, S Vunivalu, T Faasuamaleaui, B Smith | C Smith 5/5 | [19] | |
| 19 June | 6 |  | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney | Loss | 14 | 21 | F Kaufusi, B Lee | C Smith 3/3 | [20] | |
| 26 June | 7 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne | |||||||
| 2 July | 8 |  | AAMI Park, Melbourne | |||||||
| 11 July | 9 | | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney | |||||||
| 17 July | 10 |  | TBC | |||||||
| 24 July | 11 | | TBC | |||||||
| 2 August | 12 | | TBC | |||||||
| 8 August | 13 |  | TBC | |||||||
| 13 August | 14 | | TBC | |||||||
| 20 August | 15 |  | TBC | |||||||
| 30 August | 16 | | TBC | |||||||
| 4 September | 17 | | TBC | |||||||
| 13 September | 18 | | TBC | |||||||
| 19 September | 19 |  | TBC | |||||||
| 27 September | 20 |  | TBC |
Original Regular season fixture
Source:[21]
This was the original fixture for the Melbourne Storm prior to the Coronavirus pandemic causing the season to be altered and rescheduled.
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March | 1 | | Lottoland, Sydney |
| 21 March | 2 | | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney |
| 28 March | 3 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 2 April | 4 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 11 April | 5 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 16 April | 6 | | North Queensland Stadium, Townsville |
| 25 April | 7 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 3 May | 8 | | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 11 May | 9 | | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney |
| 16 May | 10 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 26 May | 11 | | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| 12 | Bye | ||
| 6 June | 13 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 13 June | 14 | | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle |
| 26 June | 15 | | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| 3 July | 16 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 11 July | 17 | | Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast |
| 18 July | 18 | | HBF Park, Perth |
| 24 July | 19 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 30 July | 20 | | Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta |
| 6 August | 21 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 14 August | 22 | | Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta |
| 21 August | 23 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 29 August | 24 | | AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| 5 September | 25 | | GIO Stadium, Canberra |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 88 | +70 | 12 |
| 2 | |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 98 | +45 | 11 |
| 3 | |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 201 | 69 | +132 | 10 |
| 4 |  |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 83 | +65 | 10 |
| 5 | |
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 169 | 120 | +49 | 9 |
| 6 | |
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 128 | 97 | +31 | 8 |
| 7 | |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 75 | +20 | 8 |
| 8 | |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 144 | 134 | +10 | 6 |
| 9 | |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 141 | 134 | +7 | 6 |
| 10 | |
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 175 | 169 | +6 | 6 |
| 11 | |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 126 | −20 | 4 |
| 12 | |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 106 | 146 | −40 | 4 |
| 13 | |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 96 | 193 | −97 | 4 |
| 14 |  |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 79 | 182 | −103 | 4 |
| 15 | |
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 92 | 209 | −117 | 4 |
| 16 | |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 128 | −58 | 2 |
Coaching staff
- Craig Bellamy – Head Coach[22]
- Jason Ryles – Senior Assistant Coach
- Marc Brentnall – Assistant Coach
- Ben Jack – U/20s Head Coach
- Aaron Bellamy – Development Coach
- Ryan Hinchcliffe – Development Coach
- Frank Ponissi – Football Director
- Ryan Hoffman – Football Administration Coordinator
- Nick Maxwell – Leadership Coach
- Craig McRae – Kicking & Catching Coach
- Billy Slater – Specialist Coach (Part-time)
- Scott Sipple – Easts Tigers Feeder Club Coach
- Craig Ingebrigtsen – Sunshine Coast Falcons Feeder Club Coach
2020 Squad
List current as of 8 June 2020 (a): 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.
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Player movements
Source:[23]
|
Losses
|
Gains
(a) - 2020 season player swap, players to return to their original clubs at the end of the season, they are still therefore contracted to their original clubs.[24]
|
Representative honours
The following players have played a first grade representative match in 2020. NOTE: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 State of Origin Series will now be played post season over three consecutive weeks in November [25]. No internationals have been scheduled.
Statistics
Statistics Source:[26] NOTE: Players are added to this table as they play their first game in 2020. Table up to date as of Round 5 in the 2020 NRL season
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Addo-Carr | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nelson Asofa-Solomona | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jesse Bromwich | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Bromwich | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Eisenhuth | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Dale Finucane | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jahrome Hughes | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryley Jacks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tui Kamikamica | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Felise Kaufusi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max King | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brenko Lee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Munster | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Olam | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ryan Papenhuyzen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Marion Seve | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Smith | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cameron Smith | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 32 |
| Suliasi Vunivalu | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Christian Welch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 Players used | — | 13 | 16 | 0 | 84 |
Scorers
Most Points in a Game: 10 points
- Round 5: Cameron Smith (5 Goals) vs. Newcastle Knights
Most tries in a Game: 2
- Round 1: Suliasi Vunivalu vs. Manly Sea Eagles
Winning Games
Highest score in a winning game: 26 points
- Round 5: vs. Newcastle Knights
Lowest score in a winning game: 12 points
- Round 2: vs. Cronulla Sharks
Greatest winning margin: 14 points
- Round 1: vs. Manly Sea Eagles
- Round 4: vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs
- Round 5: vs. Newcastle Knights
Greatest number of Games won consecutively: 2
- Round 1 - Round 2
- Round 4 - Round 5
Losing Games
Highest score in a losing game: 14 points
- Round 6 vs. Penrith Panthers
Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points
- Round 3 vs. Canberra Raiders
Greatest losing margin: 16 points
- Round 3 vs. Canberra Raiders
Jersey
On 1 March 2020 at the Melbourne Storm family day the Storm unveiled their new nersey for 2020 which included a new major sponsor - Redzed lending solutions. The new jersey is predominantly navy blue and purple with fading chevrons down the front and white lightning bolts on the sides.[27]
Awards
Trophy Cabinet
- 2020 Michael Moore Trophy
Melbourne Storm Awards Night
Held at Crown Palladium
- Melbourne Storm Player of the Year:
- Billy Slater Rookie of the Year:
- Melbourne Storm Members' Player of Year:
- Melbourne Storm Most Improved:
- Melbourne Storm Best Back:
- Melbourne Storm Best Forward:
- Cooper Cronk Feeder Club Player of the Year:
- Darren Bell U20s Player of the Year:
- U20s Best Back:
- U20s Best Forward:
- Greg Brentnall Young Achievers Award:
- Mick Moore Club Person of the Year:
- Life Member Inductee:
- Chairman's Award:
- Best Try:
Dally M Awards NightHeld at The Star Rugby League Players’ Association Awards NightAdditional Awards
|
References
- Brad Walter (13 March 2020). "NRL looking at bigger picture with move to closed stadiums". National Rugby League. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Dan Walsh (23 March 2020). "NRL suspends competition due to coronavirus pandemic". National Rugby League.
- Newton, Alicia (28 April 2020). "NRL announces 20 round competition for 2020". NRL.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- "Storm to set up camp in Albury". Melbourne Storm. 5 May 2020.
- "Storm keep training despite council vote". ABC.net.au. 7 May 2020.
- "Rivalries and intrigue headline round three draw for NRL restart". NRL.com. 15 May 2020.
- "Storm retain composure to outlast Sharks". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "Melbourne Storm forced to relocate for indefinite period following Victoria's COVID-19 spike". Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "2020 pre-season trial dates". Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- "NRL Nines confirmed for 2020 return in Perth". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- "NRL Nines". Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "NRL Nines". Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "Warriors sweat on latest prop injury after trial loss to Storm". Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- "NRL 2020: Here is the full season draw". Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Storm vs Sea Eagles". Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "Storm retain composure to outlast Sharks". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "New rules suit ad-lib teams more than Storm: Welch". Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- "Latrell shines but Munster leads Storm to tough win". Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- "Knights vs Storm". Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- "Panthers vs Storm". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "2020 NRL Draw". Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- "Storm announce 2019 Football department structure". Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "NRL Transfer Centre". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- "Momirovski-Grant club swap finally a done deal". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "Breaking new ground: Origin series and women's game in November". Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- "2020 Melbourne Point Scorers". afltables.com. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- "Storm announce RedZed as Major Partner". Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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