2011 Melbourne Storm season

The 2011 Melbourne Storm season was the 14th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in first place, taking out the minor premiership. They then came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by the New Zealand Warriors at AAMI Park before a ground record crowd.

Jersey and Sponsors

In 2011 the Storm jerseys were made by Kooga. They retained their predominantly purple home jersey from 2010 and also their predoninantly white away jersey from 2010.

Special Jerseys

For the NRL Heritage round, (Round 5), the Storm wore a replica of their original 1998 jersey.
In Round 20 the Storm wore a special "Platinum" jersey against the Brisbane Broncos.^[1]

On 4 February 2011 Crown Casino was named the naming rights sponsor of the Storm in 2011^[2] and chest sponsor on the jersey. Suzuki is also continuing as major sponsors as well with their name appearing on the sleeves. There is no sponsorship on the back of the jersey.^[3] Makita also announced a continuation of their sponsorship and their name will continue to appear on the shorts.^[4]

Season summary

The Storm played 9 of their first 13 games at AAMI Park.
The Storm's 2011 season and revival commenced with their Round 1 clash with bitter rivals, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, and Melbourne won 18-6.
In Round 5 the Storm played the Parramatta Eels where their original 1998 jersey was worn by the players. This match had extra significance because it was the first time that coaches Craig Bellamy and Stephen Kearney faced off since Kearney departed the Storm as assistant at the end of 2010, to take on the Eels senior position. The Storm won convincingly, 38-0, for their first win over Parramatta since the 2009 Grand Final.
The Anzac Day clash saw one of the Storm's largest home crowds with just over 22,000 attending the match, but the match was lost to the New Zealand Warriors by a narrow scoreline of 18-14.
In Round 12 the Storm hosted the Cronulla Sharks at AAMI Park, in what was Cameron Smith's 200th NRL Game. The storm won 14-8 after a scoreless first half.
In Round 19 the Storm traveled to Canberra Stadium to take on the Raiders. The Storm won 26-0; the scoreline was significant because it marked the first time in the Raiders history that they had been held scoreless on their own home ground.^[5]
In Round 20 the Storm hosted the Brisbane Broncos at AAMI Park almost 23,000 spectators attended the match which the Storm won 26 - 6. Cameron Smith notched up his 500th goal during this match, also the team wore a special jersey which was mostly Navy blue with a large grey and white V on the front, it also had the word "Melbourne" printed across the upper back. This jersey was to symbolise Victoria following the City of Melbourne's sponsorship of the match.
Round 21 saw the Storm stage a remarkable win away at Parramatta Stadium by coming back from 18 - 0 down at the 54 minute mark to win 22 - 18.
In Round 24 the Storm broke their winning streak record defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 8-6 to win their 12th consecutive match. They also had their highest home crowd of the season and their 4th highest home crowd of all time, with 24,081 watching the match. Billy Slater also played his 200th game.
The Melbourne Storm completed the regular season in first place winning the minor premiership.
Billy Slater was crowned Dally M Player of the Year at the Dally M Awards on 6 September 2011. Craig Bellamy also won coach of the year and Cameron Smith won the Representative player of the year award.
The Storm qualified for the 2011 NRL finals series and played the Newcastle Knights in Week 1, winning 18-8. This win gave them a one week break and a home Preliminary Final against the New Zealand Warriors. The Storm lost this final 20-12 ending their season.

Melbourne Storm 2011 season crowd averages

^[6]

	Total Crowd	Total Games	Crowd Average
Home	170,932	12	14,244
Away	172,966	12	14,414
All regular season games	343,898	24	14,329
Finals	43,415	2	21,707
All Games	387,313	26	14,897

Fixtures

Regular season - Rounds 1 to 12

Round 1
12 March 2011
7:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	18 - 6	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Tries: Stanley, Duffie, Nielson Goals: Smith 2/2 Field Goal		Tries: Robertson Goals: Lyon Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 14,631
Referee/s: Matt Cecchin, Gavin Reynolds Report:^[7]

Round 2
19 March 2011
5:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	40 - 12	Gold Coast Titans
Tries:Slater (2), Quinn, Manu, Smith, O'Neill, Cronk Goals: Smith 6/7 Field Goal		Tries: Capewell, Zillman Goals: Prince 2/2 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 12,391
Referee/s: Adam Devcich, Ashley Klein Report:^[8]

Round 3
28 March 2011
6:00pm Local

North Queensland Cowboys	34 - 6	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Graham (2), Bowen (2), Sims, Tupou Goals: Thurston 5/6 Field Goal		Tries: Widdop Goals: Smith Field Goal

Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 9,554
Referee/s: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall Report:^[9]

Round 4
4 April 2011
7:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	30 - 16	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Tries: Duffie (2), Proctor, Neilsen, Bromwich Goals: Smith 5/6 Field Goal		Tries: Turner, Ryan, Keating Goals: Goodwin 2/3 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 11,592
Referee/s: Shayne Hayne, Gerard Sutton Report:^[10]

Round 5
(Heritage Round)
10 April 2011
2:00pm local

Melbourne Storm	38 - 0	Parramatta Eels
Tries: Champion (2), Cronk, Slater, Blair, Quinn, Duffie Goals: Smith 4/6, Widdop 1/1 Field Goal		Tries: Goals: Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 11,805
Referee/s: Tony Archer , Alan Shortall Report:^[11]

Round 6
17 April 2011
3:00pm local

Penrith Panthers	10 - 25	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Earl, Tahu Goals: Gordon 1/2 Field Goal:		Tries: Cronk, Norrie, Slater, Duffie Goals: Smith 4/5 Field Goal: Cronk 1/1

Centrebet Stadium, Penrith
Attendance: 11,137
Referee/s: Ben Cummins , Chris James Report:^[12]

Round 7
(ANZAC Day/Easter)
25 April 2011
7:00pm local

Melbourne Storm	14 - 18	New Zealand Warriors
Tries: Champion, Cronk Goals: Smith 3/3 Field Goal		Tries: Inu, Lillyman, Luck Goals: Maloney 3/4 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 22,694
Referee/s: Shayne Hayne, Gavin Morris Report:^[13]

Round 8
30 April 2011
7:30pm local

Melbourne Storm	42 - 12	Newcastle Knights
Tries: Champion, Duffie, Lowrie, Nielson, Norrie, Slater, Quinn Goals: Smith 7/7 Field Goal		Tries: Hilder, Uate Goals: Gidley 2/2 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 9,460
Referee/s: Jason Robinson, Chris James Report:^[14]

Round 9
7 May 2011
7:30pm local

Brisbane Broncos	22 - 29	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Beale (2), Gagai, Reed Goals: Parker 3/4 Field Goal:		Tries: Cronk, Hinchcliffe, Nielsen, Quinn, Waqa Goals: Smith 4/5 Field Goal: Cronk 1/2

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 34,175
Referee/s: Shayne Hayne, Tony De Las Heras Report:^[15]

Round 10
14 May 2011
5:30pm local

Melbourne Storm	12 - 20	Canberra Raiders
Tries: Duffie, Proctor Goals: Smith 2/2 Field Goal:		Tries: Robinson, McCrone, Ferguson Goals: Croker 4/4 Field Goal:

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 9,628
Referee/s: Gerard Sutton, Chris James Report:^[16]

Round 11

.	Bye	.

Round 12
29 May 2011
2:00pm local

Melbourne Storm	14 - 8	Cronulla Sharks
Tries: Nielsen, Waqa Goals: Smith 3/3 Field Goal		Tries: Gordon Goals: Porter 2/2 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 9733
Referee/s: Steve Lyons, Phil Haines Report:^[17]

Regular season - Rounds 13 to 26

Round 13
5 June 2011
3:00pm Local

South Sydney Rabbitohs	6 - 16	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Taylor Goals: Sandow 1/1 Field Goal:		Tries: Blair, Bromwich, Smith Goals: Smith 1/2, Widdop 1/1 Field Goal:

ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 11,528
Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Chris James Report:^[18]

Round 14
13 June 2011
7:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	21 - 4	Sydney Roosters
Tries: O'Neill (2), Champion Goals: Widdop 4/5 Field Goal: Widdop 1/1		Tries: Leilua Goals: Anasta 0/1 Field Goal:

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 9843
Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Tony De Las Heras Report:^[19]

Round 15
19 June 2011
3:00pm Local

Wests Tigers	4 - 12	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Ryan Goals: Marshall 0/1 Field Goal		Tries: Hinchcliffe, Proctor Goals: Duffie 1/1, Smith 1/1 Field Goal

Leichhardt Oval, Balmain, New South Wales
Attendance: 20,486
Referee/s: Adam Devcich, Ashley Klein Report:^[20]

Round 16
26 June 2011
2:00pm Local

New Zealand Warriors	8 - 16	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Hohaia Goals: Maloney 2/2 Field Goal:		Tries: Slater (2), Widdop Goals: Smith 2/3 Field Goal

Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Attendance: 13,362
Referee/s: Tony Archer, Brett Suttor Report:^[21]

Round 17

.	Bye	.

Round 18
9 July 2011
7:30pm Local

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	18 - 28	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Barba, Stagg, Turner Goals: Turner 3/3 Field Goal		Tries: Cronk (2), Bromwich, Waqa, Duffie Goals: Widdop 1/1, Smith 3/4 Field Goal

Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Attendance: 9,963
Referee/s: Chris James, Steve Lyons Report:^[22]

Round 19
17 July 2011
2:00pm Local

Canberra Raiders	0 - 26	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Goals: Field Goal		Tries: Duffie (2), Bromwich, Cronk, Hinchcliffe Goals: Widdop 0/1, Smith 3/4 Field Goal

Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 11,853
Referee/s: Matt Cecchin, Adam Devcich Report:^[5]

Round 20
22 July 2011
7:35pm Local

Melbourne Storm	26 - 6	Brisbane Broncos
Tries: M Blair (2), C Cronk, J O'Neill Goals: Smith 5/5 Field Goal		Tries: Yow Yeh Goals: Parker 1/1 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 22,912
Referee/s: Tony Archer, Ashley Klein Report:^[23]

Round 21
1 August 2011
7:00pm Local

Parramatta Eels	18 - 22	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Maitua, Lasalo Goals: Burt 5/5 Field Goal		Tries: Waqa, Slater, O'Neill, Nielsen Goals: Smith 3/4 Field Goal

Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Attendance: 10,078
Referee/s: Tony De Las Heras, Steve Lyons Report:^[24]

Round 22
6 August 2011
5:30pm Local

Melbourne Storm	26 - 6	Penrith Panthers
Tries: Hinchcliffe, Manu, Slater, Proctor Goals: Smith 5/5 Field Goal		Tries: Purtell Goals: Walsh Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 12,162
Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Phil Haines Report:^[25]

Round 23
13 August 2011
7:30pm Local

Gold Coast Titans	16 - 40	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Michaels, Thompson, Mead Goals: Campbell 2/4 Field Goal		Tries: Cronk (3), Slater (2), Quinn, Manu Goals: Smith 6/7 Field Goal

Skilled Park, Gold Coast
Attendance: 11,663
Referee/s: Alan Shortall, Jason Robinson Report:^[26]

Round 24
19 August 2011
7:35pm Local

Melbourne Storm	8 - 6	St. George Illawarra Dragons
Tries: Quinn Goals: Smith 2/2 Field Goal		Tries: Stanley Goals: Soward 1/1 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 24,081
Referee/s: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin Report:^[27]

Round 25
26 August 2011
7:35pm Local

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	18 - 4	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Williams (2), Foran Goals: Lyon 3/4 Field Goal Cherry-Evans 0/1		Tries: Slater Goals: Widdop 0/1 Field Goal

Brookvale Oval, Manly
Attendance: 20,414
Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Shayne Hayne Report:^[28]

Round 26
4 September 2011
7:00pm Local

Sydney Roosters	40 - 8	Melbourne Storm
Tries: Leilua (3), Carney, Guerra, Minichiello, Pearce Goals: Anasta 6/7 Field Goal		Tries: Champion, Duffie Goals: Widdop 0/1, Cronk 0/1 Field Goal

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 8,753
Referee/s: Alan Shortall, Jason Robinson Report:^[29]

Finals

Qualifying Final - Week 1
11 September 2011
4:00pm Local

Melbourne Storm	18 - 8	Newcastle Knights
Tries: Duffie, Champion, Manu Goals: Smith 3/4 Field Goal		Tries: Gidley, Uate Goals: Gidley 0/2 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 14,845
Referee/s: Ashley Klein & Adam Devcich Report:^[30]

Preliminary Final - Week 3
24 September 2011
7:45pm Local

Melbourne Storm	12 - 20	New Zealand Warriors
Tries: Champion, Manu Goals: Smith 2/2 Field Goal		Tries: Brown, Maloney, Tupou Goals: Maloney 4/4 Field Goal

AAMI Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 28,580
Referee/s: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin Report:^[31]

Ladders

2011 NRL Telstra Premiership
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne Storm	24	19	-	5	2	521	308	213	42
2	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P)	24	18	-	6	2	539	331	208	40
3	Brisbane Broncos	24	18	-	6	2	511	372	139	40
4	Wests Tigers	24	15	-	9	2	519	430	89	34
5	St George Illawarra Dragons	24	14	1	9	2	483	341	142	33
6	New Zealand Warriors	24	14	-	10	2	504	393	111	32
7	North Queensland Cowboys	24	14	-	10	2	532	480	52	32
8	Newcastle Knights	24	12	-	12	2	478	443	35	28
9	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	12	-	12	2	449	489	-40	28
10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	11	-	13	2	531	562	-31	26
11	Sydney Roosters	24	10	-	14	2	417	500	-83	24
12	Penrith Panthers	24	9	-	15	2	430	517	-87	22
13	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	7	-	17	2	428	557	-129	18
14	Parramatta Eels	24	6	1	17	2	385	538	-153	17
15	Canberra Raiders	24	6	-	18	2	423	623	-200	16
16	Gold Coast Titans	24	6	-	18	2	363	629	-266	16

2011 National Youth Competition season
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	New Zealand	24	19	1	4	2	851	494	+357	43
2	North Queensland	24	17	0	7	2	758	509	+249	38
3	Cronulla-Sutherland	24	16	1	7	2	707	600	+107	37
4	Melbourne	24	16	0	8	2	678	517	+161	36
5	Sydney	24	15	1	8	2	639	523	+116	35
6	Canterbury-Bankstown	24	14	0	10	2	659	458	+201	32
7	Wests	24	12	2	10	2	607	529	+78	30
8	Newcastle	24	12	1	11	2	638	660	-22	29
9	Brisbane	24	11	2	11	2	752	551	+201	28
10	Penrith	24	12	0	12	2	558	709	-151	28
11	St. George Illawarra	24	10	2	12	2	562	594	-32	26
12	Parramatta	24	10	1	13	2	547	556	-9	25
13	Canberra	24	8	1	15	2	683	749	-66	21
14	Gold Coast	24	5	1	18	2	467	779	-312	15
15	South Sydney	24	4	1	19	2	454	881	-427	13
16	Manly-Warringah	24	4	0	20	2	432	843	-411	12

2011 squad

Although other players may play for the Melbourne Storm during the year, all NRL clubs are required to select a top 25 First Grade squad at the beginning of the season.

No.	Position	Player
1	SR	Adam Blair
2	PR	Jesse Bromwich
3	FE	Dane Chisholm
4	HB	Cooper Cronk
5	WG	Matt Duffie
6	HB	Jake Hawkins
7	HK	Ryan Hinchcliffe
8	HB	Luke Kelly
9	PR	John Kite
10	HK	Rory Kostjasyn
11	LK	Todd Lowrie
12	SR	Sika Manu

No.	Position	Player
13	WG	Dane Nielsen
14	PR	Bryan Norrie
15	CE	Justin O'Neill
16	SR	Kevin Proctor
17	WG	Anthony Quinn
18	SR	Robert Rochow
19	FB	Billy Slater
20	HK	Cameron Smith (C)
21	CE	Chase Stanley
22	SR	Atelea Vea
23	FB	Gareth Widdop

Source: Storm 2011 Squad

Awards and honours

Player of the year: Cameron Smith^[32]
Rookie of the year: Gareth Widdop & Jesse Bromwich

References

2011 in rugby league

« 2010

2012 »

International Rugby League

European Rugby League

Competitions	International Origin Super League Results Grand Final RFL Championship Championship 1 Challenge Cup National League Cup

Teams	Bradford Bulls Castleford Tigers Catalans Dragons Crusaders Harlequins Huddersfield Giants Hull FC Hull KR Leeds Rhinos Salford City Reds St Helens Wakefield Wildcats Warrington Wolves Wigan Warriors

Australian Rugby League

Competitions	State of Origin 2011 NRL season Results Grand Final Toyota Cup Results Queensland Cup New South Wales Cup Legends of Origin charity match

By club	Brisbane Broncos Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Canberra Raiders Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Gold Coast Titans Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Melbourne Storm Newcastle Knights New Zealand Warriors North Queensland Cowboys Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Roosters St. George Illawarra Dragons Wests Tigers

Related articles	Dally M Awards All Stars match Northern Pride

Other Domestic competitions

New Zealand
United States
- AMNRL
- USARL

Melbourne Storm

Est. 1998 in Melbourne, Victoria

The club	Records Players Coaches History (2010 Salary cap breach)

Home grounds	Olympic Park Stadium Docklands Stadium AAMI Park

Culture	Rivalry with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles We Are the Storm

Important figures	John Ribot Chris Anderson Glenn Lazarus Matt Geyer Craig Bellamy Cameron Smith Billy Slater Cooper Cronk

League	NRL

Titles	Premierships (2) 1999 ~~2007~~ ~~2009~~ 2012 World Club Challenge (2) 2000 ~~2010~~ 2013

Seasons (15)	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Other competitions	National Youth Competition Auckland Nines New South Wales Cup S. G. Ball Cup

Affiliations	Central Coast Storm Eastern Suburbs Tigers Albury Thunder

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