2000 Melbourne Storm season
| 2000 Melbourne Storm season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL | 6th | |||
| Play-off result | Qualifying Final Loss | |||
| 2000 record | Wins: 14; Draws: 1; Losses: 11 | |||
| Points scored | For: 672; Against: 529 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | John Ribot | |||
| Coach | Chris Anderson | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Olympic Park Stadium | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Matt Geyer (14) | |||
| Goals | Tasesa Lavea (81) | |||
| Points | Tasesa Lavea (190) | |||
| ||||
The 2000 Melbourne Storm season was the 3rd in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2000 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in 6th place, being eliminated in the first week of the finals. [1]
The Storm began 2000 with an easy win over St. Helens in the World Club Challenge was a great start for Melbourne, but overall the 2000 season was a disappointment. Major injuries to Marcus Bai and Robbie Ross, along with a lengthy suspension to Stephen Kearney, seriously disrupted the season.
It was made worse when the club was forced to negotiate its way through the trials and tribulations of twelve players coming off contract by the end of the year. Most distracting was the saga of Kimmorley as he travelled between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in search of his future (much to the bewilderment of the Victorian public who were not used to rugby league's mid-season mayhem).
With respectable home crowds averaging over 14,000 the Storm finished the 2000 season in 6th place, earning themselves a semi-final against the Knights in Newcastle. However, the defending premiers exited with a 30-16 loss on a wet and miserable afternoon. The season's undoubted highlight was the Grand Final rematch against the Dragons at the MCG where the Storm won by an incredible scoreline of 70-10.
Tony Martin (to London) and Brett Kimmorley (to Northern Eagles) were key losses for the club in the lead up to 2001 which were slightly off-set by the arrival of half-back Matt Orford and winger Junior Langi. [2]
Draw and Results
| Round | Opponent | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland Warriors | Loss | 6 | 14 | 6 Feb | Mt Smart Stadium |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 6 | 38 | 12 Feb | Hunter Stadium |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders | Loss | 12 | 16 | 19 Feb | Bruce Stadium |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | Loss | 22 | 30 | 27 Feb | Penrith Stadium |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Win | 70 | 10 | 3 Mar | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | Win | 42 | 10 | 10 Mar | Olympic Park |
| 7 | Parramatta Eels | Win | 16 | 12 | 18 Mar | Olympic Park |
| 8 | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 14 | 26 | 25 Mar | Endeavour Field |
| 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 28 | 6 | 1 Apr | Olympic Park |
| 10 | Brisbane Broncos | Draw | 18 | 18 | 7 Apr | QE2 Stadium |
| 11 | Northern Eagles | Win | 44 | 18 | 15 Apr | Olympic Park |
| 12 | Bulldogs RLFC | Win | 44 | 22 | 25 Apr | Stadium Australia |
| 13 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 40 | 4 | 30 Apr | Olympic Park |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 8 | 18 | 5 May | Parramatta Stadium |
| 15 | Wests Tigers | Win | 40 | 10 | 12 May | Olympic Park |
| 16 | Brisbane Broncos | Win | 16 | 12 | 21 May | Olympic Park |
| 17 | Penrith Panthers | Loss | 20 | 23 | 27 May | Olympic Park |
| 18 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Loss | 4 | 50 | 4 Jun | WIN Jubilee Oval |
| 19 | Sydney Roosters | Loss | 6 | 41 | 11 Jun | Sydney Football Stadium |
| 20 | Auckland Warriors | Win | 56 | 10 | 18 Jun | Olympic Park |
| 21 | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 22 | 16 | 24 Jun | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 22 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 26 | 22 | 1 Jul | Dairy Farmers Stadium |
| 23 | Bulldogs RLFC | Loss | 22 | 31 | 8 Jul | Olympic Park |
| 24 | Northern Eagles | Win | 38 | 26 | 15 Jul | Bluetongue Stadium |
| 25 | Canberra Raiders | Loss | 16 | 20 | 21 Jul | Olympic Park |
| 26 | Wests Tigers | Win | 36 | 26 | 29 Jul | Campbelltown Stadium |
| Qualifying Final | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 16 | 30 | Aug 5 | Hunter Stadium |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brisbane |
26 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 696 | 388 | +308 | 38 |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters |
26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 601 | 520 | +81 | 32 |
| 3 |  Newcastle |
26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 686 | 532 | +154 | 31 |
| 4 |  Canberra |
26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 506 | 479 | +27 | 30 |
| 5 |  Penrith |
26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 573 | 562 | +11 | 30 |
| 6 |  Melbourne |
26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 672 | 529 | +143 | 29 |
| 7 |  Parramatta |
26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 476 | 456 | +20 | 29 |
| 8 |  Cronulla |
26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 570 | 463 | +107 | 26 |
| 9 |  St George Illawarra |
26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 576 | 656 | -80 | 24 |
| 10 |  Wests Tigers |
26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 519 | 642 | -123 | 24 |
| 11 |  Bulldogs |
26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 469 | 553 | -84 | 21 |
| 12 |  Northern Eagles |
26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 476 | 628 | -152 | 18 |
| 13 |  Auckland |
26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 426 | 662 | -236 | 18 |
| 14 |  North Queensland |
26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 436 | 612 | -176 | 12 |
Awards and honours
- Player of the year: Rodney Howe[4]
- Rookie of the year: Tasesa Lavea
References
- ↑ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne2002_sc.html
- ↑ http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/evolution-storm
- ↑ http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/melbourne/melbourne_by.html#2000
- ↑ "NRL Honour Board". melbournestorm.com.au. Melbourne Storm. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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