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2012 Melbourne Storm season

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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.

2012 Melbourne Storm season
NRL Rank2nd
Play-off resultPremiers
2012 recordWins: 17; draws: 0; losses: 7
Points scoredFor: 579; against: 361
Team information
CEORon Gauci
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumAAMI Park – 30,050
Avg. attendance12,685
High attendance20,333 (Round 8)[a]
Top scorers
TriesBilly Slater (16)
GoalsCameron Smith (78)
PointsCameron Smith (164)
← 2011 List of seasons 2013 →

Season summary

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  • 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. Fullback Billy 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 9 – Justin O'Neill scores a hat trick in the club's 44–10 thrashing of Penrith Panthers.[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.

Milestone games

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Round Player Milestone
Round 1 Siosaia Vave Storm debut
Round 2 Jason Ryles Storm debut
Round 5 Ryan Hinchcliffe 100th game
Round 12 Michael Greenfield Storm debut
Will Chambers 50th game
Round 13 Todd Lowrie 150th NRL game
Round 14 Craig Bellamy 250th game coached
Round 18 Anthony Quinn 200th game
Round 19 Cooper Cronk 200th game
Round 20 Richard Fa'aoso Storm debut
Round 23 Jesse Bromwich 50th game
Mahe Fonua NRL debut
Round 25 Gareth Widdop 50th game

Jerseys

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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.

Attendance averages

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[17] Total Matches Average
Home 152,217 12 12,685
Away 180,710 12 15,059
All regular season games 332,927 24 13,872
Finals 128,269 3 42,756
All Games 461,196 27 17,081

Fixtures

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Pre season

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Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
4 February Trial   Easts Tigers Langlands Park, Brisbane Won 36 8 M Fonua (2), Y Tonumaipea (2), W Chambers, S Waqa, R Pooley [3]
11 February Trial   Canberra Raiders Lavington Sports Ground, Albury Lost 18 27 T Lowrie, M McGahan, R Hinchcliffe, R Hoffman L Kelly [18][19][20]
18 February Trial   Brisbane Broncos North Hobart Oval, Hobart Won 34 30 B Slater (2), C Cronk (2), G Widdop, M Fonua C Smith 5/6 [6][21]

Regular season

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Result by round

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Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundAHAHHAHHAA–HAHAA–HHAAHHAHA
ResultWWWWWWWWWLBWWLWLBLLLLWWWWW
Position52211111111111111112332222
Points246810121416181820222424262628282828283032343638
Source: Rugby League Tables
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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Source:[22]

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
3 March 1   Canberra Raiders Canberra Stadium, Canberra Won 24 19 B Slater (2), C Cronk, J O'Neill C Smith 4/4 [23]
11 March 2   South Sydney Rabbitohs AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 24 10 D Nielsen (2), B Slater (2), M Duffie C Smith 2/5 [24]
18 March 3   Gold Coast Titans Skilled Park, Gold Coast Won 30 6 M Duffie (2), B Slater (2), S Manu, A Quinn C Smith 2/5, G Widdop 1/1 [25][26]
24 March 4   Sydney Roosters AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 44 4 B Slater (2), C Cronk (2), D Nielsen, K Proctor, R Hoffman, W Chambers C Smith 5/7, G Widdop 1/1 [27]
31 March 5[i]   Newcastle Knights AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 34 22 G Widdop, M Duffie, R Hoffman, B Slater, W Chambers, T Lowrie C Smith 5/6 [28]
8 April 6   North Queensland Cowboys Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Won 42 18 M Duffie (2), K Proctor (2), W Chambers (2), R Hinchcliffe, J Ryles C Smith 5/8 [29]
14 April 7   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 12 6 R Hinchcliffe, R Hoffman C Smith 2/2 C Cronk 0/1 [30]
25 April 8[ii]   New Zealand Warriors AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 32 14 W Chambers (3), D Nielsen (2), J O'Neill C Smith 4/6 [31]
5 May 9   Penrith Panthers Centrebet Stadium, Sydney Won 44 10 J O'Neill (3), M Duffie, C Cronk, R Hoffman, W Chambers, R Hinchcliffe C Smith 5/7, G Widdop 1/1 [32][33]
13 May 10   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Toyota Stadium, Sydney Lost 10 12 D Nielsen, M Duffie C Smith 1/2 [34]
20 May 11 Bye
25 May 12   Brisbane Broncos AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 34 10 T Lowrie (2), B Slater (2), W Chambers, J O'Neill G Widdop 5/6 [35]
3 June 13   New Zealand Warriors Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Won 22 10 G Widdop, J Lowe, W Chambers, C Smith C Smith 3/5 [36]
8 June 14   Wests Tigers AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost 6 10 D Nielsen G Widdop 1/2 [37]
18 June 15   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval, Sydney Won 26 22 T Lowrie, C Smith, B Norrie, M Duffie C Smith 5/5 [38]
24 June 16   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Virgin Australia Stadium, Mackay Lost 4 20 A Quinn C Smith 0/1 [39]
30 June 17 Bye
7 July 18   Canberra Raiders AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost 12 40 J O'Neill (2) G Widdop 2/2 [40]
14 July 19   North Queensland Cowboys AAMI Park, Melbourne Lost 16 20 M Duffie, A Quinn, G Widdop C Smith 2/3 [41]
21 July 20   Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta Lost 10 16 R Kostjasyn, R Hoffman C Smith 1/2 [42]
27 July 21   St George-Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong Lost 18 26 W Chambers, R Hinchcliffe, K Proctor C Smith 3/3 [43]
4 August 22   Penrith Panthers AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 46 6 C Cronk (2), J O'Neill (2), S Waqa (2), J Bromwich, S Manu C Smith 7/8 [44]
10 August 23   Gold Coast Titans AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 24 16 B Slater, C Cronk, R Hoffman, G Widdop C Smith 4/4 [45]
17 August 24   Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Won 19 18 S Waqa (2), C Cronk C Smith 3/3 C Cronk 1/1 [46]
27 August 25   Cronulla Sharks AAMI Park, Melbourne Won 20 18 R Hoffman (2), S Waqa, W Chambers C Smith 2/4 [47]
1 September 26   Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Won 26 6 R Hoffman, S Manu, B Norrie, K Proctor, S Waqa C Smith 3/5 [48]
Fixture notes:
  1. ^ Heritage Round
  2. ^ ANZAC Day

Finals

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Second qualifying final
Saturday, 8 September
17:45 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm   24 – 6   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Tries: 4
Hoffman   7'
Slater   24'
Fonua   35'
Waqa   46'
Goals: 4
Smith   9', pen 12', 26', 48' (4/5)
 1st: 18–0
2nd: 6–6
Report
 Tries: 1
Pettybourne   72'
Goals: 1
Reynolds   73'
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 19,750
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Jason Robinson


Second preliminary final
Friday, 21 September
19:45 AEST (UTC+10)
Melbourne Storm   40 – 12   Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries: 7
Cronk   5', 44'
Slater   9', 66'
Chambers   19'
J Bromwich   60'
Proctor   76'
Goals: 6
Smith   45', pen 51', 62', 67', pen 73' (5/8)
Widdop   78' (1/1)
 1st: 12–6
2nd: 28–6
Report
 Tries: 2
Lyon   37', 52'
Goals: 2
Lyon   38', 53' (2/2)
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 25,543
Referee: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin
Main article: 2012 NRL Grand Final
2012 NRL Grand Final
Sunday, 30 September
17:00 AEST (UTC+10)
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs   4 – 14   Melbourne Storm
Tries: 1
Perrett   25'
Goals:
Inu (0/1)
 1st: 4–14
2nd: 0–0
Report
 Tries: 3
Hoffman   7'
Slater   32'
O'Neill   39'
Goals: 1
Smith   32' (1/3)


Ladder

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Further information: 2012 NRL season
2012 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 18 0 6 2 568 369 +199 40
2   Melbourne Storm (P) 24 17 0 7 2 579 361 +218 38
3   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 16 0 8 2 559 438 +121 36
4   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 16 0 8 2 497 403 +94 36
5   North Queensland Cowboys 24 15 0 9 2 597 445 +152 34
6   Canberra Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 545 536 +9 30
7   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 12 1 11 2 445 441 +4 29
8   Brisbane Broncos 24 12 0 12 2 481 447 +34 28
9   St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 11 0 13 2 405 438 -33 26
10   Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 506 551 -45 26
11   Gold Coast Titans 24 10 0 14 2 449 477 -28 24
12   Newcastle Knights 24 10 0 14 2 448 488 -40 24
13   Sydney Roosters 24 8 1 15 2 462 626 -164 21
14   New Zealand Warriors 24 8 0 16 2 497 609 -112 20
15   Penrith Panthers 24 8 0 16 2 409 575 -166 20
16   Parramatta Eels 24 6 0 18 2 431 674 -243 16

2012 Coaching Staff

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NRL

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  • Head coach: Craig Bellamy
  • Assistant coaches: David Kidwell & Kevin Walters
  • Development coach: Adam O'Brien
  • Specialist coach: Robbie Kearns
  • Tackling Coach: John Donohue
  • Performance coach: Mick Martin
  • Strength and conditioning Coach: Alex Corvo
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coaches: Adrian Jiminez & Dan Di Pasqua
  • Head physiotherapist: Kieran Morgan
  • Assistant physiotherapist: Andrew Nawrocki
  • Head Trainer: Craig Sultana
  • General Manager Football Operations: Frank Ponissi
  • Recruitment manager: Paul Bunn[49]

NRL Under 20s

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  • Head coach: Dean Pay
  • Assistant coach: Troy Thompson
  • Development coaches: Tony Adam & Chad Buckby
  • High Performance Manager: Chris Jones
  • Physiotherapist: Aaron Howlett
  • Strength and conditioning Coach: Adrian Jiminez[49]

2012 Squad

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Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
Cap Nat. Player name Position First Storm game Previous First Grade RL club [b]
55   Cameron Smith (c) HK 2002   Melbourne Storm
58   Billy Slater FB 2003   Melbourne Storm
62   Ryan Hoffman SR,LK 2003   Melbourne Storm
73   Cooper Cronk HB 2004   Melbourne Storm
91   Anthony Quinn WG,CE 2007   Newcastle Knights
97   Will Chambers CE 2007   Queensland Reds
98   Sika Manu SR 2007   Melbourne Storm
104   Dane Nielsen WG,CE 2008   Melbourne Storm
105   Kevin Proctor SR 2008   Melbourne Storm
110   Ryan Hinchcliffe HK,LK 2009   Canberra Raiders
116   Luke Kelly FE,HB 2009   Melbourne Storm
119   Jesse Bromwich PR 2010   Melbourne Storm
120   Rory Kostjasyn HK,LK 2010   Melbourne Storm
121   Todd Lowrie SR,LK 2010   Parramatta Eels
123   Bryan Norrie PR 2010   Cronulla Sharks
124   Matt Duffie WG,CE 2010   Melbourne Storm
125   Gareth Widdop HB 2010   Melbourne Storm
127   Justin O'Neill WG 2010   Sydney Roosters
130   Jaiman Lowe PR,SR 2011   South Sydney Rabbitohs
134   Maurice Blair WG,CE 2011   Penrith Panthers
136   Sisa Waqa CE,WG 2011   Sydney Roosters
138   Jack Afamasaga PR 2011   Cronulla Sharks
139   Siosaia Vave PR 2012   Cronulla Sharks
140   Jason Ryles PR 2012   Sydney Roosters
141   Michael Greenfield SR,LK 2012   St George Illawarra Dragons
142   Richard Fa'aoso PR,SR 2012   Newcastle Knights
143   Mahe Fonua CE 2012   Melbourne Storm
-   Kirisome Auva'a WG Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Kenny Bromwich PR,LK Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Mitch Garbutt PR,SR Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Slade Griffen HK Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Ben Hampton HB Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Tohu Harris SR Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Matt McGahan HB,FE Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Jordan McLean PR Yet to Debut   Melbourne Storm
-   Shea Moylan WG,FB Yet to Debut   Brisbane Broncos

2012 Premiership Team

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Melbourne Storm
2012 Premiership Team Interchange Coach

Head coach


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)



Player movement

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Representative honours

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Further information: List of Melbourne Storm representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2012.

  • (C) = Captain
Player 2012 All Stars match City Vs Country 2012 ANZAC Test State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Test match[50]
Cooper Cronk NRL All Stars — Australia Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia
Ryan Hoffman — City — — — — Australia
Ryan Hinchcliffe — Country — — — — —
Billy Slater — — Australia Queensland Queensland Australia
Cameron Smith — — Australia (C) Queensland (C) Queensland (C) Queensland (C) Australia (C)
Jesse Bromwich — — New Zealand — — — New Zealand
Dane Nielsen — — — — — Queensland —
Kevin Proctor — — — — — — New Zealand

Statistics

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This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2012 NRL season.

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm records
Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Maurice Blair 4 0 0 0 0
Jesse Bromwich 27 2 0 0 8
Will Chambers 18 13 0 0 52
Cooper Cronk 26 10 0 1 41
Matt Duffie 17 10 0 0 40
Richard Fa'aoso 6 0 0 0 0
Mahe Fonua 4 1 0 0 4
Michael Greenfield 1 0 0 0 0
Ryan Hinchcliffe 27 4 0 0 16
Ryan Hoffman 27 11 0 0 44
Luke Kelly 1 0 0 0 0
Rory Kostjasyn 14 1 0 0 4
Jaiman Lowe 15 1 0 0 4
Todd Lowrie 23 4 0 0 16
Sika Manu 19 3 0 0 12
Dane Nielsen 22 7 0 0 28
Bryan Norrie 25 2 0 0 8
Justin O'Neill 21 11 0 0 44
Kevin Proctor 23 6 0 0 24
Anthony Quinn 20 3 0 0 12
Jason Ryles 22 1 0 0 4
Billy Slater 21 16 0 0 64
Cameron Smith 25 2 78[c] 0 164
Siosaia Vave 14 0 0 0 0
Sisa Waqa 11 7 0 0 28
Gareth Widdop 26 4 12[d] 0 40
26 players used – 119 90 1 657

Scorers

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Most points in a game: 14

  • Round 15 – Cameron Smith (1 try, 5 goals) vs Manly Sea Eagles
  • Round 22 – Cameron Smith (7 goals) vs Penrith Panthers

Most tries in a game: 3

  • Round 8 – Will Chambers vs New Zealand Warriors
  • Round 9 – Justin O'Neill vs Penrith Panthers

Winning games

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Highest score in a winning game: 46 points

  • Round 22 vs Penrith Panthers

Lowest score in a winning game: 12 points

  • Round 7 vs Canterbury Bulldogs

Greatest winning margin: 40 points

  • Round 22 vs Penrith Panthers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 9

  • Round 1 – Round 9

Losing games

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Highest score in a losing game: 18 points

  • Round 21 vs St George Illawarra Dragons

Lowest score in a losing game: 4 points

  • Round 16 vs Canterbury Bulldogs

Greatest losing margin: 28 points

  • Round 18 vs Canberra Raiders

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 5

  • Round 16 – Round 21

NRL Under-20s

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Main article: 2012 NRL Under-20s season

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]

In October, Hampton and Mahe Fonua would be selected for the Junior Kangaroos team that would defeat a Junior Kiwis team that included fellow Storm teammate Tohu Harris.[53]

Ladder

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2012 National Youth Competition season[54]
Pos. Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Canterbury Bulldogs 24 17 1 6 2 774 517 +257 39
2   New Zealand Warriors 24 17 1 6 2 680 516 +164 39
3   Canberra Raiders 24 16 0 8 2 766 599 +167 36
4   Wests Tigers (P) 24 15 0 9 2 666 514 +152 34
5   Penrith Panthers 24 14 1 9 2 694 501 +193 33
6   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 14 1 9 2 734 592 +142 33
7   Sydney Roosters 24 13 2 9 2 694 570 +124 32
8   St. George Illawarra Dragons 24 13 1 10 2 638 553 +85 31
9   Melbourne Storm 24 12 2 10 2 547 556 −9 30
10   Cronulla Sharks 24 11 2 11 2 619 684 −65 28
11   Newcastle Knights 24 10 1 13 2 646 574 +72 25
12   Brisbane Broncos 24 9 0 15 2 629 790 −161 22
13   North Queensland Cowboys 24 7 2 15 2 545 732 −187 20
14   Manly Sea Eagles 24 6 2 16 2 519 811 −292 18
15   Parramatta Eels 24 5 0 19 2 558 814 −256 14
16   Gold Coast Titans 24 5 0 19 2 424 810 −386 14

Statistics

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Source:[53]

Scorers

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Most points in a game: 20 points

  • Round 24 – Jack Joass (1 try, 8 goals) vs Brisbane Broncos

Most tries in a game: 4

  • Round 19 – Kirisome Auva'a vs North Queensland Cowboys

Most points (season): 106

  • Jack Joass (6 tries, 41 goals)

Most tries (season): 19

Feeder clubs

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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]

2012 New South Wales Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
10   Cronulla Sharks 24 12 0 12 2 541 717 -176 28

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]

2012 Queensland Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
6   Easts Tigers 22 13 0 9 621 496 125 26

S. G. Ball Cup

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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]

Awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ Regular season home games only
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Goalkicking percentage 69.03% (78/113)
  4. ^ Goalkicking percentage 80% (12/14)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Middleton, David (ed.). 2012 Official Rugby League Annual. Sydney: NewsLifeMedia.
  2. ^ "Cup clash to honour Bell". South East Advertiser. Mount Gravatt, Queensland: Nationwide News Pty Ltd. p. 63.
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  22. ^ "Rugby League Tables – Melbourne". Retrieved 18 August 2023.
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