2004 Melbourne Storm season

The 2004 Melbourne Storm season was the 7th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2004 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 6th out of 15 teams.

Inconsistency plagued Storm in Craig Bellamy’s second season in charge, but the team won four games in a row during the middle part of the year to move into the top four. They could not maintain their run though, eventually finishing sixth. Once again Storm won its first final, a 31-14 triumph over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium before bowing out to the Bulldogs for the second straight season the following week. John Ribot departed the club early in the 2004 season with Frank Stanton stepping in as acting CEO for the next 12 months.^[1]

Season Summary

• World Sevens – Storm avenge their 2003 loss to Lebanon in the Rugby League World Sevens, but fail to progress out of Pool C.
• 4 March – In the wake of the Coffs Harbour scandal overshadowing the start of the 2004 NRL season, reports emerge two Melbourne players are being accused of sexual assault, claims which are later ruled unfounded.
• 7 March – With a forthcoming bye in Round 1, Melbourne play foundation NSWRL club Newtown Jets in an extra trial match at Henson Park.
• 12 March – Club founder John Ribot resigns as executive director of the club. Ribot later sells his remaining shares in the club to News Limited. Ribot and News are forced to deny the decision was connected to Ribot's handling of allegations against two Melbourne players.^[2] Frank Stanton is appointed interim CEO of the club.
• 17 March – Coach Craig Bellamy agrees to a new contract to coach Melbourne until the end of 2007.
• Round 2 – Despite leading 14-10 at half time, Melbourne lose their first game for the season at home to Newcastle Knights.
• 28 April – Melbourne is found by the NRL to have exceeded the competition's salary cap in 2003 and are fined $130,956.^[2]
• Round 6 – Celebrating his 200th NRL game, Danny Williams scores two tries and adds a late conversion to bring up a 50-4 win over South Sydney Rabbitohs.
• Round 8 – Referee Tony Archer awards New Zealand Warriors goalkicker Sione Faumuina a second shot at goal after Melbourne captain Stephen Kearney deliberately threw a water bottle in his line of vision. The Warriors regain the Michael Moore Trophy with a 20-14 win in Auckland.^[2]
• 13 May – Outspoken Parramatta Eels CEO Denis Fitzgerald declares that Melbourne Storm be disbanded and forced to relocate to the Gold Coast, saying "promoting rugby league in Melbourne is akin to promoting beach volleyball in Iceland."^[2][3]
• Round 12 – Melbourne win their first ever game at EnergyAustralia Stadium, beating the Newcastle Knights 28-16. The club had previously lost six straight games at the venue.
• Round 14 – Despite reaching a 16-0 lead, Melbourne lose 28-26 to South Sydney Rabbitohs in Souths' caretaker coach Arthur Kitinis first game in charge.
• Round 16 – In a night of milestones with the club celebrating Robbie Kearns (250 games), Matt Geyer (150 games, 144 games for Melbourne to equal Marcus Bai's record); Storm thrash Warriors 42-6 to take back the Michael Moore Trophy.
• Round 17 – Melbourne blitz Penrith Panthers 66-14, setting new club records for the highest score and record winning margin at Olympic Park. Matt Orford scored a new club record 11 goals from 12 attempts.^[2]
• 14 July – Club captain Stephen Kearney announces he will be leaving Melbourne at the end of the season to finish his career with Super League club Hull F.C.^[2]
• Round 19 – Danny Williams is sent off for king-hitting Wests Tigers forward Mark O'Neill. O'Neill is cited and later found guilty of a careless high tackle on Williams, but receives no suspension. After the NRL judiciary hearing is adjourned for two weeks after evidence is introduced claiming Williams was suffering "post-traumatic amnesia", he receives a 18-match suspension, the longest suspension handed down in over a decade.^[2]
• Round 20 – Scoring 18 points (3 tries, 3 goals) himself, a controversial last second Matt Orford try hands Melbourne a 22-16 win against Parramatta. Eels coach Brian Smith furious with video referee Chris Ward to award the Orford try, calling the decision "disgusting".^[2]
• Round 23 – Jeremy Smith makes his NRL debut, scoring a try with his first touch of the ball. Smith is the first former Melbourne Storm junior to play with the club.
• Round 24 – In their last game at Olympic Park, Rodney Howe and Stephen Kearney lead Melbourne to a 22-12 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the club's first win against that club since 2000.^[4]
• September 13 – News Limited appoint former St Kilda CEO Brian Waldron as the club's new CEO.^[2]
• Round 26 – Secure in sixth position on the NRL ladder, Craig Bellamy rests a number of players from the club's final regular season game against Manly. Melbourne lose 30-28 with Bellamy expressing his anger at match referee Steve Lyons and video referee Paul Simpkins over a number of contentious decisions.
• September 7 – With 23 points, Matt Orford finishes in a tied for third in the 2004 Dally M Medal count, four points behind winner Danny Buderus.
• Qualifying Final – Down 8-0 at half time, Melbourne stun the Brisbane Broncos in a pulsating second half, winning 31-14 at Suncorp Stadium. Matt Orford also kicks the first field goal for Melbourne in over five years.
• Semi Final – For the second straight season, Melbourne are eliminated from the NRL finals by the Bulldogs, this time going down 43-18 at Aussie Stadium. Down 16-0 early, Melbourne were never really in the match, in what was former captain Rodney Howe's last game of rugby league.

Milestone games

Jerseys

Melbourne's jerseys were unchanged from the designs implemented by Canterbury of New Zealand in 2003. The club's clash colours were again a mostly white design with a purple chevron and gold thunderbolts, worn with navy shorts. Honda finished up as sponsor at the end of 2003, and there was no sleeve sponsor for 2004.

Fixtures

Pre Season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Source
24 January	Rugby League World Sevens	Lebanon	Aussie Stadium, Sydney	Won	27	22
24 January	Rugby League World Sevens	St George Illawarra Dragons	Aussie Stadium, Sydney	Lost	10	29
25 January	Rugby League World Sevens	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Aussie Stadium, Sydney	Lost	17	22

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
14 February	Trial	Tweed Heads Seagulls	Noosa District Sports Complex, Tewantin	Won	28	14	—	—		[5][6]
21 February	Trial	Brisbane Broncos	Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba	Lost	10	14	M Geyer, S Hill	M Geyer (1)		[7]
28 February	Trial	Canberra Raiders	Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga Wagga	Lost	20	30	G Turner, F Moala, M King, B Slater	C Smith (2)		[8][9][10]
7 March	Trial	Newtown Jets	Henson Park, Sydney	Won	54	0	S Turner (3), F Moala (2), M King (2), B Slater, P Robinson, K Reynoldson	C Smith (5), M Geyer		[11][12][13]

Regular season

Source:^[14]

• (g.p.) – Golden Point extra time
• (pen) – Penalty try

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Tries	Goals	Field goals	Ref
13 March	1	Bye
21 March	2	Newcastle Knights	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	26	36	S Hill, F Moala, B Slater, G Turner	C Smith 5/5		[15]
28 March	3	St George Illawarra Dragons	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	34	6	S Turner (2), D Cooper, M King, B MacDougall, M Orford	C Smith 4/7, D Cooper 1/1		[16]
4 April	4	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Lost	26	34	M King (2), S Hill, R Hoffman, B Slater	C Smith 3/5, M Orford 0/1		[17]
11 April	5	Penrith Panthers	Penrith Park, Sydney	Lost	26	30	M King (2), D Cooper, M Orford, P Robinson	C Smith 3/5		[18]
17 April	6	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	50	4	J Webster (3), D Williams (2), D Cooper, D Kidwell, M Orford, C Smith	C Smith 5/6, M Orford 1/1, D Williams 1/1, D Cooper 1/1		[19]
24 April	7	North Queensland Cowboys	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	28	6	S Bell, M Geyer, D Johnson, K Reynoldson, B Slater	C Smith 3/5, M Orford 1/1		[20]
2 May	8	New Zealand Warriors	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Lost	14	20	S Bell (2), S Hill	C Smith 1/3		[21]
8 May	9	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	26	36	S Bell (2), D Cooper (2), B Slater	C Smith 3/5		[22]
16 May	10	Parramatta Eels	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	Won	36	16	D Cooper (2), S Bell, D Johnson, R Kearns, C Smith	C Smith 6/8		[23]
22 May	11	Canberra Raiders	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	22	18	C Cronk, S Hill, S Kearney, B MacDougall	M Orford 3/4		[24]
29 May	12	Newcastle Knights	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle	Won	28	18	M Geyer (3), S Hill, B Slater	C Smith 4/5		[25]
5 June	13	Wests Tigers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	30	24	S Bell, D Johnson, R Kearns, D Kidwell, B Slater	M Orford 3/4, C Smith 2/3		[26]
12 June	14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Aussie Stadium, Sydney	Lost	26	28	A Chan (2), S Bell, D Cooper, D Kidwell	M Orford 3/5		[27]
19 June	15	Bye
26 June	16	New Zealand Warriors	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	42	6	M King (3), B MacDougall (2), S Bell, D Kidwell, B Slater	M Orford 4/7, D Cooper 1/1		[28]
2 July	17	Penrith Panthers	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	66	14	S Turner (3), C Cronk (2), M King (2), S Hill, R Hoffman, D Kidwell, B MacDougall	M Orford 11/12		[29]
11 July	18	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Sydney Showground, Sydney	Lost	18	25	D Kidwell, B Slater, C Smith	M Orford 3/3		[30]
17 July	19	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	Lost	18	32	B Slater (2), M Orford	M Orford 3/3		[31]
24 July	20	Parramatta Eels	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	22	16	M Orford (3), M King	M Orford 3/5		[32]
1 August	21	Sydney Roosters	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Lost	10	26	M King, C Smith	M Orford 1/2		[33]
6 August	22	St George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	Lost	14	34	S Bell, M King, M Orford	M Orford 1/3		[34]
15 August	23	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Stadium, Canberra	Won	36	18	S Bell, M Geyer, M King, B MacDougall, M Orford, B Slater, J Smith	M Orford 4/7		[35]
22 August	24	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Olympic Park, Melbourne	Won	22	12	S Bell, S Hill, D Johnson	M Orford 5/6		[36]
28 August	25	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Toyota Park, Sydney	Won	36	28	M Geyer (2), S Bell, D Johnson, D Kidwell, B MacDougall, B Slater	M Orford 4/7, S Kearney 0/1		[37]
5 September	26	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval, Sydney	Lost	28	30	S Bell (2), S Hill (2), C Cronk	C Smith 4/5		[38]

Finals

Qualifying final 11 September 2004

Brisbane Broncos	14 - 31 [39]	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Tonie Carroll Brent Tate Goals: Darren Lockyer 3/3		Tries: Steven Bell Matt Geyer Scott Hill Matt King Matt Orford Billy Slater Goals: Matt Orford 3/6 Field Goal: Matt Orford

Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 31,100 Referee: Steve Clark

Semi final 19 September 2004

Bulldogs	43 - 18 [40]	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Johnathan Thurston (2) Hazem El Masri Luke Patten Adam Perry Andrew Ryan Willie Tonga Goals: Hazem El Masri 7/8 Field Goal: Brent Sherwin		Tries: Steven Bell (2) Billy Slater Goals Matt Orford 3/3

Aussie Stadium Attendance: 23,750 Referee: Paul Simpkins

Ladder

2004 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Sydney Roosters	24	19	0	5	2	710	368	+342	42
2	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (P)	24	19	0	5	2	760	491	+269	42
3	Brisbane Broncos	24	16	1	7	2	602	533	+69	37
4	Penrith Panthers	24	15	0	9	2	672	567	+105	34
5	St George Illawarra Dragons	24	14	0	10	2	624	415	+209	32
6	Melbourne Storm	24	13	0	11	2	684	517	+167	30
7	North Queensland Cowboys	24	12	1	11	2	526	514	+12	29
8	Canberra Raiders	24	11	0	13	2	554	613	−59	26
9	Wests Tigers	24	10	0	14	2	509	534	−25	24
10	Newcastle Knights	24	10	0	14	2	516	617	−101	24
11	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	10	0	14	2	528	645	−117	24
12	Parramatta Eels	24	9	0	15	2	517	626	−109	22
13	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	9	0	15	2	615	754	−139	22
14	New Zealand Warriors	24	6	0	18	2	427	693	−266	16
15	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	5	2	17	2	455	812	−357	16

2004 Coaching Staff

• Head coach: Craig Bellamy
• Assistant coaches: Dean Lance & Peter Sharp^[41]
• Football Manager: Greg Brentnall
• Physical Preparation Coach: Alex Corvo
• Physiotherapist: Matt Natusch
• Head Trainer: Troy Thompson

2004 squad

List current as of 20 September 2021^[42]

Cap [a]	Nat.	Player name	Position	First Storm Game	Previous First Grade RL club [b]
1		Robbie Ross	FB	1998	Hunter Mariners
6		Scott Hill	FE	1998	Hunter Mariners
8		Rodney Howe	PR	1998	Perth Reds
9		Danny Williams	LK, SR, HK	1998	North Sydney Bears
10		Robbie Kearns	PR	1998	Perth Reds
18		Matt Geyer	WG	1998	Perth Reds
28		Stephen Kearney	SR	1999	New Zealand Warriors
34		Fifita Moala	WG	2000	Melbourne Storm
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	HK	2002	Melbourne Storm
56		Kirk Reynoldson	SR	2002	Melbourne Storm
58		Billy Slater	FB	2003	Melbourne Storm
59		David Kidwell	SR	2003	Sydney Roosters
60		Dallas Johnson	LK	2003	Melbourne Storm
61		Jake Webster	WG	2003	Melbourne Storm
62		Ryan Hoffman	SR	2003	Melbourne Storm
63		Andrew McFadden	HB	2003	Parramatta Eels
64		Robert Tanielu	PR	2003	Brisbane Broncos
66		Dustin Cooper	WG	2003	Melbourne Storm
67		Nathan Friend	HK	2003	Brisbane Broncos
68		Antonio Kaufusi	PR	2003	Melbourne Storm
69		Matt King	CE	2003	Melbourne Storm
70		Ben MacDougall	CE	2004	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
71		Alex Chan	PR	2004	Parramatta Eels
72		Steve Turner	WG	2004	Penrith Panthers
75		Cooper Cronk	HB	2004	Melbourne Storm
76		Jeremy Smith	SR	2004	Melbourne Storm
–		Luke Dyer	CE	Yet to debut	Penrith Panthers[c]
–		Sione Finefeuiaki	PR	Yet to debut	Melbourne Storm

Player movements

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2004.

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2004 NRL season.

• Statistics sources:^[43][44]

Scorers

Most points in a game: 22 points

• Round 17 - Matt Orford (11 goals) vs Penrith Panthers

Most tries in a game: 3

• Round 6 - Jake Webster vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
• Round 12 - Matt Geyer vs Newcastle Knights
• Round 17 - Steve Turner vs Penrith Panthers
• Round 20 - Matt Orford vs Parramatta Eels
• Round 23 - Matt King vs New Zealand Warriors

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 66 points

• Round 17 vs Penrith Panthers

Lowest score in a winning game: 22 points

• Round 11 vs Canberra Raiders
• Round 20 vs Parramatta Eels

Greatest winning margin: 52 points

• Round 17 vs Penrith Panthers

Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4

• Round 10 - Round 13

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 28 points

• Round 26 vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Lowest score in a losing game: 10 points

• Round 21 vs Sydney Roosters

Greatest losing margin: 25 points

• Semi Final vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

• Round 4 - Round 5
• Round 8 - Round 9
• Round 18 - Round 19
• Round 21 - Round 22

Feeder Team

Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Coached for a second season by Gary Greinke, Norths returned to the finals, finishing second in the regular season behind eventual premiers Burleigh Bears. However, the Devils were bundled out of the finals in straight sets. Melbourne Storm rookie Jeremy Smith won the Devils Player of the Year Award.

During the season, Greg Inglis made his first grade debut as a 17-year-old, scoring two tries. Inglis would play six Queensland Cup games for the season, scoring eight tries, also representing Queensland in underage representative games.^[45]

2004 Queensland Cup
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
2	Norths Devils	22	15	1	6	789	503	+286	31

Awards and honours

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

• Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Matt Orford^[46]
• Greg Brentnall Trophy (Coterie Award): Matt Orford
• Rookie of the Year: Matt King
• Clubman of the Year: Rodney Howe
• Mick Moore Chairman's Award: Stephen Kearney^[47]

Dally M Awards Night

• Peter Frilingos Memorial Award: Billy Slater

Notes

References

This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 10:10