The 2006 Melbourne Storm season was the 9th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership, winning a record 20 out of 24 regular season games to finish in first place and win the minor premiership, eight points clear of the second-placed Bulldogs. The team backed up their stellar defensive effort the previous year to concede just 404 points in 2006. The retirement of Robbie Kearns saw a rotating captaincy introduced between David Kidwell, Scott Hill, Cameron Smith, Matt Geyer and Michael Crocker. Cooper Cronk also assumed the halfback duties following the departure of Matt Orford. Storm won 13 of their last 14 games of the season to take a great run of form into the finals where they progressed to reach their first Grand Final since 1999 after wins over the Eels and Dragons. This broke a run of three straight semi-final exits for Craig Bellamy’s team. Melbourne fell just short in the decider against Brisbane however the platform had now been built for a sustained run of success. The Storm's Queensland trio of Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith and Antonio Kaufusi were selected to make their international debuts for Australia in 2006. Post-season the Storm farewelled Nathan Friend and Jake Webster (Gold Coast Titans), David Kidwell (South Sydney) and Scott Hill (Harlequins Rugby League).

Season Summary

Milestone games

Jerseys

Continuing with apparel manufacturer Reebok, the designs of Melbourne's home and clash jerseys were unchanged from 2005. Corporate partner Medibank Private upgraded their sponsorship to be the chest advertiser, while Mortgage House replaced them as jersey sleeve advertiser. Hostplus was a new advertiser on the rear of the jerseys, with their logo appearing above and below the player's numbers for the first time.

Fixtures

Pre Season

Regular season

Result by round

Matches

Source:

Finals

Ladder

2006 Coaching Staff

2006 Squad

List current as of 28 September 2021

Player movements

Losses Gains

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2006.

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2006 NRL season.

Scorers

Most points in a game: 18 points Most tries in a game: 4

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 52 points Lowest score in a winning game: 10 points Greatest winning margin: 46 points Greatest number of games won consecutively: 11

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 28 points Lowest score in a losing game: 8 points Greatest losing margin: 32 points Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

Feeder Teams

For a second season, Melbourne split their reserve players between two feeder clubs. The agreement with Norths Devils continued for a ninth season, with players who were dual-registered in Queensland travelling to Brisbane each week to play with the Devils in the Queensland Cup. Some players travelled to Sydney to play with foundation New South Wales Rugby League club North Sydney Bears in the NSWRL Premier League. The 2006 season would be the final season of this arrangement, with Melbourne ending the affiliation with North Sydney after the season. The Devils missed the Queensland Cup finals for the first time since 2003, while the Bears coached by Josh White, finished 12th and missed the finals. Both teams featured a rare appearance by Billy Slater following his return from a second suspension during the NRL season.

Awards and honours

Trophy Cabinet

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

Dally M Awards Night

RLPA Awards Night

RLIF Awards

Additional Awards