2015 Melbourne Storm season

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.

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 >

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 Melbourne Storm 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.
  • 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 2 tries on his return game following a shoulder injury. The Storm 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

RoundPlayerMilestone
Round 1Dale FinucaneStorm debut
Round 1Blake GreenStorm debut
Round 1Felise KaufusiNRL debut
Round 1Ryan Hinchcliffe150th Storm game
Round 2Tom Learoyd-LahrsStorm debut
Round 8Nelson Asofa-SolomonaNRL debut
Round 9Christian WelchNRL debut
Round 13Richard KennarNRL debut
Round 14Hymel HuntStorm debut
Round 19Cameron Smith300th game
Round 21Mahe Fonua50th game
Round 23Kevin Proctor150th game

Fixtures

Preseason

Source:[5]

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreSource
31 JanuaryAuckland Nines Pool Game North Queensland CowboysEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandLoss8-17[6]
31 JanuaryAuckland Nines Pool Game Penrith PanthersEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandWin20-4[7]
1 FebruaryAuckland Nines Pool Game South Sydney RabbitohsEden Park, Auckland, New ZealandLoss24-4[8]
7 FebruaryTrial 1 Canberra RaidersGriffith, New South WalesLoss32-20[9]
14 FebruaryTrial 2 Eastern Suburbs TigersGosch's Paddock, MelbourneWin44-12[10]
21 FebruaryTrial 3 Canterbury BulldogsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin32-30[11]

Regular season

Source:[12]

  • FG - Field Goal
  • GP - Golden Point extra time
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoals/Field GoalsReport
9 March1 St George-Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium, WollongongWin4-12Tonumaipea, ChambersSmith 2/2[13]
14 March2 Manly Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval, ManlyLoss24-22Green (2), Tonumaipea, ChambersSmith 3/4[14]
21 March3 Cronulla SharksAAMI Park, MelbourneWin36-18Harris (2), Cronk, Smith, Koroibete, ChambersSmith 6/6[15]
30 March4 North Queensland Cowboys1300SMILES Stadium, TownsvilleLoss18-17 (GP)Mann, Koroibete, KaufusiSmith 2/3, Cronk 1/2 (FG)[16]
6 April5 New Zealand WarriorsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin30-14Koroibete (2), Fonua, Glasby, ChambersSmith 5/5[17]
12 April6 Canberra RaidersGIO Stadium, CanberraWin10-14Fonua, MunsterSmith 3/3[18]
18 April7 Sydney RoostersAAMI Park, MelbourneWin17-16Koroibete, Kaufusi, ChambersSmith 2/3, Cronk 1/1 (FG)[19]
25 April8 Manly Sea EaglesAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss10-12Koroibete, CronkSmith 1/2[20]
10 May9 Parramatta EelsPirtek Stadium, ParramattaWin10-28Slater (2), Koroibete, Chambers, FinucaneSmith 4/5[21]
16 May10 South Sydney RabbitohsAAMI Park, MelbourneWin16-12J Bromwich, ChambersSmith 4/4[22]
24 May11Bye
1 June12 Sydney RoostersAllianz Stadium, SydneyLoss24-2-Smith 1/1[23]
6 June13 Penrith PanthersSportingbet Stadium, PenrithWin0-20Green (2), MunsterSmith 4/4[24]
15 June14 Parramatta EelsAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss22-26Harris, Hampton, Green, HuntHarris 3/4[25]
21 June15 Brisbane BroncosAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss12-14Green (2)Smith 2/2[26]
29 June16 Canterbury BulldogsBelmore Sports Ground, SydneyLoss20-4KoroibeteSmith 0/1[27]
6 July17Bye
12 July18 New Zealand WarriorsMt Smart Stadium, AucklandLoss28-14K Bromwich (2), KoroibeteSmith 1/3[28]
17 July19 Penrith PanthersAAMI Park, MelbourneWin52-10Cronk (2), Proctor (2), Koroibete (2), Harris, Green, Fonua, KennarSmith 6/10[29]
25 July20 St George Illawarra DragonsMcLean Park, NapierWin22-4Asofa-Solomona, Koroibete, Proctor, FonuaSmith 3/4[30]
31 July21 Wests TigersLeichhardt Oval, BalmainLoss34-16Koroibete (2), J BromwichSmith 2/3[31]
9 August22 Gold Coast TitansAAMI Park, MelbourneWin36-14Munster (3), Duffle (2), Koroibete, ChambersSmith 4/7[32]
17 August23 Cronulla SharksRemondis Stadium, CronullaWin2-30Duffie (2), J Bromwich, Finucane, MunsterSmith 5/5[33]
24 August24 Newcastle KnightsAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss6-20MunsterSmith 1/1[34]
29 August25 North Queensland CowboysAAMI Park, MelbourneWin14-6K Bromwich, ChambersSmith 2/2[35]
3 September26 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, BrisbaneWin8-15Mann (2), ChambersSmith 1/3, Cronk 1/1 (FG)[36]

Finals

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultScoreTriesGoals/Field GoalsReport
11 September1st Qualifying Final - Week 1 Sydney RoostersAllianz Stadium, SydneyWin18-20Koroibete, Mann, GlasbySmith 4/4[37]
26 September1st Preliminary Final - Week 3 North Queensland CowboysAAMI Park, MelbourneLoss12-32Cronk, HarrisSmith 2/2[38]

Ladder

2015 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Sydney Roosters 2418062591300+29140
2 Brisbane Broncos 2417072574379+19538
3 North Queensland Cowboys (P) 2417072587454+13338
4 Melbourne Storm 24140102467348+11932
5 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24140102522480+4232
6 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24140102469476−732
7 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24130112465467−230
8 St. George Illawarra Dragons 24120122435408+2728
9 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24110132458492−3426
10 Canberra Raiders 24100142577569+824
11 Penrith Panthers 2490152399477−7822
12 Parramatta Eels 2490152448573−12522
13 New Zealand Warriors 2490152445588−14322
14 Gold Coast Titans 2490152439636−19722
15 Wests Tigers 2480162487562−7520
16 Newcastle Knights 2480162458612−15420

2015 Coaches

2015 Squad

As of 20 June 2015

Cap Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous club
55 Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002 Melbourne Storm
60 Billy Slater FB 2003 Melbourne Storm
73 Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Melbourne Storm
98 Will Chambers CE 2007 Queensland Reds
106 Kevin Proctor SR 2008 Melbourne Storm
110 Ryan Hinchcliffe HK 2009 Canberra Raiders
119 Jesse Bromwich PR 2010 Melbourne Storm
124 Matt Duffie WG,CE,FB 2010 Melbourne Storm
143 Mahe Fonua CE,WG 2012 Melbourne Storm
144 Slade Griffen HK,LK 2013 Melbourne Storm
145 Tohu Harris SR,LK,FE 2013 Melbourne Storm
149 Kenny Bromwich PR,SR,LK 2013 Melbourne Storm
150 Jordan McLean PR 2013 Melbourne Storm
152 Ben Hampton FE,HB,FB 2013 Melbourne Storm
153 Tim Glasby PR,SR 2013 Melbourne Storm
156 Young Tonumaipea WG,FB 2014 Melbourne Storm
157 Dayne Weston PR,SR 2014 Penrith Panthers
158 Kurt Mann FE,FB,HB,CE 2014 Melbourne Storm
159 Joel Romelo FE,HK,HB,LK 2014 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
160 Cameron Munster FE,FB,HB,HK 2014 Melbourne Storm
161 Marika Koroibete WG 2014 Wests Tigers
162 Dale Finucane PR,SR,LK 2015 Canterbury Bulldogs
163 Blake Green FE,HB 2015 Wigan Warriors
164 Felise Kaufusi PR 2015 North Queensland Cowboys
165 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs PR,SR 2015 Canberra Raiders
166 Nelson Asofa-Solomona SR, PR 2015 Melbourne Storm
167 Christian Welch SR, PR 2015 Melbourne Storm
168 Richard Kennar WG 2015 Melbourne Storm
169 Hymel Hunt CE,WG 2015 Gold Coast Titans
Travis Robinson WG,CE,FB Yet to Debut Penrith Panthers
Billy Brittain HK Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm
Shaun Nona FE Yet to Debut Northern Pride
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad CE,WG,SR,LK,FB Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm
Aaron Teroi HK,HB Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm

Player movements

Source NRL.com:[39]

Representative honours

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

2015 All Stars matchCity Vs CountryRugby League internationals
ANZAC Test - AUS vs NZL
Pacific Tests - FIJ vs PNG and SAM vs TGA
State Of Origin 1State Of Origin 2State of Origin 3Kiwis 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.

NameAppTGFGPtsGoal%
Nelson Asofa-Solomona121004
Jesse Bromwich2630012
Kenny Bromwich1830012
Will Chambers25100040
Cooper Cronk2350323
Matt Duffie940016
Dale Finucane232008
Mahe Fonua1340016
Tim Glasby262008
Blake Green2680032
Ben Hampton31004
Tohu Harris265302675.00% (3/4)
Ryan Hinchcliffe260000
Hymel Hunt31004
Felise Kaufusi172008
Richard Kennar61004
Marika Koroibete23160064
Tom Learoyd-Lahrs10000
Kurt Mann2040016
Jordan McLean150000
Cameron Munster1970028
Kevin Proctor2630012
Billy Slater72008
Cameron Smith25171014678.89% (71/90)
Young Tonumaipea42008
Christian Welch100000
Dayne Weston100000
27 Players used8774349978.72% (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

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.
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