The 2012 Melbourne Storm season was the club's 15th NRL season. Coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith, they competed in and won the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership. The first nine weeks of the season were very successful, with the club winning all games for what was at the time their best start to a season. From round 10 to round 21 they won only three games and lost seven, including a five-game losing streak between rounds 16 and 21, their second worst ever. From round 22 onward they recovered their winning form and finished the regular season with five straight wins, finishing in second place. The Storm then went on to defeat South Sydney and Manly in the finals series before going on to face minor premiers, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the 2012 NRL Grand Final, winning 14–4 to claim the Premiership.
Season summary
19 January – Will Chambers returns to the club after two seasons playing rugby union.[1]
Pre-season – Melbourne play Queensland Cup affiliate team Easts Tigers for the Darren Bell Cup in a pre-season trial fixture at Langlands Park. Bell, who was the recruitment manager at the club died of a heart attack late in 2011.[2] Melbourne win the match 36–8 scoring seven tries to two. Will Chambers scoring the first try in his return to rugby league.[3][4]
10 February – The Australian Rugby League Commission announces that they have guaranteed $26.5m in funding for the club as part of an agreement with News Limited, with the competition gaining their independence from the media conglomerate.[5]
18 February – In front of 11,752 fans at the North Hobart Oval in Tasmania, Melbourne defeat the Brisbane Broncos 34–30 in their final trial match before the start of the season. FullbackBilly Slater scoring a double in his first action for the year. Melbourne had led 34–16 until late in the game, with Ryan Hinchcliffe stretchered from the field with seven minutes left following an ugly tackle from Petero Civoniceva.[6]
Round 1 – Melbourne continue the round 1 winning streak, defeating the Canberra Raiders 24–19 at Canberra Stadium. Raiders coach David Furner unhappy with the tackling technique of the Melbourne players dubbed the "chin strap."[1] The victory was Melbourne's ninth straight round 1 victory under Craig Bellamy. The victory secured by a late try to Billy Slater after Josh Dugan had put the Raiders in front via a field goal with seven minutes remaining.[1]
Round 3 – Billy Slater scored two tries against the Gold Coast Titans to take his career total to 130, going past Rhys Wesser to become the highest try scoring fullback in Australian Rugby League history.[7][1]
Round 4 – With his fourth consecutive double, Billy Slater makes premiership history as the first player to complete four try doubles to start a season, with Melbourne the only undefeated team.[1]
29 March – Cooper Cronk re-signs with the club for a further four seasons.[1]
Round 5 – Melbourne celebrated their 15th anniversary with a win against the Newcastle Knights, coming in Ryan Hinchcliffe's 100th NRL match and Bryan Norrie's 50th match for the club.[1]
Round 6 – A dominant performance from Cooper Cronk helps Melbourne to a 42–18 win over the North Queensland Cowboys, despite the Cowboys scoring the first try of the match.[1]
Round 7 – Melbourne equal the club's best start to a season (2007) with their seventh straight win, winning a tight 12–6 match against the Bulldogs.[1]
Round 8 – On ANZAC Day, Melbourne record an eighth straight win for the season, outlasting the New Zealand Warriors 32–14 after scores were level with 20 minutes remaining. The victory completing the best start to a season in the club's history.[1]
Round 10 – Cronulla end Melbourne's winning streak at nine matches, defeating the Storm 12–10 at Toyota Park with former Storm player Jeremy Smith scoring the match-winning try after Melbourne had taken a 10–6 lead into half time.[1]
Round 12 – Melbourne hand the Brisbane Broncos a 34–10 defeat at AAMI Park on the Friday night after Origin I. Will Chambers played his 50th match, while Todd Lowrie played his 50th match for the Storm.[1]Michael Greenfield makes his club debut, but is knocked out by a shoulder charge from Ben Te'o. With a history of neck issues, Greenfield never plays again after undergoing neck surgery.[8]
Round 13 – In Todd Lowrie's 150th NRL appearance, Melbourne retain the Michael Moore Trophy, coming from 12–0 down to defeat the Warriors in Auckland.[1]
6 June – Will Chambers is hospitalised with a rare blood disorder that could have proved fatal if left untreated.[1]
Round 14 – With several players absent through Origin duty, Wests Tigers upset Melbourne to win their first ever game in Victoria. Ryan Hoffman captains the team in the absence of Cameron Smith, in what was coach Craig Bellamy's 250th match in charge. It is Melbourne's first loss on a Friday night in Victoria for 11 years.[1]
14 June – Billy Slater is ruled out of action for up to six weeks due to a knee injury.[1]
Round 15 – Missing Slater, Melbourne defeat Manly 26–22 at Brookvale Oval, winning there for the first time since 2009.[1]
Round 16 – Video referee Shaun Hampstead controversially denies a try to Ryan Hinchcliffe in what proves to be a turning point in the club's 20–4 loss to the Bulldogs in Mackay.[1]
Round 18 – With defence described by Craig Bellamy as "downright embarrassing," Canberra hand Melbourne a 40–12 defeat at AAMI Park.[1]
Round 19 – North Queensland win their first match in Melbourne in 11 years, handing Melbourne a third straight defeat in Cooper Cronk's 200th NRL game.[1]
Round 20 – Days after announcing they were parting ways with coach Stephen Kearney, wooden spoon favourites the Parramatta Eels shock Melbourne 16–10.[1] With their fourth consecutive loss, the Storm equalled their second worst losing streak in club history. Craig Bellamy describing his team as "pathetic."[1]
Round 21 – Despite the return of Billy Slater, the Storm record a new second-worst losing streak with their fifth consecutive loss, with the Dragons sending Melbourne home from Wollongong 26–18 losers.[1] It was the Storm's longest losing streak during Craig Bellamy's ten-year tenure.[9] The match was Anthony Quinn's 100th appearance for the club.
Round 22 – With a try after 35 seconds to Sisa Waqa, Melbourne end their losing streak with a 46–6 defeat of the Penrith Panthers.[1] The 46 points was also the Storm's highest score of the season.
Round 23 – Mahe Fonua becomes the first born and bred Victorian to play NRL for the Storm, making his debut in a 24–16 win over the Gold Coast Titans at AAMI Park. Melbourne had trailled 10–0 at half time, before getting on top of the visitors in the second half.[1][10] Jessie Bromwich also played his 50th game for the Storm.
Round 24 – Cooper Cronk scores the match-winning field goal with six minutes remaining to secure a 19–18 win over the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.[1] With his second conversion of the match, Cameron Smith scored his 1300th career point.
Round 25 – Down 18–10 with three minutes remaining, Melbourne score two late tries to come from behind to win 20–18 against the Sharks. Will Chambers scoring the match winner with just 24 seconds remaining.[1] The result meant that the Storm's overall wins percentage increased to 63.64%, elevating the Storm to first place on the 'all-time' score table for the first time, ahead of the Brisbane Broncos.
Round 26 – Melbourne end the regular season with a 26–6 victory over the Wests Tigers to secure second position on the NRL ladder.[1] After winning the NRL Club Championship in 2011, Melbourne finish third behind the Bulldogs, with the Toyota Cup team finishing in 9th position.
Qualifying final – The Storm began their finals campaign with a 24–6 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs, earning them a week's break and a home preliminary final. Melbourne had blown the visitors off AAMI Park in the first half, taking an 18–0 lead.[1]
13 September – Melbourne announce the signing of Lagi Setu who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in 2010 before embarking on missionary work.[11] The club also announcing the signing of Junior Moors from the Wests Tigers, with both players joining the club for the 2013 season.[1]
Preliminary final – two tries each to Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk help Melbourne complete a 40–12 defeat of Manly to secure a spot in the Grand Final against the Bulldogs.[1] Ryan Hinchcliffe plays his 100th match for the club.
Grand Final – Melbourne defeat the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 14–4 to claim the 2012 NRL premiership. Halfback Cooper Cronk is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as player of the match. Melbourne were first to score and would take a 14–4 lead into half time, with the second half remaining scoreless. Bulldogs forward James Graham is alleged to have bitten the ear of Billy Slater during a first half melee, with Graham later suspended by the NRL Judiciary for 12 matches.[1] Cameron Smith, while having a bad night with the boot (1 from 5 attempts), kicked his 600th career goal.
In 2012 the Storm jerseys were made by Kooga. They retained their predominantly purple home jersey, and predominantly white away jerseys from the previous two seasons.
Heritage
In round 5 for the NRL's heritage round, Melbourne again wore a replica of the original 1998 home jersey.
Special
For the round 12 home game against the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne again wore a special "battle" jersey similar to the one wore in 2011 featuring a silver chevron design with a purple camouflage motif.[12]
In round 19 against the North Queensland Cowboys at AAMI Park, the players wore a one-off promotional jersey was worn to promote The Dark Knight Rises. The jersey was predominantly black with the Batman logo on the front and back.[13]
Indigenous
For the first time in club history, Melbourne wore an indigenous design in the round 22 match against the Penrith Panthers. The promotion was a part of the NRL's Close the Gap round, a campaign the NRL had begun supporting in partnership with Oxfam in 2010.[14][15][16] The jersey was mostly orange, a colour never worn previously by the club, and featured the Storm’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) logo which was designed by Lenny Briggs and Dixon Patten.
In the fifth season of the NRL's National Youth Championship, Dean Pay continued as coach for a third season, with Melbourne finishing the regular season in 9th place on the ladder, meaning the club would not qualify for the finals for the first time since the 2008 season. Ben Hampton was selected as halfback and captain for Queensland in the mid-season Under-20s Origin match, with Young Tonumaipea selected on the wing for the winning New South Wales team.[1]
Melbourne continued their relationships with both the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Easts Tigers to send any reserve players to play in their respective state cup competitions. Both teams would miss the finals in 2012.[1]
In the Queensland Cup, Easts Tigers coached by Troy McCarthy fell just short of making the finals. Needing a win and other results to go their way in the final round of the season, the Tigers thrashed the Central Queensland Capras 68–12, missing out on making the finals on points difference of just 20 points.[55] The team had been a strong chance of making the finals through the season, but consecutive losses late in the season proved costly.[56]
Melbourne's junior representative team in the New South Wales Rugby League under-18s competition S. G. Ball Cup again missed the finals in their fourth season in the competition. Coached by club high performance manager Kim Williams, the team would win only two and draw one of their nine matches for the season, finishing in 13th place on the ladder out of the 18 teams competing.[57]
On 17 October, the RLIF held their annual award ceremony[61] and presented a number of awards to Melbourne Storm personnel including naming Cameron Smith the 'International Rugby League Player of the Year'.[62]
RLIF International Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
^Previous First Grade RL club: 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
^"Recruit shines as Raiders down Storm". NT News. Darwin, Northern Territory: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. 12 February 2012.
^Gaskin, Lee (12 February 2012). "Campese kicks home Raiders". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. p. 57.
^Gould, Russell (12 February 2012). "Bellamy's rusty squad will be better for run-out Storming finish". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 59.
^Gould, Russell (19 February 2012). "Storm's stars on fire Hinchcliffe concussed". Herald-Sun. Melbourne, Victoria: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 54.
