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. 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

Jersey

In 2012 the Storm jerseys were made by Kooga. Both the predominantly purple 'home' jersey, and the predominantly white 'away' jersey for 2012 were first instituted by the club in 2010.

Special jerseys

• Round 5 (NRL Heritage round): replica of the original 1998 jersey.
• Round 12 (vs the Brisbane Broncos): a special silver V with purple camouflage jersey.^[12] A similar jersey was worn in the same game in 2011.
• Round 19 (vs the North Queensland Cowboys): 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]
• Round 22 (vs the Penrith Panthers): the "Close the Gap" jersey.^[14] "Close the Gap" is an Oxfam initiative to influence Australian government healthcare and Indigenous policies with an aim to achieve health equality for Indigenous Australians by 2030.^[15] The NRL began supporting this campaign with a "Close the Gap Round" in 2010.^[16]

Statistics

Statistics source:^[17] Statistics current following the Grand Final.

Most points in a game: 14

• Cameron Smith with 1 try and 5 goals vs Manly in Round 15 (18 June 2012).
• Cameron Smith with 7 goals vs Penrith in Round 22 (4 August 2012).

Most tries in a game: 3

• Will Chambers vs New Zealand in Round 8 (25 April 2012).
• Justin O'Neill vs Penrith in Round 9 (5 May 2012).

Fixtures

Pre season

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

Source:^[22]

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

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]

Finals

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

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)

ANZ Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 82,976 Referees: Tony Archer, Ben Cummins Clive Churchill Medal: Cooper Cronk (Melbourne)

Ladder

2012 NRL season v t e 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

NRL

• 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

• 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

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

2012 player movement

2012 squad signings

2012 squad transfers

Representative honours

The following players have played a representative match in 2012. (C) = Captain

Awards