2012 Melbourne Storm season
The 2012 Melbourne Storm season was the club's 15th NRL season. Coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith, they competed in and won the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership. The first 9 weeks of the season were very successful, with the club winning all games for what was at the time their best start to a season. From Round 10 to Round 21 they won only 3 games and lost 7, including a 5-game losing streak between Rounds 16 and 21, their second worst ever. From Round 22 onward they recovered their winning form and finished the regular season with five straight wins, finishing in second place. The Storm then went on to defeat South Sydney and Manly in the finals series before going on to face minor premiers, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the 2012 NRL Grand Final, winning 14-4 to claim the Premiership.
Jersey
In 2012 the Storm jerseys were made by Kooga. Both the predominantly purple 'home' jersey, and the predominantly white 'away' jersey for 2012 were first instituted by the club in 2010.Special jerseys
- Round 5 : replica of the original 1998 jersey.
- Round 12 : a special silver V with purple camouflage jersey. A similar jersey was worn in the same game in 2011.
- Round 19 : a one-off promotional jersey was worn to promote The Dark Knight Rises. The jersey was predominantly black with the Batman logo on the front and back.
- Round 22 : the "Close the Gap" jersey. "Close the Gap" is an Oxfam initiative to influence Australian government healthcare and Indigenous policies with an aim to achieve health equality for Indigenous Australians by 2030. The NRL began supporting this campaign with a "Close the Gap Round" in 2010.
Season summary
- Round 3 - Billy Slater scored two tries against the Gold Coast Titans to take his career total to 130, becoming the highest try scoring fullback in Australian Rugby League history.
- Round 4 - Billy Slater scored a try double for the fourth consecutive week, a career first.
- Round 5 - The Storm celebrated their 15th Anniversary and Bryan Norrie played his 50th game.
- Round 7 - The Storm equalled their best start to a season with their 7th straight win.
- Round 8 - The Storm recorded an eighth straight win over the New Zealand Warriors, completing the best start to a season in the club's history.
- Round 9 - The Storm won their ninth straight game.
- Round 10 - The Storm conceded their first match of the season in an away game, losing 12-10 to the Cronulla Sharks.
- Round 12 - Will Chambers played his 50th NRL game while Todd Lowrie played his 50th game for the Storm,
- Round 13 - Todd Lowrie played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 14 - Craig Bellamy coached his 250th game for the Melbourne Storm against the Wests Tigers.
- Round 19 - Cooper Cronk played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 20 - With their fourth consecutive loss, the Storm equalled their second worst losing streak in the club's history to date.
- Round 21 - With their fifth consecutive loss, the Storm recorded a new second-worst losing streak. It was the Storm's longest losing streak during Craig Bellamy's ten-year tenure.
- Round 22 - The Storm ended their losing streak with a 46-6 defeat of the Penrith Panthers. The game was notable for Sisa Waqa scoring the NRL season's fastest try after only 35 seconds of play. It was also the Storm's biggest score of the season.
- Round 23 - Mahe Fonua made his debut as the first fully born and bred Victorian to play NRL for the Storm. Jessie Bromwich also played his 50th game for the Storm.
- Round 24 - Cameron Smith scored his 1300th career point.
- Round 25 - The Storm recorded a 20-18 win against the Cronulla Sharks with two tries inside the final three minutes of play, after trailing 18-10. The result meant that the Storm's overall wins percentage increased to 63.64%, elevating the Storm to first place on the 'all-time' score table for the first time, ahead of the Brisbane Broncos.
- Finals Week 1 - The Storm began their finals campaign with a win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs, earning them a week's break and a home preliminary final.
- Finals Week 3 - The Storm completed a 40 - 12 defeat of Manly to secure a spot in the 2012 NRL Grand Final against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
- Grand Final - The Storm defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 14 - 4 to claim the 2012 NRL premiership. Cameron Smith, while having a bad night with the boot, kicked his 600th career goal. The Grand Final was also notable because it was the first to feature a scoreless second half of football.
Milestone games
Statistics
Statistics source:Statistics current following the Grand Final.
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts | Goal% |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 18 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 | ||
| 26 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 41 | ||
| 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 27 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | ||
| 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 | ||
| 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 21 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 | ||
| 25 | 2 | 78 | 0 | 164 | 69.03% | |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | ||
| 26 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 40 | 80.00% | |
| 26 players used | - | 119 | 90 | 1 | 657 | 70.31% |
Most points in a game: 14
- Cameron Smith with 1 try and 5 goals vs Manly in Round 15.
- Cameron Smith with 7 goals vs Penrith in Round 22.
- Will Chambers vs New Zealand in Round 8.
- Justin O'Neill vs Penrith in Round 9.
Fixtures
Regular season
Finals
Ladder
2012 Coaches
- Craig Bellamy - Head Coach
- David Kidwell - Assistant Coach
- Dean Pay - Assistant Coach
- Kevin Walters - Halves Coach
- Alex Corvo - Strength and Conditioning
- Adrian Jiminez - Assistant Strength and Conditioning
- Tony Adam - Player Development
- Craig Sultana - Head Trainer
2012 Squad
2012 player movement
2012 squad signings| Name | From | Notes |
| Jason Ryles | Sydney Roosters | |
| Will Chambers | Queensland Reds | |
| Ryan Hoffman | Wigan Warriors | |
| Michael Greenfield | St. George |
2012 squad transfers
| Name | To | Notes |
| Troy Thompson | No Team | Retired |
| Beau Champion | Gold Coast Titans | |
| Adam Blair | Wests Tigers | |
| Dane Chisholm | Wests Tigers | |
| Adam Woolnough | No Team | Retired |
| Sione Kite | Widnes | |
| Chase Stanley | St. George | |
| Atelea Vea | St. George | |
| Robert Rochow | Newcastle Knights |
Representative honours
The following players have played a representative match in 2012. = Captain| All Stars Match | City Vs Country | ANZAC Test | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | VB Test | |
Awards
Trophy Cabinet
- 2012 Provan-Summons Trophy
Melbourne Storm Awards Night
- Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
- Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Mahe Fonua
- Melbourne Storm Members' Player of Year: Ryan Hoffman
- Melbourne Storm Most Improved: Sisa Waqa
- Melbourne Storm Best Back: Cooper Cronk
- Melbourne Storm Best Forward: Ryan Hoffman
- Feeder Club Player of the Year:
- Darren Bell U20s Player of the Year: Young Tonumaipea
- U20s Best Back:
- U20s Best Forward:
- Greg Brentnall Young Achievers Award:
- Mick Moore Club Person of the Year:
- Life Member Inductee: Cooper Cronk
- Best Try:
Dally M Awards Night
- Dally M Halfback of the Year: Cooper Cronk
- Dally M Hooker of the Year: Cameron Smith
RLIF Awards Night
- RLIF International Player of the Year: Cameron Smith
- RLIF International Coach of the Year:Craig Bellamy
- RLIF Halfback of the Year: Cooper Cronk
- RLIF Hooker of the Year: Cameron Smith
- RLIF Fijian Player of the Year: Sisa Waqa
Additional Awards
- Clive Churchill Medal: Cooper Cronk
- Sprit of ANZAC Medal: Kevin Proctor