2003 Melbourne Storm season

The 2003 Melbourne Storm season was the 6th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 5th out of 15 teams, before reaching the semi-final where they were knocked out by Bulldogs RLFC. It was Craig Bellamy's first season as head coach of the club. [1]

2003 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank5th
Play-off resultSemi Final Loss
2003 recordWins: 15; Draws: 0; Losses: 9
Points scoredFor: 564; Against: 486
Team information
CEOJohn Ribot
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumOlympic Park Stadium
Top scorers
TriesBilly Slater (19)
GoalsMatt Orford (74)
PointsMatt Orford (180)
< 2002 List of seasons 2004 >

Under new coach Craig Bellamy, the 2003 season for the Storm was one of regaining premiership credibility. Melbourne reached the finals for the first time since 2000 with evergreen Robbie Kearns and a confident Matt Orford showing the way.

A disappointing exit two weeks before the Grand Final was tempered by the rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith gave splendid service to Orford and his forwards. He was rewarded with a place in the Maroons Origin side and was unlucky to miss the Kangaroos train-on squad.

The silky - and pacy - moves of Slater in the centres and at fullback were attention getters for fans and keen judges of football talent alike. His debut season for the Storm realised a record 19 tries and talk of a big future in the game. [2]

Fixtures

[3]

Regular season
RoundOpponentResultMel.Opp.DateVenue
1Cronulla SharksWin3632Mar 16Toyota Park
2Penrith PanthersWin4216Mar 22Olympic Park
3BYE
4Newcastle KnightsLoss2844Apr 5Hunter Stadium
5Cronulla SharksWin1812Apr 12Olympic Park
6Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesLoss1420Apr 20Brookvale Oval
7North Queensland CowboysLoss1232Apr 26Dairy Farmers Stadium
8Newcastle KnightsWin466May 3Olympic Park
9Canberra RaidersWin3010May 10Olympic Park
10Brisbane BroncosLoss1636May 18QE2 Stadium
11Parramatta EelsWin1210May 24Parramatta Stadium
12Sydney RoostersLoss2027Jun 1Olympic Park
13South Sydney RabbitohsLoss1441Jun 8Sydney Football Stadium
14Penrith PanthersWin3212Jun 14Penrith Stadium
15Bulldogs RLFCLoss1226Jun 22Olympic Park
16Wests TigersWin168Jun 28Olympic Park
17Canberra RaidersWin188Jul 6Bruce Stadium
18North Queensland CowboysWin2216Jul 12Olympic Park
19Brisbane BroncosLoss2226Jul 20Olympic Park
20South Sydney RabbitohsWin246Jul 26Olympic Park
21New Zealand WarriorsWin1412Aug 2Mt. Smart Stadium
22Bulldogs RLFCLoss450Aug 10Sydney Showground Stadium
23Parramatta EelsWin5012Aug 17Olympic Park
24St. George Illawarra DragonsWin2214Aug 22WIN Stadium
25BYE
26Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWin4010Sep 6Olympic Park

Finals
RoundOpponentResultMel.Opp.DateVenue
Qualifying FinalCanberra RaidersWin3018Sep 12Bruce Stadium
Semi FinalBulldogs RLFCLoss030Sep 21SFS

Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Penrith 2418062659527+13240
2 Sydney Roosters 2417072680445+23538
3 Bulldogs 2416082702419+28336
4 Canberra 2416082620463+15736
5 Melbourne 2415092564486+7834
6 New Zealand 2415092545510+3534
7 Newcastle 24140102632635-332
8 Brisbane 24120122497464+3328
9 Parramatta 24110132570582-1226
10 St George Illawarra 24110132548593-4526
11 North Queensland 24100142606629-2324
12 Cronulla-Sutherland 2480162497704-20720
13 Wests Tigers 2470172470598-12818
14 Manly-Warringah 2470172470791-32118
15 South Sydney 2430212457758-30110

2003 squad
Cap Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club (a)

Awards and honours

References
  1. http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne2003_sc.html
  2. "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  3. http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#2003
  4. "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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