2006 Melbourne Storm season

The 2006 Melbourne Storm season was the 9th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership, winning a record 20 out of 24 regular season games to finish in first place and win the minor premiership, eight points clear of the second-placed Bulldogs.^[1] They then reached the grand final as favourites only to lose to the Brisbane Broncos.

The Storm's Queensland trio of Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith and Antonio Kaufusi were selected to make their international debuts for Australia in 2006.

Post-season the Storm farewelled Nathan Friend and Jake Webster (Gold Coast Titans), David Kidwell (South Sydney) and Scott Hill (London Harlequins).^[2]

Match results

Round	Opponent	Result	Mel.	Opp.	Date	Venue
1	New Zealand Warriors	Win	22	16	Mar 12	Mt. Smart
2	Sydney Roosters	Win	22	18	Mar 19	SFS
3	North Queensland Cowboys	Loss	8	40	Mar 25	Dairy Farmers Stadium
4	Wests Tigers	Loss	28	30	Apr 2	Leichhardt Oval
5	BYE
6	Penrith Panthers	Win	40	18	Apr 15	Hindmarsh Stadium
7	Newcastle Knights	Win	52	6	Apr 22	Olympic Park
8	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Win	24	10	Apr 29	Olympic Park
9	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Win	38	14	May 6	Telstra Stadium
10	North Queensland Cowboys	Win	18	6	May 13	Olympic Park
11	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Loss	12	34	May 20	Brookvale Oval
12	Melbourne Storm	Win	17	16	May 28	Olympic Park
13	Sydney Roosters	Win	20	16	Jun 6	Olympic Park
14	Parramatta Eels	Win	34	22	Jun 11	Parramatta Stadium
15	Canberra Raiders	Win	22	12	Jun 18	Olympic Park
16	Canterbury Bulldogs	Win	16	12	Jun 23	Olympic Park
17	BYE
18	Brisbane Broncos	Win	10	4	Jul 7	Olympic Park
19	Newcastle Knights	Win	24	16	Jul 16	EnergyAustralia Stadium
20	Cronulla Sharks	Win	28	12	Jul 21	Olympic Park
21	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Win	34	24	Jul 30	Oki Jubilee Stadium
22	Wests Tigers	Win	46	4	Aug 5	Olympic Park
23	Brisbane Broncos	Win	18	12	Aug 13	Suncorp Stadium
24	New Zealand Warriors	Loss	20	24	Aug 19	Olympic Park
25	Canberra Raiders	Win	22	18	Aug 26	Canberra Stadium
26	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Win	30	20	Sep 2	Olympic Park
Qualifying Final	Parramatta Eels	Win	12	6	Sep 10	Olympic Park
Preliminary Final	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Win	24	10	Sep 23	Telstra Stadium
GRAND FINAL	Brisbane Broncos	Loss	8	15	Oct 1	Telstra Stadium

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	F	A	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne	24	20	0	4	2	605	404	+201	44
2	Bulldogs	24	16	0	8	2	608	468	+140	36
3	Brisbane	24	14	0	10	2	497	392	+105	32
4	Newcastle	24	14	0	10	2	608	538	+70	32
5	Manly	24	14	0	10	2	534	493	+41	32
6	St George Illawarra	24	14	0	10	2	519	481	+38	32
7	Canberra	24	13	0	11	2	525	573	-48	30
8	Parramatta	24	12	0	12	2	506	483	+23	28
9	North Queensland	24	11	0	13	2	450	463	-13	26
10	New Zealand	24	12	0	12	2	552	463	+89	24
11	Wests Tigers	24	10	0	14	2	490	565	-75	24
12	Penrith	24	10	0	14	2	510	587	-77	24
13	Cronulla	24	9	0	15	2	515	544	-29	22
14	Sydney	24	8	0	16	2	528	650	-122	20
15	South Sydney	24	3	0	21	2	429	772	-343	10

• New Zealand Warriors were stripped of four competition points due to breaches of the National Rugby League salary cap.

References

1. ^ AAP (2001-10-02). "Broncos claim premiership". tvnz.co.nz (Television New Zealand Limited). http://tvnz.co.nz/content/839300/2422021/article.html?cfb=3. Retrieved 2009-12-17. 
2. ^ Paxinos, Stathi (2001-10-01). "Rock-solid Smith revels in leader's role". The Age (Fairfax digital). http://www.theage.com.au/news/league/rocksolid-smith-revels-in-leaders-role/2006/09/30/1159337391734.html. Retrieved 2009-12-17.