2008 Melbourne Storm season
The 2008 Melbourne Storm season was the 11th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season as minor premiers before reaching the grand final in which they were beaten by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40-0, the largest margin in grand final history. The minor premiership won by the Storm in 2008 was later stripped by the NRL in 2010 when it was revealed the club had been in breach of salary cap rules.
| 2008 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 1st | |||
| Play-off result | Grand Finalists | |||
| 2008 record | Wins: 17; Draws: 0; Losses: 7 | |||
| Points scored | For: 584; Against: 282 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Brian Waldron | |||
| Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
| Captain |
| |||
| Stadium | Olympic Park Stadium | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Greg Inglis (17) | |||
| Goals | Cameron Smith (77) | |||
| Points | Cameron Smith (170) | |||
| ||||
Despite losing seven games, Storm managed to finish in top spot on the NRL ladder for a third successive season. They had to wait until the final game to do it though, defeating South Sydney 42-4. A loss to the Warriors in the Qualifying final meant Storm had to do it the hard way and they did just that, defeating the Broncos and Sharks on the road. That tough road eventually caught up with Melbourne in the decider, which they lost to Manly.
Matt Geyer became the first Storm player to reach 250 games while Billy Slater followed on from Cameron Smith the previous year, earning the Golden boot award as the best player in the world. [1]
Fixtures
Pre Season
| Match | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trial Match | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Win | 56 | 10 | 15 Feb | Bluetongue Stadium |
| Trial Match | Halifax Blue Sox | Win | 26 | 10 | 22 Feb | Shay Stadium |
| WCC | Leeds Rhinos | Loss | 4 | 11 | 29 Feb | Elland Road |
Regular season
Finals
| Match | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualif. Final | New Zealand Warriors | Loss | 15 | 18 | 14 September | Olympic Park |
| Semi Final | Brisbane Broncos | Win | 16 | 14 | 20 September | Suncorp Stadium |
| Prelim. Final | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 28 | 0 | 26 September | Sydney Football Stadium |
| GRAND FINAL | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 0 | 40 | 5 October | ANZ Stadium |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melbourne Storm |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 |  Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 |  Canberra Raiders |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 |  Wests Tigers |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 |  Penrith Panthers |
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 |  Gold Coast Titans |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |
2008 Coaching Staff
- Head Coach: Craig Bellamy
- Assistant Coaches: Michael Maguire & Stephen Kearney
- Specialist Coach: Matthew Johns
- Strength and Conditioning Coach: Alex Corvo
- Football Manager: Frank Ponissi
- NRL Under 20s Coach: Brad Arthur
- Feeder Club Coach: Jamie Feeney (Central Coast Storm)
2008 Squad
List current as of 3 November 2021
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NRL Under 20s
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canberra Raiders (P) |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 744 | 581 | +163 | 40 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 684 | 476 | +208 | 35 |
| 3 | New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 721 | 533 | +188 | 35 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 692 | 583 | +109 | 35 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels |
24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 578 | 564 | +14 | 35 |
| 6 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 561 | 520 | +41 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 711 | 587 | +124 | 31 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 686 | 567 | +119 | 31 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 620 | 623 | -3 | 30 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 618 | 584 | +34 | 28 |
| 11 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 519 | 532 | -13 | 26 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights |
24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 526 | 630 | -104 | 21 |
| 13 | Melbourne Storm |
24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 512 | 638 | -126 | 21 |
| 14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 394 | 666 | -272 | 17 |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters |
24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 480 | 721 | -241 | 16 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 455 | 696 | -241 | 15 |
Awards
Trophy CabinetMelbourne Storm Awards Night
|
Dally M Awards Night
Rugby League World Golden Boot Awards NightRLPA Awards Night
RLIF Awards
|
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
References
- "History Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- "Slater named Player-of-the-Year". melbournestorm.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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