2010 Melbourne Storm season

The 2010 Melbourne Storm season was the 13th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2010 Telstra Premiership, however following the much-publicised ousting of the administration's salary cap rorting early in the season, were unable to accumulate any more competition points and ended the season as wooden spooners. The Storm started the season as reigning NRL premiers, having defeated the Parramatta Eels in the 2009 NRL Grand Final. However this title was later stripped, along with their 2007 premiership title and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premiership titles.

Season summary

The Storm began 2010 by travelling to England to play in the 2010 World Club Challenge. This involved a warm up game against Harlequins RL followed by the World Club Challenge a week later against Leeds Rhinos. The Storm won both games.

The regular season commenced with the Storm defeating Cronulla away in what was the first of three consecutive away games to begin the season. The Storm played their first home game at Etihad Stadium against St George Illawarra in front of a crowd of 25,480 which is a record home crowd, excluding finals games. They won the game which made them the only undefeated side in the League after Round 4.

Salary cap scandal

See also: Melbourne Storm salary cap breach

On 22 April 2010, the Melbourne Storm were stripped of their titles of 2007 and 2009 premierships and their 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships following an alleged insider tip-off to the NRL auditing body that the club had been rorting the NRL salary cap. The club had a long-term system of keeping two sets of books, one set displaying players incomes' complying with the NRL salary cap and another hidden set in a separate room disclosing the true player payments. Following evidence of salary cap breaches, Melbourne were also fined a record $1,689,000, deducted all eight premiership points received in the season and barred from receiving any further premiership points for the rest of the season, guaranteeing them zero points and the wooden spoon for 2010.^[1]

On 24 April coach Craig Bellamy publicly announced that he vowed to rebuild the shattered club, and welcomed the NRL's investigation into the salary cap rorting before a training session with the team which was watched by thousands of cheering supporters.^[2]

Players were still allowed to play Test and/or State of Origin matches and for some of those players it did not affect Queensland's bid for a fifth straight Origin series victory. The Storm were also allowed to keep its World Club Challenge cup they won in February 2010 (which was later stripped more than one year since the initial breaches were revealed). The team's under-20s team was not affected.

The day after the salary cap scandal was revealed, the odds of AFL club St Kilda (which itself had a near-successful 2009 season) winning the 2010 wooden spoon were dramatically shortened, as it was rumoured that the club may have been subject to salary cap breaches dating back to 2002 when Brian Waldron was the club's CEO. Its coach at the time, Grant Thomas, has since stated that St Kilda had not done anything wrong during Waldron's tenure at the club, however in 2005, ironically the year Waldron joined the Storm, the Saints were fined $40,000 over a minor incident involving major sponsor Xbox providing the gaming machines to its players. As well as this, there was also contract disputes involving some ex-players, Peter Everitt and Barry Hall. St Kilda has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The Storm defeated the New Zealand Warriors 40-6 in the first match since the scandal was revealed. This was followed up with a 34-6 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville the week after.

Melbourne Storm 2010 season crowd averages

	Total Crowd	Total Games	Crowd Average
Home	176,041	12	14,670
Away	168,109	12	14,009
All Games	344,150	24	14,340

Fixtures

Pre-season

21 February 2010 14:00 GMT	Harlequins RL	10–34	Melbourne Storm	The Stoop Attendance: 3,612
	Tries: Ben Jones-Bishop, Will Sharp Goals: Danny Orr	(Report)	Tries: Anthony Quinn, Kevin Proctor, Dane Nielsen (2), Hep Cahill, Rory Kostjaysn Goals: Gareth Widdop (5)

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• World Club Challenge 2010

28 February 2010 18:30 GMT	Leeds Rhinos	10–18	Melbourne Storm	Elland Road Attendance: 27,697 Referee/s: Richard Silverwood (England) Man of the Match: Cameron Smith
	Tries: Danny Maguire Goals: Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrow (2)	(Report)	Tries: Luke MacDougall, Anthony Quinn Goals: Cameron Smith (5)

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Regular season - Rounds 1 to 12

During the regular season, the Storm will play their first three home games at Etihad Stadium before moving to their new purpose built and permanent home AAMI Park.

Round 1 13 March 2010 7:30pm Local	Cronulla Sharks	10 - 14	Melbourne Storm	Toyota Stadium, Cronulla Attendance: 11,820 Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Brett Suttor (Report)
	Tries: Douglas Goals: Covell 2/2 Porter 1/1 Field Goal		Tries: Inglis, MacDougall Goals: Smith 3/3 Field Goal

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Round 2 20 March 2010 7:30pm Local	Newcastle Knights	14 - 20	Melbourne Storm	Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 16,242 Referee/s: Steve Lyons, Alan Shortall (Report)
	Tries: MacDougall, Uate Goals:Naiqama 3/3 Field Goal		Tries: MacDougall, Quinn, Nielson Goals: Smith 4/5 Field Goal

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Round 3 27 March 2010 5:30pm Local	Penrith Panthers	10 - 16	Melbourne Storm	CUA Stadium, Penrith Attendance: 11,024 Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Phil Haines (Report)
	Tries: Coote, McKendry Goals: Gordon 1/2 Field Goal		Tries: Finch, Slater, MacDougall Goals: Smith 2/3 Field Goal

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Round 4 2 April 2010 2:10pm Local	Melbourne Storm	17 - 4	St George Illawarra Dragons	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 25,480 Referee/s: Jared Maxwell, Gerard Sutton (Report)
	Tries: Nielson, Quinn, Slater Goals: Smith 2/5 Field Goal: Cronk		Tries: Nightingale Goals:Soward 0/1 Field Goal:

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Round 5 9 April 2010 7:35pm Local	Gold Coast Titans	20 - 16	Melbourne Storm	Skilled Park, Robina Attendance: 20,083 Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Jared Maxwell (Report)
	Tries: Tomane, Harrison, Bird Goals: Rogers 4/5 Field Goal		Tries: Quinn (3) Goals: Smith 2/3 Field Goal

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Round 6 19 April 2010 7:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	16 - 18	Manly Sea Eagles	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 14,171 Referee/s: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall (Report)
	Tries: Cronk (2), Norrie Goals: Smith 2/3 Field Goal		Tries: Robertson (2), Stewart Goals: Lyon 3/4 Field Goal

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Round 7 25 April 2010 6:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	40 - 6	New Zealand Warriors	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 23,906 Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Brett Suttor (Report)
	Tries: Duffie (2), Smith, Blair, Tandy, Isa, Slater Goals: Smith 6/7 Field Goal		Tries: Ta'ai Goals: Maloney 1/1 Field Goal

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Round 8 1 May 2010 7:30pm Local	North Queensland Cowboys	6 - 34	Melbourne Storm	Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Attendance: 19,853 Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Gerard Sutton (Report)
	Tries: Bolton Goals: Graham 1/1 Field Goal		Tries: Norrie, Duffie, Inglis, Finch, Nielson, Quinn, Lima Goals: Smith 3/6 Inglis 0/1 Field Goal

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Round 9 9 May 2010 3:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	14 - 36	Brisbane Broncos	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 20,042 Referee/s: Tony Archer, Steve Lyons (Report)
	Tries: Duffe (2), Quinn Goals:Inglis 1/2 Cronk 0/1 Field Goal		Tries:Folau (2), Beale, Yoh Yeh, Norman, Te'o Goals: Parker 6/6 Field Goal

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Round 10 15 May 2010 7:30pm Local	Canberra Raiders	6 - 17	Melbourne Storm	Canberra Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 12,165 Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Chris James (Report)
	Tries: Vidot Goals: Campese 1/1 Field Goal:		Tries: Inglis (3) Goals: Inglis 2/2 Cronk 0/1 Field Goal: Finch 1/1

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Round 11	.	Bye	.

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Round 12 30 May 2010 2:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	23 - 12	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 12,420 Referee/s: Shane Hayne, Ashley Klein (Report)
	Tries: Nielsen, Stanley, MacDougall, Widdop Goals: Widdop 3/4 Field Goal Finch 1/1		Tries: Ryan, Kimmorley Goals: Goodwin 2/2 Field Goal

Regular season - Rounds 13 - 26

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Round 13 4 June 2010 7:35pm Local	Parramatta Eels	24 - 10	Melbourne Storm	Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta Attendance: 7,572 Referee/s: Tony Archer, Gerard Sutton (Report)
	Tries: Reddy (2), Keating, Inu Goals: Burt 4/5 Field Goal		Tries: Slater, Inglis Goals: Smith 1/2 Field Goal

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Round 14 14 June 2010 7:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	6 - 38	Sydney Roosters	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 10,449 Referee/s: Ashley Klein, Bernard Sutton (Report)
	Tries: Kostjasyn Goals: Stanley 1/1 Field Goal		Tries: Graham (2), Masoe, Linnett, Minichiello, Nuuausala, Perrett Goals: Carney 5/7 Field Goal

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Round 15 19 June 2010 5:30pm Local	Melbourne Storm	58 - 12	North Queensland Cowboys	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 10,661 Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Bernard Sutton (report)
	Tries: O'Neill (3), Duffie (2), Slater (2), Inglis, Lima, Cronk Goals: Smith 5/6, Inglis 3/3, Finch 1/1 Field Goal		Tries: Tamou, Gallant Goals: Thurston 2/2 Field Goal

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Round 16 26 June 2010 7:30pm Local	South Sydney Rabbitohs	16 - 14	Melbourne Storm	Members Equity Stadium, Perth Attendance: 13,164 Referee/s: Ashley Klein, Matt Cecchin (Report)
	Tries: Talanoa (2), Sandow Goals: Luke 2/3 Field Goal		Tries: O'Neill (2), Inglis Goals: Smith 1/3 Field Goal

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Round 17	.	Bye	.

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Round 18 10 July 2010 7:00pm Local	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	20 - 18	Melbourne Storm	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Attendance: 10,350 Referee/s: Matt Cecchin, Tony De Las Heras (Report)
	Tries: Goodwin, Idris, Neumann Goals: Goodwin 4/4 Field Goal		Tries: Finch, Slater, Manu Goals: Smith 2/2, Inglis 1/1 Field Goal

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Round 19 17 July 2010 7:30pm Local	New Zealand Warriors	13 - 6	Melbourne Storm	Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 13,118 Referee/s: Steve Lyon, Gerrard Sutton (Report)
	Tries: Vatuvei, Ropati Goals: Maloney 2/3 Field Goal: Maloney 1		Tries: Slater Goals: Smith 1/1 Field Goal

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Round 20 24 July 2010 7:30pm Local	Melbourne Storm	18 - 10	Penrith Panthers	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 11,212 Referee/s: Jason Robinson, Brett Suttor (Report)
	Tries: Nielson, O'Neill, Duffie Goals: Smith 3/3 Field Goal:		Tries: Purtell, Jennings Goals: Gordon 1/2 Field Goal:

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Round 21 1 August 2010 2:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	36 - 12	Canberra Raiders	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 9,112 Referee/s: Ben Cummins, Phil Haines (Report)
	Tries: Neilson (2), O'Neill (2), Inglis, Slater, Lowrie Goals: Smith 4/6, Inglis 0/1 Field Goal		Tries: Low, Croker Goals: Croker 2/3 Field Goal

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Round 22 7 August 2010 5:30pm Local	Manly Sea Eagles	26 - 6	Melbourne Storm	Brookvale Oval, Manly Attendance: 12,550 Referee/s: Matt Cecchin, Brett Suttor (Report)
	Tries: Lyon (2), Williams, Matai Goals: Lyon 5/5 Field Goal		Tries: Hoffman Goals: Smith 1/1 Field Goal

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Round 23 15 August 2010 2:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	18 - 16	South Sydney Rabbitohs	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 9,172 Referee/s: Steve Lyons, Chris James (Report)
	Tries: Hinchcliffe (2), Slater Goals: Smith 3/3 Field Goal		Tries: Merritt (2), Capewell Goals: Sandow 2/3 Field Goal

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Round 24 21 August 2010 7:30pm Local	Melbourne Storm	24 - 4	Cronulla Sharks	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 8,902 Referee/s: Ashley Klein, Luke Phillips (Report)
	Tries: Smith, Nielsen, Manu, Hinchcliffe Goals: Smith 4/4 Field Goal		Tries: Covell Goals: Covell 0/1 Field Goal

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Round 25 29 August 2010 2:00pm Local	Wests Tigers	26 - 14	Melbourne Storm	Leichhardt Oval, Balmain Attendance: 20,168 Referee/s: Gavin Badger, Alan Shortall (Report)
	Tries: Marshall (3), Fifita, Farrah Goals: Marshall 3/5 Field Goal		Tries: O'Neill, Isa, Hoffman Goals: Smith 1/3 Field Goal

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Round 26 5 September 2010 2:00pm Local	Melbourne Storm	34 - 4	Newcastle Knights	AAMI Park, Melbourne Attendance: 20,514 Referee/s: Ashley klein, Gavin Morris (report)
	Tries: Inglis (2), Hinchcliffe, Hoffman, White, Tolman Goals: Smith 4/4, Lima 1/1, Hoffman 0/1 Field Goal		Tries: Taia Goals: Field Goal

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Ladder

2010 NRL seasonv · d · e
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	17	0	7	2	518	299	+219	38
2	Penrith Panthers	24	15	0	9	2	645	489	+156	34
3	Wests Tigers	24	15	0	9	2	537	503	+34	34
4	Gold Coast Titans	24	15	0	9	2	520	498	+22	34
5	New Zealand Warriors	24	14	0	10	2	539	486	+53	32
6	Sydney Roosters	24	14	0	10	2	559	510	+49	32
7	Canberra Raiders	24	13	0	11	2	499	493	+6	30
8	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	12	0	12	2	545	510	+35	28
9	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	11	0	13	2	584	567	+17	26
10	Brisbane Broncos	24	11	0	13	2	508	535	−27	26
11	Newcastle Knights	24	10	0	14	2	499	569	−70	24
12	Parramatta Eels	24	10	0	14	2	413	491	−78	24
13	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	9	0	15	2	494	539	−45	22
14	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	7	0	17	2	354	609	−255	18
15	North Queensland Cowboys	24	5	0	19	2	425	667	−242	14
16	Melbourne Storm	24	14	0	10	2	489	363	+126	01

¹ Melbourne were deducted eight premiership points and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season due to gross long-term salary cap breaches.^[3]

2010 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. Also the players are listed below in alphabetical order as jersey numbers can change throughout the season these have not been shown.

No. Position Player SR Adam Blair PR Jesse Bromwich FE Andrew Brown LK Hep Cahill HB Cooper Cronk WG Matt Duffie FE Brett Finch HK Ryan Hinchcliffe SR Ryan Hoffman CE Greg Inglis CE William Isa PR Sinbad Kali HB Luke Kelly PR John Kite

No. Position Player PR Jeff Lima LK Todd Lowrie WG Luke MacDougall SR Sika Manu WG Dane Nielsen CE Justin O'Neill SR Kevin Proctor WG Anthony Quinn FB Billy Slater HK Cameron Smith (C) PR Ryan Tandy PR Aiden Tolman SR Atelea Vea PR Brett White FB Gareth Widdop

References

1. ^ "Storm stripped of 2 NRL premierships". Television New Zealand. 22 April 2010. http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/storm-stripped-2-nrl-premierships-3484867. Retrieved 14 September 2011. 
2. ^ AAP (24 April 2010). "Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy vows to stay". theaustralian.com.au (Australia: News Limited). http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/melbourne-storm-coach-craig-bellamy-vows-to-stay/story-e6frg7mf-1225857762862. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
3. ^ Stuart Honeysett and Brent Read (23 April 2010) Shocking end to the Melbourne Storm era The Australian