The Storm entered 2017 off the back of a heartbreaking defeat in the 2016 grand final to the Cronulla Sharks.
While their Big 3, in Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, were not getting any younger, the Storm still retained one of the best rosters and were hard in the premiership market again.
What followed was one of the best individual seasons from any club in recent history, as the Storm lost just four games all season, dispatching all rivals in a one-sided premiership triumph.
Season Rating – Won grand final 34-6, (Regular Season, Minor Premiers, 20 Wins, four Losses, 633 Points For, 336 Points Against)
Season Ranking – 10/10
How could you not give the Storm the perfect 10/10 for their groundbreaking season? To lose just four games in the regular season is a remarkable effort considering the competitiveness of the NRL, and considering the fact they were heavily interrupted during the Origin period. While the Storm have always been a pillar of excellence, I think this team stands out in their history, given the brand of football they displayed throughout the season.
The Storm have often been renowned as a grinding, regimented type of side, but this year they played an attacking brand of football with plenty of ball movement and second phase play. Their defence was as stingy as ever, and younger players, that came into the side, often played at a high level.
Coach rating (Craig Bellamy) 10/10
Without doubt, Craig Bellamy is the best coach in the NRL, and has been for probably a decade now. The Storm have never missed the finals since he took over in 2003, and his resume now includes four Premiership Titles, if you include the two they were stripped of in 2007 and 2009.
Bellamy has a knack of great recruiting, pinching someone like Josh Addo Carr, who was wallowing in reserve grade at the Tigers, and turning him into the most exciting winger in the NRL. Bellamy seems to have the ability to be a really intense and demanding coach, but still has that softer side that players must gravitate towards.
While other hard-nosed coaches tend to burn out, Bellamy rarely ever falls out with players, or has his team looking flat, such is the outstanding culture he has driven at the Melbourne Storm.
While he has been blessed to have the likes of Slater, Smith and Cronk, we are starting to see a new spine emerge with the development of players like Cameron Munster and Brodie Croft.
Best Win – Brisbane Broncos 12 Melbourne Storm 42 @ Suncorp Stadium
I have chosen this game as the Storm simply blew away a fellow competitor for the title, on the road, in a prime-time game. The Storm have had the wood on the Broncos for a number of years, and they were breathtaking here, scoring a number of long range tries and showing their full arsenal of attacking weapons.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Worst Loss – Gold Coast Titans 38 Melbourne Storm 36 @ Suncorp Stadium
While the Storm only lost four games this season, I thought clearly this was their worst loss, given they had virtually a full strength side at their disposal against a struggling Titan’s outfit.
The Storm led this game by as many as 14 points at one stage, and even led by eight points with inside ten minutes to play. However, in a very un-Stormlike performance, they conceded 38 points and let in a number of soft tries in a helter-skelter game.
Needless to say, you didn’t see this type of performance from the Storm again in 2017, as they cruised their way to the Title.
Best player – Cameron Smith
What else can you say except that Smith seems to get even better with age? Not only did he win the Dally M Medal, but he captained both the Storm and Queensland to more glory in a decorated season for the veteran rake.
What I love about Smith is that he is at his best when the stakes are at their highest. He was clearly the best player on the field in Origin 3, and the grand final, with his running game really dictating play from the outset.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He is also like having an on-field coach, and the way he orchestrates his side’s game plans, and dictates the tempo of the game, is second to none. Although he is already the most capped player in rugby league history, I think Smith could play on for at least another two to three years at a high level.
Most Disappointing Player
Really there were no disappointing players for the Storm on the field this season. Jesse Bromwich obviously let the club down with his off-field incident while playing for New Zealand. However, he played strongly once he returned from suspension.
2018 Prospects
I know they are losing their talismanic halfback in Cooper Cronk, however, I’m still expecting a very strong Storm side. I think Brodie Croft is an outstanding prospect and, while it might be tough to call him a Cronk clone, he certainly looked that way, at least in his style of play and mannerisms in a few memorable performances this season.
With Billy Slater playing on, and Cameron Munster emerging as a dominant Number 6, I think the Storm will clearly be a Top four prospect again, and will be right in contention to be the first team since 1992-93 to win back-to-back titles.
BigJ
Roar Guru
No doubt this was there best season since 2009, I think they only dropped four games that year as well. The storm are just too good and even though Cronk is gone the Storm will replace him and continue thier winning ways. As long as Smith is in charge the Storm will continue to dominate the NRL
Peter Phelps
Guest
Particularly when you consider how many of those losses were affected by Origin where they were effectively playing with their second roster and a couple of Fijians.
Dogs Boddy
Roar Rookie
Being held scoreless by the Sharks at home would have to be close to their worst loss as well. Though to be fair they only lost what, 4 games or something stupid like that. So there is not a lot to really pick from. Such a dominant season, you could just sum it up with that famous line; "They came, they saw, they conquered".
Peter Phelps
Guest
Croft is still green obviously and isn't as good as Cronk (and may never be) but he is talented and is a young pair of legs Many people are over estimating how much the Storm will miss Cronk and how much worse off they will be having the young lad in his place. It would be a foolish man who bet against the storm not being in the top 4 come finals time. By that stage, Croft will have had an entire season's NRL experience to build on. Given his natural talent, eagerness to learn and supported by an excellent coach and great support staff, you can bet that the worst of any weaknesses will be much less come September. Going back to back is a very big thing to achieve but if the storm don't achieve it in 2018, I don't think they will be blaming Cronk's departure.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Great season by the Storm. Hard to find any faults in the way they went about it or the players. Agree with the worst loss being against the Titans but I have to say I thought it wasn't very good thinking by the Storm officials to have that game in Brisbane as the rep round was the previous weekend. Titans hardly had any players in rep round but the Storm had 18 players playing for various nations around the country. They then all flew back to Melbourne only to then fly up to Brisbane for a 'home' game at Suncorp against the rested Titans. If it wasn't for the brilliance of the big 3 that day I think the scoreline would have been very different as defensively the Storm were off across the park. I think the Storm management should hopefully learn to schedule better after rep round. Also agree with your Best win being the dismantling of Broncos at Suncorp. Also the Round 9 game against the Dragons at WIN when the Dragons were on top of the table and Storm were 2nd was an absolute belter. They overran the Dragons is grand style similar to what they did to the Broncos at Suncorp. Agree that Croft is a very good prospect. His running game is better than Cronk but his kicking still needs a bit of work and the biggest difference is defense. Cronk is just a solid defender who needs no minder and almost always makes the right decisions in defence. Croft had issues in the preseason although I have to admit he has worked on it and the games he played during the season he was much better defensively. Especially when the Saifiti boys worked him over during the Knights game. I'm sure the coaches will be ensuring he keeps improving. Also keen to see how Billy Walters goes at the Storm setup.