Melbourne Storm 2016 season in review

The minor premiers made their way to a grand final appearance and fell short of a title the majority of pundits predicted they'd earn.

The Melbourne Storm's regular season was outstanding. Throughout it the Cronulla Sharks jostled with them round-to-round for top spot on the NRL ladder. With just five losses in 21 games, the consistency Craig Bellamy strives to implement on his team had great effect. They may have lost Billy Slater at the end of round one, but Cameron Munster filled in admirably and continued to impress as one of the premier young players in the competition. By round 26 fans were treated to a minor premiership playoff (which broadcaster Fox Sports even brought in a countdown clock for), and the Storm left the Sharks reeling with a 26-6 win.

Losing the grand final came as a surprise because their star players carried the advantage of experience over key opponents like Paul Gallen, Chad Townsend, Ben Barba and even James Maloney. Cooper Cronk was playing in his sixth grand final and Cameron Smith his fifth. Melbourne struggled throughout the entire first half. Cronk was off his game, Smith was nullified in attack as the Sharks forced him to make 73 tackles for the match. The Storm somehow limited Cronulla to eight points at halftime and while Melbourne is notorious for being an outfit that struggles to chase points, eight points seemed a shallow deficit.

In the second half they gained a 12-8 lead, which was lost when a barnstorming Andrew Fifita could not be stopped scoring under the posts with multiple defenders hanging off him. Then with just a few minutes to go, Will Chambers attempted a low percentage play which almost paid off with a grand final win, but he didn't have the chance to get a pass off and went to ground with the ball just metres away from the try line.

Turning Point

Finals Week Three - Melbourne Storm 14 v Canberra Raiders 12 at AAMI Park
The Storm looked vulnerable for most of the match and the score tells you just how close it was to being a Sharks v Raiders grand final. For Canberra they had Jarrod Croker sustain a leg injury early which impacted his effectiveness and involvement for the rest of the game. Joseph Leilula had a bad ankle injury which he tried to play on with, but he eventually sat on the bench with 10 minutes to play. Then Edrick Lee made four costly errors in that match and bombed at least one try, likely two. Melbourne was lucky to make it into the grand final and they didn't play near their best for that either. 

What worked

Covering the injured backs
Early on in the season the injuries to backs such as Slater, Chambers, Richard Kennar, Curtis Scott and Cheyse Blair threatened to derail the early season success. They managed to patch the backline together with the positional switch to centre for Tohu Harris and it gave the opportunity for Suliasi Vunivalu to cement a spot in the side. 

What didn't work

Grand Final Week Preparation
The Storm showed all season they were capable of fighting any challenge. Although when the team ran out and put on an unimpressive first half in the grand final, it looked like some players weren't ready for the occasion. The role players were outclassed by the Sharks. The Storm hadn't played at ANZ Stadium since 2014 and four of their players had never played at the ground. Most of their team hadn't played in front of over 50 000 people and their four games leading into the grand final were all played at AAMI Park.

Best Players

Cooper Cronk
Cooper Cronk tied with Jason Taumalolo as the 2016 Dally M Medallist which capped off a great season. The soon to be 33-year-old's ability to organise a football side, basically acting as a second coach, has the young players he's playing with providing their best football. His kicking game rivals the best in the NRL, and with 10 minutes left in a close game there's nobody better at setting up and converting a field goal than Cronk. For the fifth time in his career he was named the Dally M Halfback of the Year. 

Jesse Bromwich
Not one of the last three Melbourne Storm player of the year awards have gone to Cronk, Smith, Slater or Munster. All three have gone to Jesse Bromwich. The Melbournians know just how valuable Jesse Bromwich is and he's been touted as the best prop in the world for the last few years. Bromwich rarely misses a game and is the leader of the forward pack for not just the Storm but also for New Zealand, who he now captains. 

Rookies

Suliasi Vunivalu
It was a remarkable rookie campaign for Fijian sensation Suliasi Vunivalu. In 21 matches he scored 23 tries making him the highest single season try scorer in Melbourne Storm history and the highest individual try scorer for a NRL rookie. Now 20-years-old, he was signed by Melbourne when he was 18 and has become the Storm's premier winger as Marika Koroibete has moved to rugby union and is replaced by the Wests Tigers Josh Addo-Carr. 

Disappointing Players

Felise Kaufusi
The NRL was forced to take notice of Felise Kaufusi when Kevin Walters brought him into the Queensland Origin camp earlier in the year as 18th man for Game III. Kaufusi played small bursts off the bench for the Storm up to that point, but had impressed NRL heavyweights with his form. In the back half of the season, Kaufusi was dropped from the team and his progress to being a stand out forward slowed. With a strong preseason and a hole left by Kevin Proctor, playing time should be available for him.

Lower Grades

Holden Cup Under 20's

The Melbourne Storm Holden Cup U20s were not good enough for finals football in 2016. They were nine competition points away from qualifying for eighth spot and Melbourne finished with a record of eight wins, two draws and 14 losses.

Intrust Super Cup QLD

However, both QRL Intrust Super Cup teams were finalists - the Sunshine Coast Falcons finished fifth and came one win short of the grand final as they lost to the Redcliffe Dolphins 38-16 in Redcliffe in the preliminary final, while Easts Tigers made it as far as the first week of the finals before being eliminated.

2017 Chances

The Storm will play slightly different due to the departures of Proctor to the Gold Coast Titans, Koroibete to rugby, Blake Green to Manly and moving Munster around the side to fit Slater. Questions exist on Slater's ability to star for the Storm now he's got serious injuries and the best part of two years on the sideline. However, we've seen the Storm constantly create a game plan suited to their talent and next year should be no exception. In 2017 they should be finishing in the top five and providing a stronger showing in the finals. 

Best Line Up for 2017

(based on Current Signings)

1. Billy Slater
2. Suliasi Vunivalu
3. Will Chambers
4. Cheyse Blair
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Cameron Munster
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jesse Bromwich
9. Cameron Smith
10. Jordan McLean
11. Kenny Bromwich
12. Tohu Harris
13. Dale Finucane

14. Felise Kaufusi
15. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
16. Tim Glasby
17. Christian Welch