2024 End of Season Reviews: Melbourne Storm
10/09/2024 09:34 PM
As the 2024 NRL season nears its conclusion, it's time to look back on the teams that fell short of September and what they got right and wrong in their respective seasons.
In this edition, we look at the Melbourne Storm's 2024 season which ended in a Grand Final heartbreak at the hands of the dominant Penrith Panthers dynasty.
Melbourne Storm
Ladder: 1st
Record: 19-5 (+243)
Won Qualifying Final 37-10 vs Cronulla
Won Preliminary Final 48-18 vs Roosters
Lost Grand Final 14-6 vs Penrith
In a year where many expected the Panthers to vacate their spot atop the NRL, Melbourne was heavily favoured to be the heir to the throne. The Storm lived up to the billing in the early stages, knocking off Penrith 8-0 in the opening round before going on to win eight of the next nine games.
Despite injury concerns to Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen, the Storm continued to roll on and came out of the Origin period as the favourites to take it all out. Craig Bellamy's side secured a sixth minor premiership with three weeks to spare and were seemingly set to take down the Panthers on the NRL's biggest stage. However, the relentless Panther strangled the Storm's attack, leading them to fall short in the biggest game of the year.
Highlight: Regular season dominance capped off by a minor premiership With the title of best team in the NRL up for grabs prior to the 2024 season, the Storm wasted little time asserting their dominance across the league and marked themselves as genuine Premiership threats.
Melbourne claimed all of the biggest scalps across the league and did so in a convincing fashion, scoring an average of 28 points per game in their dominant winning displays. The Storm were only defeated five times in 2024, losing by an average margin of just five points.
Honourable Mention: Jahrome Hughes and Craig Bellamy's individual awards
Lowlight: Grand Final showing
After storming through every side in the NRL during the regular season, including Penrith twice, Melbourne were unable to deliver their best performance when it mattered the most. In a season where Melbourne was undoubtedly the best team in the league and the favourites going into the decider, the showing on the night was well below expectations and standards.
The concerning part for the Storm was the performance of some of its stars, including Jahrome Hughes, who after being named the Dally M Medallist struggled to find an impact on the Grand Final. It must be noted that Hughes was seemingly injured prior to the big dance, however, the rest of the Storm squad failed to help the star half throughout the contest.
Honourable Mention: Nelson Asofa-Solomona's suspension
Best Player: Jahrome Hughes
The best player in the NRL for season 2024 was undoubtedly Jahrome Hughes. The Kiwi playmaker was sensational throughout the regular season and steered the ship during the tricky times of Origin. Hughes spent most of the year without two of his biggest attacking weapons in Cameron Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen but still managed to thrive despite constantly having different partners in the spine.
Not only was Hughes' individual output sensational but his ability to help some of his younger teammates, including Eli Katoa and Jack Howarth reach a new level was equally as impressive. Hughes finished the 2024 season with 12 tries and 26 try and line break assists, whilst averaging 115 run metres per game. Honourable Mention: Harry Grant.
What they need for 2025: Learn from the mistakes of the Grand Final
The Storm enter 2025 in unchartered territory, with the majority of the squad unchanged and the only major addition being star forward Stefano Utoikamanu.
Bellamy and his coaching staff will have their hands full this offseason putting the squad through a seemingly brutal preseason as he will be aiming to right the wrongs of the 2024 decider.
Early 2025 prediction: 1st
It's hard to not see Melbourne claiming another minor premiership and even potentially winning it all in 2025. The youthful squad has only gotten more experienced and on the back of stellar individual brilliance, the Melbourne Storm will rightfully be favourites to win the Grand Final next year.
Grade: A+
Although the Grand Final performance does alter the outlook of the 2024 season for Melbourne, overall it was a very successful year considering the large injury concerns throughout the year.
