2005 Melbourne Storm season

The 2005 Melbourne Storm season was the 8th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 6th out of 15 teams and making the finals. The season began with two big wins over the Knights and Dragons, each by more than 30 points. The form line followed a similar path to the previous season though as the team struggled to string consecutive wins together and hovered around the lower part of the eight for much of the season before ultimately finishing sixth once again. Future star Greg Inglis made his debut in Round 6. Storm finished the season with the second best defence in the competition and again went to Suncorp Stadium in Week One of the finals, producing the same result to defeat the Broncos. However for the third straight season the side was unable to progress past the semi final stage, losing to the Cowboys. At the end of the season, Storm legends Robbie Kearns and Matt Geyer were inducted as inaugural life members of the Club.[1]

2005 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank6th
Play-off resultSemi Final Loss
2005 recordWins: 13; Draws: 0; Losses: 11
Points scoredFor: 640; Against: 462
Team information
CEOBrian Waldron
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumOlympic Park
Top scorers
TriesBilly Slater (20)
GoalsMatt Orford (63)
PointsMatt Orford (172)
< 2004 List of seasons 2006 >

Season Summary

  • 22 February – The Supreme Court of New South Wales finds Melbourne and former players Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai responsible for the spear tackle that ended the career of Jarrod McCracken in the 2000 NRL season.[2][3]
  • Round 1 – Melbourne open their 2005 season at home with a resounding 48-10 win over Newcastle Knights. Leading 22-0 at half time, the Storm extend their lead on the back of a Billy Slater hat-trick. Former Melbourne winger Dustin Cooper scores a double for the visitors. Brett White makes his NRL debut.
  • Round 4 – Storm thrash Brisbane Broncos 50-4 to inflict the heaviest defeat in the Broncos' 18-year history. The 50 point score against Brisbane also bested the 48 points scored by Melbourne in 1999. Before the game, the club honours 1999 premiership players Glenn Lazarus and Tawera Nikau; by renaming the eastern (Nikau) and western (Lazarus) grandstands.[4]
  • 13 April – Melbourne is found to have breached the competition's salary cap in 2004 and are fined $120,000.[5]
  • Round 6 – Greg Inglis makes his NRL debut at just 18 years and 91 days, scoring a try.
  • 30 April – The Victoria State Government confirms that the Olympic Park precinct will undergo a $100m redevelopment, with a new stadium scheduled for completion in 2008.[5][6]
  • 2 May – Controversy over "grapple tackles" erupts with Cronulla prop claiming he was choked in a two-man Storm tackle.[5]
  • Round 13 – Melbourne win their first game at Leichhardt Oval since 1998, coming from 8-0 down at half time to win 30-14.[5]
  • Round 14 – Missing Origin players, Melbourne are awarded a controversial penalty try to Cooper Cronk early in the second half. It wasn't enough for the victory, as the New Zealand Warriors regained the Michael Moore Trophy win a 24-16 victory.
  • Round 16 – Melbourne return to form thrashing South Sydney Rabbitohs 48-6, with Billy Slater scoring another hat-trick.[5]
  • Round 17 – Melbourne win just their second game in 13 attempts against 2004 premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with Slater and Inglis both scoring two tries in a 33-6 win.
  • Round 18 – In front of the lowest attended Olympic Park home game in club history (6,063), Melbourne hold Canberra Raiders scoreless for the first time.
  • 20 July – After weeks of speculation, it's announced halfback Matt Orford has signed a four-year contract with Manly worth nearly $2m.[5]
  • Round 23 – Melbourne celebrate the 100th game at Olympic Park by regaining the Michael Moore Trophy, winning 22-10 over the Warriors.[5]
  • Round 25 – In his last home game for the club, Robbie Kearns is chaired from the field following a 34-22 win over Wests Tigers. Coach Craig Bellamy saying that Kearns "without a doubt is the heart and soul of this club."[5]
  • Round 26 – A penalty try awarded against Billy Slater in a 30-24 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys was part of a controversial night in Townsville with Cowboys forward Carl Webb suspended for punching Ryan Hoffman allegedly in retaliation for a "grapple tackle." The loss drops Melbourne to sixth on the ladder at the end of the regular season, behind the Cowboys in fourth.
  • Qualifying Final – Travelling to Brisbane for the second year in a row, Melbourne hang on for a 24-18 win over the Broncos. Injuries to Robbie Kearns (shoulder) and Billy Slater (ankle) complicating things for the club for the remainder of the finals.
  • 12 September – Melbourne and North Queensland spark a war of words over the "grapple tackle", with both clubs accusing the other of using the technique ahead of the semi final between the teams. Melbourne later release video of 20 incidents in which they claim Cowboys players were putting opponents in headlocks.[5]
  • Semi Final – For the third year in a row, Melbourne are eliminated in the second week of the NRL finals, this time going down 24-16 to the Cowboys at Aussie Stadium. Down 16-0 at half time, Melbourne were gifted a try by referee Paul Simpkins who failed to consult the video referee when centre Steven Bell lost control of the ball while attempting to score. A frantic final flurry almost saw Melbourne level the scores led by fill-in captain Matt Orford.

Milestone games

RoundPlayerMilestone
Round 1Dennis ScottStorm debut
Round 1Brett WhiteNRL debut
Round 1Cameron Smith50th game
Round 2Billy Slater50th game
Round 3Ian DonnellyStorm debut
Round 4Jamie McDonaldStorm debut
Round 4Matt Geyer500 points
Round 5Alex Chan50th game
Round 6Greg InglisNRL debut
Round 7Jamie FeeneyStorm debut
Round 11Josh GrahamNRL debut
Round 12Dallas Johnson50th game
Round 14Tevita MetuiselaStorm debut
Round 18Glen Turner50th game
Round 20Steven Bell100th game
Round 21Ryan Hoffman50th game

Jerseys

For the 2005 season, Melbourne signed a new apparel contract with Reebok. The home jersey remained largely unchanged from the 2001-02 design, but now with a simple navy blue T-shirt style collar. This meant the home jersey did not feature gold for the first time in team history.

A new white clash jersey was designed, featuring a large gold thunderbolt with purple block shadowing, which was partially obscured by the jersey advertiser Adecco. The clash jersey was worn with different navy blue shorts featuring the thunderbolt design on the right.

The clash jersey was worn on seven occasions during the regular season (rounds 5, 13, 14, 19, 21, 22, 26); with Melbourne only winning on one occasion against Wests Tigers. Both finals games were also played with Melbourne wearing the clash jersey.

Fixtures

Pre Season

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.Source
5 FebruaryTrial Central CometsBrowne Park, RockhamptonWin5818[7]
19 FebruaryTrial Brisbane BroncosCarrara Stadium, Gold CoastWin2410
25 FebruaryTrial North Queensland CowboysBarlow Park, CairnsWin3018

Regular season

Source:[8]

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultMel.Opp.TriesGoalsField goalsReport
13 March1 Newcastle KnightsOlympic Park, MelbourneWin4810B Slater (3), M Orford (2), C Cronk, R Hoffman, J Webster, B WhiteM Orford 4/5, M Geyer 2/2, C Smith 0/2[9]
19 March2 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium, WollongongWin4612S Bell (2), M Orford (2), R Kearns, M King, B Slater, C SmithM Orford 4/5, C Smith 3/4[10]
27 March3 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval, SydneyLoss1825S Bell, C Cronk, B SlaterC Smith 3/3[11]
2 April4 Brisbane BroncosOlympic Park, MelbourneWin504M Geyer (2), M King (2), B Slater (2), J Webster (2), S Bell, R HoffmanM Orford 4/7, C Smith 1/3[12]
8 April5 Penrith PanthersCUA Stadium, SydneyLoss1636S Bell, A Chan, M KingM Orford 1/3, C Smith 1/1[13]
16 April6 Parramatta EelsOlympic Park, MelbourneLoss1426G Inglis, M King, M OrfordC Smith 1/2, M Orford 0/1[14]
24 April7 Canberra RaidersCanberra Stadium, CanberraWin4610M King (2), B Slater (2), M Geyer, S Hill, R Hoffman, J WebsterM Orford 4/5, C Smith 3/4[15]
30 April8 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksOlympic Park, MelbourneLoss1030P Robinson, D ScottM Orford 1/2[16]
6 May9Bye
14 May10 South Sydney RabbitohsAussie Stadium, SydneyWin3812G Turner (2), S Bell, A Chan, M Geyer, G Inglis, D Kidwell, M OrfordC Smith 3/8[17]
21 May11 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsOlympic Park, MelbourneLoss1626J Graham, R Kearns, D KidwellM Orford 2/3[18]
29 May12 St George Illawarra DragonsOlympic Park, MelbourneWin2416M King, M Orford, C Smith, G TurnerM Orford 3/4, C Smith 1/1[19]
5 June13 Wests TigersLeichhardt Oval, SydneyWin3014B Slater (2), S Bell, M Geyer, J WebsterM Orford 3/3, C Smith 2/2[20]
12 June14 New Zealand WarriorsEricsson Stadium, AucklandLoss1624M Geyer (2), C CronkM Orford 2/4[21]
18 June15 Penrith PanthersOlympic Park, MelbourneLoss1428S Bell, M Geyer, M KingM Orford 1/3[22]
25 June16 South Sydney RabbitohsOlympic Park, MelbourneWin486B Slater (3), M Geyer (2), S Bell, D Kidwell, G Turner, J WebsterM Orford 4/7, C Smith 2/2[23]
2 July17 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsSydney Showground, SydneyWin336G Inglis (2), B Slater (2), G TurnerM Orford 6/7M Orford[24]
9 July18 Canberra RaidersOlympic Park, MelbourneWin200J Webster (2), S BellM Orford 2/3, C Smith 2/2[25]
17 July19 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium, BrisbaneLoss1528D Johnson, M OrfordM Orford 3/4M Orford[26]
24 July20 Sydney RoostersOlympic Park, MelbourneWin2410D Johnson, D Kidwell, M King, B SlaterM Orford 3/4, C Smith 1/1[27]
30 July21 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium, NewcastleLoss1837C Cronk, D Scott, B SlaterM Orford 2/2, C Smith 1/1[28]
6 August22 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksToyota Park, SydneyLoss1640S Bell, A Kaufusi, J WebsterM Orford 1/1, C Smith 1/2[29]
13 August23 New Zealand WarriorsOlympic Park, MelbourneWin2210M King (2), M Orford, B SlaterM Orford 3/4[30]
20 August24Bye
27 August25 Wests TigersOlympic Park, MelbourneWin3422S Bell, M Geyer, G Inglis, A Kaufusi, M Orford, C SmithM Orford 5/5, C Smith 0/1[31]
3 September26 North Queensland CowboysDairy Farmers Stadium, TownsvilleLoss2430S Bell, R Hoffman, G Inglis, D ScottM Orford 2/2, C Smith 4/5[32]

Finals


Ladder

Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Parramatta Eels 2416082704456+24836
2 St George Illawarra Dragons 2416082655510+14536
3 Brisbane Broncos 2415092597484+11334
4 Wests Tigers (P) 24140102676575+10132
5 North Queensland Cowboys 24140102639563+7632
6 Melbourne Storm 24130112640462+17830
7 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24120122550564-1428
8 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24120122554632-7828
9 Sydney Roosters 24110132488487+126
10 Penrith Panthers 24110132554554026
11 New Zealand Warriors 24100142515528-1324
12 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2491142472670-19823
13 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2491142482700-21823
14 Canberra Raiders 2490152465606-14122
15 Newcastle Knights 2480162467667-20020

2005 Coaching Staff

2005 squad

List current as of 28 September 2021

Cap [lower-alpha 1] Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club [lower-alpha 2]
6 Scott Hill FE,LK 1998 Hunter Mariners
10 Robbie Kearns PR 1998 Perth Reds
18 Matt Geyer WG 1998 Perth Reds
37 Glen Turner SR 2000 Melbourne Storm
38 Peter Robinson SR 2000 Melbourne Storm
43 Matt Orford HB 2001 Northern Eagles
44 Steven Bell CE 2001 Melbourne Storm
55 Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002 Melbourne Storm
58 Billy Slater FB 2003 Melbourne Storm
59 David Kidwell SR,LK 2003 Sydney Roosters
60 Dallas Johnson SR,LK 2003 Melbourne Storm
61 Jake Webster WG 2003 Melbourne Storm
62 Ryan Hoffman SR,LK 2003 Melbourne Storm
64 Robert Tanielu PR 2003 Brisbane Broncos
67 Nathan Friend HK 2003 Brisbane Broncos
68 Antonio Kaufusi PR 2003 Melbourne Storm
69 Matt King CE 2003 Melbourne Storm
71 Alex Chan PR 2004 Parramatta Eels
72 Steve Turner FB,WG 2004 Penrith Panthers
73 Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Melbourne Storm
74 Jeremy Smith LK 2004 Melbourne Storm
75 Dennis Scott SR 2005 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
76 Brett White PR 2005 Melbourne Storm
77 Ian Donnelly PR 2005 Manly Sea Eagles
78 Jamie McDonald PR 2005 North Queensland Cowboys
79 Greg Inglis CE,FB 2005 Melbourne Storm
80 Jamie Feeney SR,LK 2005 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
81 Josh Graham CE 2005 Melbourne Storm
82 Tevita Metuisela PR 2005 Sydney Roosters
- Ryan Shortland FE,CE Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm
- Scott Anderson PR Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm
- Sam Tagataese SR, PR Yet to Debut Melbourne Storm
- Jeremiah Pai FE, HB Yet to Debut New Zealand Warriors[lower-alpha 3]

Player movements

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2005.

Player2005 ANZAC TestCity vs Country OriginState of Origin 1State of Origin 2State of Origin 3Tri-Nations[lower-alpha 4]
Scott HillCountry
David KidwellNew ZealandNew Zealand
Matt KingCountryNew South WalesNew South WalesNew South WalesAustralia
Billy SlaterQueenslandQueensland
Cameron SmithQueenslandQueenslandQueensland
Jake WebsterNew Zealand

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2005 NRL season.

NameAppearancesTriesGoalsField goalsPoints
Steven Bell26140056
Alex Chan142008
Cooper Cronk2040016
Ian Donnelly110000
Jamie Feeney120000
Nathan Friend30000
Matt Geyer26112048
Josh Graham14004
Scott Hill181004
Ryan Hoffman2340016
Greg Inglis1370028
Dallas Johnson242008
Antonio Kaufusi112008
Robbie Kearns252008
David Kidwell2540016
Matt King23140056
Jamie McDonald20000
Tevita Metuisela30000
Matt Orford2611632172
Peter Robinson21004
Dennis Scott1930012
Billy Slater21200080
Cameron Smith23330072
Glen Turner2350020
Jake Webster24100040
Brett White241004
26 players used122952680

Scorers

Most points in a game: 16 points

  • Round 1 – Matt Orford (2 tries, 4 goals) vs Newcastle Knights
  • Round 2 – Matt Orford (2 tries, 4 goals) vs St George Illawarra Dragons

Most tries in a game: 3

  • Round 1 – Billy Slater vs Newcastle Knights
  • Round 16 – Billy Slater vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 50 points

  • Round 4 vs Brisbane Broncos

Lowest score in a winning game: 20 points

  • Round 18 vs Canberra Raiders

Greatest winning margin: 46 points

  • Round 4 vs Brisbane Broncos

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 3

  • Round 16 - Round 18

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 24 points

  • Round 26 vs North Queensland Cowboys

Lowest score in a losing game: 10 points

  • Round 8 vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Greatest losing margin: 24 points

  • Round 22 vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

  • Round 5 - Round 6
  • Round 14 - Round 15
  • Round 21 - Round 22

Feeder Teams

Under a new affiliation agreement, Melbourne split their reserve players between two feeder clubs during the 2005 season. The agreement with Norths Devils continued for an eighth season, with players who were dual-registered in Queensland travelling to Brisbane each week to play with in the Queensland Cup. Melbourne also formed an affiliation with foundation New South Wales Rugby League club North Sydney Bears for some players to play in the NSWRL Premier League.

In a repeat of the 2004 season, the Devils finished second on the ladder, but were bundled out of the finals in straight sets.

Coached by Gary Freeman, the Bears finished tenth and missed the finals, with Alex Chan, Ian Donnelly, Jamie Feeney and Tevita Metuisela attracting praise from Freeman for their efforts.[39]

2005 Queensland Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
2 Norths Devils 2015142719454+26531
2005 NSWRL Premier League
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
10 North Sydney Bears 2491142604686-8223

Awards and honours

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.
  3. Signed from Parramatta Eels, last played NRL for Warriors in 2002.
  4. Including additional test matches against France

References

  1. "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  2. "McCracken wins fight for spear tackle damages". smh.com.au. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  3. "Mccracken v Melbourne Storm Rugby League Football Club and 2 Ors [2005] NSWSC 107 (22 February 2005)". AustLII. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. "Storm stands to honour ex-players". theage.com.au. Fairfax Media. 30 March 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. Middleton, David. 2005 Official Rugby League Annual. Surrey Hills: News Magazines.
  6. "New stadium for Olympic Park". theage.com.au. Fairfax Media. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. "FIRST TRIAL GAME, DONE AND DUSTED". melbournestorm.com.au. 7 February 2005. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  8. "Rugby League Tables - Melbourne". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  9. "NRL 2005 - Round 1". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  10. "NRL 2005 - Round 2". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  11. "NRL 2005 - Round 3". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  12. "NRL 2005 - Round 4". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  13. "NRL 2005 - Round 5". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  14. "NRL 2005 - Round 6". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  15. "NRL 2005 - Round 7". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  16. "NRL 2005 - Round 8". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  17. "NRL 2005 - Round 10". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  18. "NRL 2005 - Round 11". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  19. "NRL 2005 - Round 12". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  20. "NRL 2005 - Round 13". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  21. "NRL 2005 - Round 14". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  22. "NRL 2005 - Round 15". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  23. "NRL 2005 - Round 16". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  24. "NRL 2005 - Round 17". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  25. "NRL 2005 - Round 18". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  26. "NRL 2005 - Round 19". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  27. "NRL 2005 - Round 20". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  28. "NRL 2005 - Round 21". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  29. "NRL 2005 - Round 22". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  30. "NRL 2005 - Round 23". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  31. "NRL 2005 - Round 25". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  32. "NRL 2005 - Round 26". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  33. NRL 2005 - Qualifying Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  34. NRL 2005 - Semi Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  35. "Coach Profile". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 June 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  36. Brian Smith (2 July 2014). "SMITHY: A Sharp mind and a fine coach". theroar.com.au. Retrieved 14 March 2022. Showing how highly rated he was in the wider coaching community, Melbourne Storm snapped him up for two seasons as an assistant immediately after the five year stint on Sydney’s north shore.
  37. "2005 Melbourne Point Scorers". afltables.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  38. "Melbourne Storm - NRL 2005". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  39. Little, Steve (28 August 2005). "BEARS PLAY OUT SEASON IN FRONT OF BIG LOCAL CROWD". North Sydney Bears. Archived from the original on 3 November 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2021. “Thanks for the effort you’ve put in this year boys. I hope you enjoyed the year and learnt a lot. I hope it gave you a good grounding for the future. Thanks to Alex Chan, Ian Donnelly, Jamie Feeney and Tevita Metuisela for coming back from Melbourne to do what is required.
  40. "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  41. "STORMY, STORMY NIGHT". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 November 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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