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2025 Melbourne Storm season

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2025 Melbourne Storm season
Team information
CEOJustin Rodski
CoachCraig Bellamy
Captain
StadiumAAMI Park – 30,050
← 2024 List of seasons 2026 →

The 2025 Melbourne Storm season is the 28th in the club's history, competing in the 2025 NRL season. The team is coached by Craig Bellamy, coaching the club for a 23rd consecutive season. Harry Grant continues as club captain for a second season.

Season summary

[edit]
  • Preseason – Joining the club on train and trial contracts ahead of the season were players from the Storm academy (Coby Williamson, Mitch Jennings); Sunshine Coast Falcons (Josh Billing, Cooper-Page Wilson); Brisbane Tigers (Vaka Sikahele, Setu Tu); and North Sydney Bears (Nathaniel Roache, Morgan Harper, Ben Talty)[1]
  • 16 January – The club confirms that winger Dean Ieremia had suffered an achilles tendon rupture which will keep him sidelined for at least six months.[2][3]
  • 9 February – Harry Grant was reappointed captain, with Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster appointed as vice-captains. The club named a seven-man leadership group, with a number of other players named to an emerging leader group.[4]
  • 11 February – It was reported that former captain Christian Welch could be contemplating medical retirement after suffering a concussion during the club's preseason training camp. Welch had been given time away from the club to recover and was absent from a number of team activities.[5]
  • 12 February – Christian Welch announced his retirement from rugby league effective immediately. Welch retired on medical grounds due to a debilitating back injury.[6][7][8]
  • 15 February – Trailing 36–0 at half time of their first 2025 NRL Pre-season Challenge match against the New Zealand Warriors, an inexperienced Melbourne squad scored the only points of the second half in a 36–10 defeat.[9]
  • 23 February – Melbourne go without a win during the pre-season for the first time since 2019, losing their second match of the year 36–24 to the North Queensland Cowboys at Casey Fields. Sua Fa'alogo scored a try just before half time, but was forced from the field in the second half due to a hamstring injury. New signing Stefano Utoikamanu scored a try in his second match for the club ahead of the new season. In the second half, club academy prospect Hugo Peel suffered a broken jaw and severe concussion after a collision with fellow rookie Coby Williamson.[10][11]

Fixtures

[edit]

Pre-season Challenge

[edit]
Main article: 2025 NRL Pre-season Challenge

Source:[12]

Date Rd Opponent Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
15 February Trial New Zealand Warriors FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton Lost 10 36 K Bradley, B Talty E Morris 1/1, K Russell-Smith 0/1 [13]
23 February Trial North Queensland Cowboys Casey Fields, Melbourne Lost 24 36 N Meaney, S Fa'alogo, K Russell-Smith, S Utoikamanu, S Blore N Meaney 1/2, T Wishart 1/2, K Russell-Smith 0/1 [14]

Regular season

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Result by round

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Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
GroundH–HAAHAHNHA–AH–AHAAHAAHAHHA
Result
Position
Points
Source: National Rugby League
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]

Source:[15]

Date Rd Opponent H/A Venue Result Mel. Opp. Tries Goals Field goals Ref
9 March 1 Parramatta Eels Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
16 March 2 Bye
20 March 3 Penrith Panthers Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
25 March 4 St. George Illawarra Dragons Away Netstrata Jubille Stadium, Sydney
6 April 5[i] Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Away 4 Pines Park, Sydney
13 April 6 New Zealand Warriors Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
18 April 7 Dolphins Away Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
25 April 8[ii] South Sydney Rabbitohs Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
4 May 9[iii] Canberra Raiders Home Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
11 May 10[iv] Wests Tigers Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
17 May 11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Away Sharks Stadium, Sydney
24 May 12 Bye
31 May 13 Gold Coast Titans Away Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
6 June 14 North Queensland Cowboys Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
14 June 15 Bye
21 June 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs Away Accor Stadium, Sydney
29 June 17 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
5 July 18 North Queensland Cowboys Away Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
12 July 19 Newcastle Knights Away McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
19 July 20 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
24 July 21 Sydney Roosters Away Allianz Stadium, Sydney
31 July 22 Parramatta Eels Away CommBank Stadium, Sydney
7 August 23[v] Brisbane Broncos Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
14 August 24[vi] Penrith Panthers Away CommBank Stadium, Sydney
22 August 25 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
29 August 26 Sydney Roosters Home AAMI Park, Melbourne
4 September 27 Brisbane Broncos Away Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Fixture notes:
  1. ^ Multicultural Round
  2. ^ ANZAC Round
  3. ^ Magic Round
  4. ^ Women in League Round
  5. ^ Indigenous Round
  6. ^ Indigenous Round

Ladder

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Main article: 2025 NRL season
Pos Team
 Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Canberra Raiders 1 1 0 0 0 30 8 +22 2 Advance to finals series
2 Penrith Panthers 1 1 0 0 0 28 22 +6 2
3 Gold Coast Titans 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
4 Brisbane Broncos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Dolphins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Melbourne Storm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Newcastle Knights 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 North Queensland Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Parramatta Eels 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 St. George Illawarra Dragons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Sydney Roosters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 Wests Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 0 0 1 0 22 28 −6 0
17 New Zealand Warriors 1 0 0 1 0 8 30 −22 0
Updated to match(es) played on 2 February 2025. Source: National Rugby League

Coaching staff

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2025 squad

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List current as of 17 January 2025[19]

Further information: List of Melbourne Storm players
Cap Nat. Player name Position First Storm game Previous First Grade RL club[a]
160 Australia Cameron Munster FE, FB 2014 Australia Melbourne Storm
166 New Zealand Nelson Asofa-Solomona SR, PR 2015 Australia Melbourne Storm
181 Fiji Tui Kamikamica SR, PR 2017 Australia Melbourne Storm
184 New Zealand Jahrome Hughes FE, FB 2017 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
188 Australia Harry Grant HK 2018 Australia Melbourne Storm
193 Samoa Marion Seve WG 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
194 Australia Ryan Papenhuyzen FB 2019 Australia Melbourne Storm
212 Australia Trent Loiero SR 2021 Australia Melbourne Storm
213 Samoa Dean Ieremia WG 2021 Australia Melbourne Storm
217 Papua New Guinea Xavier Coates WG 2022 Australia Brisbane Broncos
218 Australia Nick Meaney FB 2022 Australia Canterbury Bulldogs
219 Australia Josh King PR 2022 Australia Newcastle Knights
220 Australia Tyran Wishart FE, HK 2022 Australia Melbourne Storm
221 Australia Alec MacDonald LK 2022 Australia Melbourne Storm
222 Australia Grant Anderson CE 2022 Australia Melbourne Storm
225 New Zealand William Warbrick CE, WG 2023 Australia Melbourne Storm
226 Tonga Eliesa Katoa SR 2023 New Zealand New Zealand Warriors
227 Australia Bronson Garlick LK, SR 2023 Australia Melbourne Storm
228 Australia Kane Bradley WG, CE 2023 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
229 Australia Jonah Pezet HB 2023 Australia Melbourne Storm
231 Samoa Sualauvi Fa'alogo FB, WG 2023 Australia Melbourne Storm
232 Australia Jack Howarth SR 2023 Australia Melbourne Storm
233 France Joe Chan SR 2023 France Catalans Dragons
234 Australia Shawn Blore SR 2024 Australia Wests Tigers
235 Samoa Lazarus Vaalepu PR 2024 Australia Melbourne Storm
236 Australia Keagan Russell-Smith FE, HB 2024 Australia Melbourne Storm
237 Samoa Ativalu Lisati PR 2024 Australia Melbourne Storm
– Australia Angus Hinchey SR Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
– Australia Stanley Huen FE Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
– New Zealand Moses Leo WG Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
– Australia Gabriel Satrick HK Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm
– Samoa Stefano Utoikamanu PR Yet to debut Australia Wests Tigers
– Australia Coby Williamson CE Yet to debut Australia Melbourne Storm

Player movements

[edit]

Source:[20][21]

Representative honours

[edit]
Further information: List of Melbourne Storm representatives

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2025.

  • (C) = Captain
  • (vc) = Vice-captain
Player NRL All Star match State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Internationals/Pacific Championships
Will Warbrick[31] Māori — — — —

Additionally club coach Craig Bellamy and football manager Frank Ponissi were both part of the NSW State of Origin set up, with Bellamy appointed as an adviser to NSW coach Laurie Daley and Ponissi continuing in his role as team performance manager which he commenced in 2024.[32][33][34]

Jerseys

[edit]

In November 2023, Melbourne Storm announced a new sponsorship and apparel partnership agreement with Irish sportswear company O'Neills.[35]

Home

As part of the NRL's two year jersey cycle, the 2025 home jersey is the same as the 2024 version originally revealed in November 2023.[36] The jersey is navy blue with a purple yoke and sleeves. There are bright yellow lightning bolt designs on the side panels, and a revised Big V logo at the top of the rear of the jersey as a continuation of the Our Home, Victoria acknowledgment which began during the 2020 season to honour Storm's home state. This jersey will be worn with navy blue shorts and socks.

Away

As with the home jersey, the away jersey is the same as what was worn during the 2024 season. It is worn when the home jersey creates a clash with the opposition, and is a similar design to the home jersey, with white replacing the navy blue base colour. This jersey is worn with purple shorts, with white socks.

Junior Representatives

[edit]

The club entered teams in the 2025 New South Wales Rugby League junior representative competitions with the following coaching staff:

  • Jersey Flegg Cup (Under-21s): Mark Russell (coach), Nate Myles (assistant)
  • S.G. Ball Cup (Under-19s): Matt Duffie (coach), Justin O'Neill (assistant)
  • Harold Matthews Cup (Under-17s): Tony Adam (coach)

The club's academy program had Tim Auremi as Pathways Operations Manager and Dean Benton as Pathways Performance Manager.[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ Previous First Grade RL club: This column denotes the previous RL club the player was signed to and played first grade RL for. If they are yet to debut then this is stipulated. If they were merely signed to the club but did not play then it is not counted
  2. ^ Lewis took up a coaching role at the Canberra Raiders.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Read, Brent; Meyn, Travis; Carayannis, Michael (25 November 2024). "Every NRL club's train and trial players heading in to the 2025 pre-season". Code Sports. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Dean Ieremia suffers achilles injury". melbournestorm.com.au. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  3. ^ Pryde, Scott. "Re-signed Storm back suffers major training injury" (17 January 2025). Zero Tackle. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Storm confirm 2025 leadership group". melbournestorm.com.au. 9 February 2025. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  5. ^ Hooper, James (11 February 2025). "Christian Welch's NRL future in doubt after latest blow as Storm consider $600k move". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Welch announces immediate retirement". melbournestorm.com.au. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ a b Talintyre, Ben (12 February 2025). "Storm star Christian Welch announces retirement as secret debilitating back injury revealed". news.com.au. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  8. ^ a b Brunsdon, Simon (12 February 2025). "Former Origin star Christian Welch retires on eve of NRL season after mystery Storm team photo absence". Nine's Wide World of Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  9. ^ Nuttall, Daniel; Gabor, Martin (15 February 2025). "SJ replacement shines as Warriors ring in new era; star turns back clock in rout — What we learned". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  10. ^ Walter, Brad (23 February 2025). "Witzer Pre-Season Challenge: Cowboys, Knights tune up for Round 1 with wins". NRL.com. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Cowboys run riot as big-name stars dismantle Storm amid teen's scary incident: What we learned". foxsports.com.au. News Corporation Australia. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  12. ^ "NRL 2025 Melbourne Storm Pre-season Challenge Draw". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Witzer Pre-Season Challenge - Round 2". NRL.com. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Witzer Pre-Season Challenge - Round 3". NRL.com. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  15. ^ "NRL 2025 Melbourne Storm Draw". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Storm announce 2019 Football department structure". 5 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Lowrie to return to Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  18. ^ Callinan, Josh (3 November 2022). "Former NRL player Todd Lowrie joins Melbourne Storm coaching staff for 2023". Australian Community Media. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  19. ^ "2024 NRL Signings Tracker: Updated squads as new season begins". NRL.com. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  20. ^ "NRL Signings Tracker". NRL.com. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  21. ^ Naghten, Tom (20 November 2024). "Which players are leaving the Melbourne Storm? Full 2024 departures and arrivals lists". The Sporting News. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  22. ^ Chalk, Ethan Lee (2 December 2024). "Dragons sign former Melbourne Storm fullback". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  23. ^ Chalk, Ethan Lee (26 November 2024). "Retired Storm forward lands assistant coaching gig for rival NRL team". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  24. ^ Chalk, Ethan Lee (5 November 2024). "Ex-Storm forward joins new NRL team". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  25. ^ a b "More local players and staff join Storm Pathways". melbournestorm.com.au. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Stefano Utoikamanu leaves Wests Tigers for Melbourne Storm in three-year deal". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Utoikamanu joins Melbourne Storm". melbournestorm.com.au. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Stefano Utoikamanu inks 3 year Storm deal". espn.com.au. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Moses Leo to join Storm early". melbournestorm.com.au. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  30. ^ Mayne, Joshua (19 November 2024). "Olympian confirmed to join Melbourne Storm early". The Sporting News. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  31. ^ "2025 Harvey Norman All Stars teams". NRL.com. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  32. ^ "Bellamy joins Ponissi at NSW Blues". melbournestorm.com.au. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  33. ^ Gabor, Martin (2 December 2024). "'The best person possible': Craig Bellamy to serve as Laurie Daley's adviser as Blues unveil new coaching staff". news.com.au. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  34. ^ O'Loughlin, Liam (2 December 2024). "'Extremely excited': Craig Bellamy takes surprise role on NSW Blues coaching team". Nine's Wide World of Sport. Nine Media. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  35. ^ "Storm joins forces with O'Neills". melbournestorm.com.au. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  36. ^ "Melbourne Storm unveils 2024 kit". melbournestorm.com.au. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
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