2004 Melbourne Storm season

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Template:Infobox rugby league team 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 Kitinas 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

Round Player Milestone
Round 2 Ben MacDougall Storm debut
Round 2 Alex Chan Storm debut
Round 3 Steve Turner Storm debut
Round 6 Danny Williams 200th game
Round 7 David Kidwell 100th game
Round 8 Kirk Reynoldson 50th game
Round 9 Cooper Cronk NRL debut
Round 12 Stephen Kearney 200th game
Round 16 Matt Geyer 150th game
Round 19 Scott Hill 150th game
Round 21 Robbie Kearns 250th game
Round 22 Matt Orford 100th game
Round 22 Rodney Howe 150th game
Round 23 Jeremy Smith NRL debut
Round 26 Andrew McFadden 100th game

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 Template:Flagicon Lebanon Aussie Stadium, Sydney Won 27 22
24 January Rugby League World Sevens File:St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost 10 29
25 January Rugby League World Sevens File:Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Aussie Stadium, Sydney Lost 17 22
Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
14 February Trial File:Western Suburbs colours.svg Tweed Heads Seagulls Noosa District Sports Complex, Tewantin Won 28 14 [5][6]
21 February Trial File:Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba Lost 10 14 M Geyer, S Hill M Geyer (1) [7]
28 February Trial File:Canberra colours.svg 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 File:Newtown colours.svg 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

Result by round

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Matches

Source:[14]

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
13 March 1 Bye
21 March 2 File:Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 26 36 S Hill, F Moala, B Slater, G Turner C Smith 5/5 [15]
28 March 3 File:St. George colours.svg 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 File:Brisbane colours.svg 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 File:Panthers colours.svg 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 File:South Sydney colours.svg 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 File:North Queensland colours.svg 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 File:New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Lost 14 20 S Bell (2), S Hill C Smith 1/3 [21]
8 May 9 File:Cronulla colours.svg 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 File:Parramatta colours.svg 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 File:Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 22 18 C Cronk, S Hill, S Kearney, B MacDougall M Orford 3/4 [24]
29 May 12 File:Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Won 28 18 M Geyer (3), S Hill, B Slater C Smith 4/5 [25]
5 June 13 File:Wests Tigers colours.svg 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 File:South Sydney colours.svg 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 File:New Zealand colours.svg 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 File:Panthers colours.svg 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 File:Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sydney Showground, Sydney Lost 18 25 D Kidwell, B Slater, C Smith M Orford 3/3 [30]
17 July 19 File:Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Lost 18 32 B Slater (2), M Orford M Orford 3/3 [31]
24 July 20 File:Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 22 16 M Orford (3), M King M Orford 3/5 [32]
1 August 21 File:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters Olympic Park, Melbourne Lost 10 26 M King, C Smith M Orford 1/2 [33]
6 August 22 File:St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium, Wollongong Lost 14 34 S Bell, M King, M Orford M Orford 1/3 [34]
15 August 23 File:Canberra colours.svg 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 File:Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Olympic Park, Melbourne Won 22 12 S Bell, S Hill, D Johnson M Orford 5/6 [36]
28 August 25 File:Cronulla colours.svg 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 File:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg 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 Template:Leagueicon 14 – 31
[39]
Template:Leagueicon 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 Template:Leagueicon 43 – 18
[40]
Template:Leagueicon 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

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2004 Coaching Staff

2004 squad

List current as of 20 September 2021[42] Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote".

Cap Template:Efn Nat. Player name Position First Storm Game Previous First Grade RL club Template:Efn
1 Template:Flagicon Robbie Ross FB 1998 Template:Flagicon Hunter Mariners
6 Template:Flagicon Scott Hill FE 1998 Template:Flagicon Hunter Mariners
8 Template:Flagicon Rodney Howe PR 1998 Template:Flagicon Perth Reds
9 Template:Flagicon Danny Williams LK, SR, HK 1998 Template:Flagicon North Sydney Bears
10 Template:Flagicon Robbie Kearns PR 1998 Template:Flagicon Perth Reds
18 Template:Flagicon Matt Geyer WG 1998 Template:Flagicon Perth Reds
28 Template:Flagicon Stephen Kearney SR 1999 Template:Flagicon New Zealand Warriors
34 Template:Flagicon Fifita Moala WG 2000 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
37 Template:Flagicon Glen Turner SR 2000 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
38 Template:Flagicon Peter Robinson SR 2000 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
43 Template:Flagicon Matt Orford HB 2001 Template:Flagicon Northern Eagles
44 Template:Flagicon Steven Bell CE 2001 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
55 Template:Flagicon Cameron Smith HK 2002 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
56 Template:Flagicon Kirk Reynoldson SR 2002 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
58 Template:Flagicon Billy Slater FB 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
59 Template:Flagicon David Kidwell SR 2003 Template:Flagicon Sydney Roosters
60 Template:Flagicon Dallas Johnson LK 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
61 Template:Flagicon Jake Webster WG 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
62 Template:Flagicon Ryan Hoffman SR 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
63 Template:Flagicon Andrew McFadden HB 2003 Template:Flagicon Parramatta Eels
64 Template:Flagicon Robert Tanielu PR 2003 Template:Flagicon Brisbane Broncos
66 Template:Flagicon Dustin Cooper WG 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
67 Template:Flagicon Nathan Friend HK 2003 Template:Flagicon Brisbane Broncos
68 Template:Flagicon Antonio Kaufusi PR 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
69 Template:Flagicon Matt King CE 2003 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
70 Template:Flagicon Ben MacDougall CE 2004 Template:Flagicon Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
71 Template:Flagicon Alex Chan PR 2004 Template:Flagicon Parramatta Eels
72 Template:Flagicon Steve Turner WG 2004 Template:Flagicon Penrith Panthers
75 Template:Flagicon Cooper Cronk HB 2004 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
76 Template:Flagicon Jeremy Smith SR 2004 Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm
Template:Flagicon Luke Dyer CE Yet to debut Template:Flagicon Penrith PanthersTemplate:Efn
Template:Flagicon Sione Finefeuiaki PR Yet to debut Template:Flagicon Melbourne Storm

Player movements

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Representative honours

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

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Player 2004 ANZAC Test City vs Country Origin State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Tri-NationsTemplate:Efn
Scott Hill Country Australia
Stephen Kearney New Zealand
David Kidwell New Zealand New Zealand
Matt King Country
Matt Orford City
Billy Slater Queensland Queensland Queensland
Cameron Smith Queensland Queensland Queensland

Statistics

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

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Name Appearances Tries Goals Field goals Points
Script error: No such module "Sort". 24 18 0 0 72
Script error: No such module "Sort". 18 2 0 0 8
Script error: No such module "Sort". 13 8 2 0 36
Script error: No such module "Sort". 13 4 0 0 16
Script error: No such module "Sort". 3 0 0 0 0
Script error: No such module "Sort". 21 8 0 0 32
Script error: No such module "Sort". 24 10 0 0 40
Script error: No such module "Sort". 20 2 0 0 8
Script error: No such module "Sort". 23 0 0 0 0
Script error: No such module "Sort". 19 5 0 0 20
Script error: No such module "Sort". 6 0 0 0 0
Script error: No such module "Sort". 24 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 22 2 0 0 8
Script error: No such module "Sort". 26 7 0 0 28
Script error: No such module "Sort". 20 15 0 0 60
Script error: No such module "Sort". 2 0 0 0 0
Script error: No such module "Sort". 22 7 0 0 28
Script error: No such module "Sort". 1 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 25 10 56 1 153
Script error: No such module "Sort". 20 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 6 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 22 14 0 0 56
Script error: No such module "Sort". 23 4 43 0 102
Script error: No such module "Sort". 2 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 3 0 0 0 0
Script error: No such module "Sort". 10 1 0 0 4
Script error: No such module "Sort". 7 5 0 0 20
Script error: No such module "Sort". 6 3 0 0 12
Script error: No such module "Sort". 17 2 1 0 10
29 players used 132 102 1 733

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]

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

Awards and honours

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

Dally M Awards Night

Notes

Template:Noteslist

References

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  39. NRL 2004 - Qualifying Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  40. NRL 2004 - Semi Final. Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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