Season summary
- Round 1 – A field goal in the fourth minute of golden point extra time by Greg Inglis gives Melbourne a thrilling 17–16 win over St George Illawarra Dragons in the 2009 season opening game at Olympic Park. The game was the first played under the NRL's dual-referee system.[2]
- Round 2 – A try by former Storm player Israel Folau and a highly controversial try by Peter Wallace hands Brisbane Broncos a 16–14 win over Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium. It is the Broncos first win over Melbourne since the 2006 NRL Grand Final.[2]
- 14 April – After being informed that he was not fit into their long-term plans, Parramatta Eels' halfback Brett Finch signs with Melbourne, joining the club for the remainder of the 2009 season.[2]
- Round 7 – Hosting a match on ANZAC Day for just the second time, Melbourne drew 14–14 against New Zealand Warriors in wet and slippery conditions at Olympic Park. Warriors fullback Lance Hohaia looked to have broken the deadlock with less than a minute left in golden point extra time, before the video referee disallowed his successful field goal attempt due to a knock-on in the lead up from Stacey Jones. The drawn result was the club's first since the institution of golden point in 2003.[3]
- Round 8 – Melbourne exact a small amount of revenge on Manly with a 22–8 win at Brookvale Oval in their first rematch since the 2008 NRL Grand Final.[2]
- Round 9 – With eight players backing up from the midseason test only three nights earlier, regular captain Cameron Smith starts from the bench, with Cooper Cronk taking over as acting captain. Melbourne defeat Sydney Roosters 28–12 in front of a small crowd at Gosford.[2]
- 13 May – Part-time specialist coach Matthew Johns indefinitely parted ways with the club following his involvement in a sex scandal.[4]
- Round 10 – Melbourne claim their 14th-straight win over Canberra Raiders, winning 46–6, their greatest winning margin over the Raiders.[2]
- Round 13 – Two days after the opening State of Origin match, Melbourne thrash Brisbane 48–4 at Olympic Park, with Joe Tomane scoring 24 points (three tries, six goals).[2]
- Round 14 – Melbourne returned to Perth for the first time since 1999, defeating South Sydney Rabbitohs 28–22 at Members Equity Stadium.
- Round 15 – Dane Nielsen becomes the first player sent off for the season, after a high tackle on Wests Tigers winger Beau Ryan. With only a few minutes remaining after Nielsen's dismissal, Melbourne hold on to win 14–12.[2]
- Round 16 – Canberra defeat Melbourne 26–16 at Canberra Stadium, to win their first game against Storm since 2002.
- 30 July – Brett Finch signs a one-year deal to stay with Melbourne in 2010.[2]
- 7 August – Melbourne announce that they will end their feeder club arrangement with Central Coast Storm and establish their own team in the NSW Cup in 2010.[2][5]
- 10 August – Greg Inglis is charged by police for assaulting his girlfriend Sally Robinson. He is immediately stood-down by Melbourne, with club sponsor ME Bank reportedly reviewing their position with the club.[2]
- 27 August – The Melbourne Storm board allow Greg Inglis to resume playing, despite still facing assault charges.[2]
- Round 25 – In the club's last game at Olympic Park, the return of Greg Inglis sparked Melbourne to a 38–4 win over Sydney Roosters, ending a two-game losing streak. Melbourne finish with 104 wins from 136 games at Olympic Park, an imposing 76.5 winning percentage.[2]
- Round 26 – Melbourne book a top-four finish, with an impressive 30–0 win over New Zealand Warriors to regain the Michael Moore Trophy.
- Qualifying Final – Returning to Etihad Stadium, Melbourne thrash Manly 40-12 led by four tries from Billy Slater. The win, coupled with upsets in the other qualifying finals earns Melbourne a week off and a preliminary final in Melbourne.
- Preliminary Final – Held on the night of the 2009 AFL Grand Final, a crowd of 27,687 watches Melbourne demolish Brisbane 40–10 to make their fourth successive Grand Final. A hat-trick of tries to Greg Inglis helping Melbourne end Brisbane's season in disappointment for the third year in a row.[2]
- Grand Final – Melbourne Storm win their 3rd Grand Final in their 11-year history, beating the Parramatta Eels 23–16 at ANZ Stadium in front of crowd of 82,538. Billy Slater is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, as Melbourne lead all night withstanding a late Parramatta comeback.
- 12 November – Salary cap pressure forces Melbourne to bid farewell to Dallas Johnson who subsequently signs with Catalans Dragons on a three-year deal.[2]
Milestone games
| Round | Player | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Willie Isa | Storm debut |
| Ryan Hinchcliffe | Storm debut | |
| Wairangi Koopu | Storm debut | |
| Round 5 | James Maloney | NRL debut |
| Matthew Cross | Storm debut | |
| Round 6 | Cameron Smith | 150th game |
| Round 7 | Brett Finch | Storm debut |
| Round 15 | Brett White | 100th game |
| Round 19 | Luke Kelly | NRL debut |
| Round 20 | Hep Cahill | NRL debut |
| Round 22 | Billy Slater | 150th game |
| Dallas Johnson | 150th game | |
| Steve Turner | 100th NRL game | |
| Round 23 | Matthew Cross | 50th NRL game |
| Round 24 | Ryan Tandy | Storm debut |
| Round 25 | Ryan Hoffman | 150th game |
| Preliminary Final | Billy Slater | 100th NRL try |
Jerseys
New apparel supplier KooGa kept the same home and clash jersey design as worn in 2008. ME Bank replaced Medibank as the main jersey advertiser, with all other advertisers continuing their sponsorships from 2008.
In Round 10 against Canberra, Melbourne wore a heritage jersey based on the design of the 2001-02 clash jersey, featuring purple with silver thunderbolts. This would be the first time the club had worn an away or clash jersey at Olympic Park.
