2003 Melbourne Storm season
The 2003 Melbourne Storm season was the 6th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 5th out of 15 teams, before reaching the semi-final where they were knocked out by Bulldogs RLFC. It was Craig Bellamy's first season as head coach of the club. [1]
| 2003 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 5th | |||
| Play-off result | Semi Final Loss | |||
| 2003 record | Wins: 15; Draws: 0; Losses: 9 | |||
| Points scored | For: 564; Against: 486 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | John Ribot | |||
| Coach | Craig Bellamy | |||
| Captain |
| |||
| Stadium | Olympic Park Stadium | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Billy Slater (19) | |||
| Goals | Matt Orford (74) | |||
| Points | Matt Orford (180) | |||
| ||||
Under new coach Craig Bellamy, the 2003 season for the Storm was one of regaining premiership credibility. Melbourne reached the finals for the first time since 2000 with evergreen Robbie Kearns and a confident Matt Orford showing the way.
A disappointing exit two weeks before the Grand Final was tempered by the rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith gave splendid service to Orford and his forwards. He was rewarded with a place in the Maroons Origin side and was unlucky to miss the Kangaroos train-on squad.
The silky - and pacy - moves of Slater in the centres and at fullback were attention getters for fans and keen judges of football talent alike. His debut season for the Storm realised a record 19 tries and talk of a big future in the game. [2]
Fixtures
Regular season
Finals
| Round | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Final | Canberra Raiders | Win | 30 | 18 | Sep 12 | Bruce Stadium |
| Semi Final | Bulldogs RLFC | Loss | 0 | 30 | Sep 21 | SFS |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Penrith |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 659 | 527 | +132 | 40 |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 680 | 445 | +235 | 38 |
| 3 |  Bulldogs |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 702 | 419 | +283 | 36 |
| 4 |  Canberra |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 620 | 463 | +157 | 36 |
| 5 |  Melbourne |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 564 | 486 | +78 | 34 |
| 6 |  New Zealand |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 34 |
| 7 |  Newcastle |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 632 | 635 | -3 | 32 |
| 8 |  Brisbane |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 497 | 464 | +33 | 28 |
| 9 |  Parramatta |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 570 | 582 | -12 | 26 |
| 10 |  St George Illawarra |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 548 | 593 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 |  North Queensland |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 606 | 629 | -23 | 24 |
| 12 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 704 | -207 | 20 |
| 13 |  Wests Tigers |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 598 | -128 | 18 |
| 14 |  Manly-Warringah |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 791 | -321 | 18 |
| 15 |  South Sydney |
24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 457 | 758 | -301 | 10 |
2003 squad
| Cap | Nat. | Player name | Position | First Storm Game | Previous First Grade RL club (a) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Awards and honours
- Player of the year: Robbie Kearns[4]
- Rookie of the year: Cameron Smith
- Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Matt King
- Melbourne Storm Clubman of the Year: Marcus Bai
- Mick Moore Chairmans Award of the Year: Danny Williams
References
- http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne2003_sc.html
- "Melbourne Storm History". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#2003
- "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.