The 2008 Melbourne Storm season was the 11th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season as minor premiers before reaching the grand final in which they were beaten by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–0, the largest margin in grand final history. The minor premiership won by the Storm in 2008 was later stripped by the NRL in 2010 when it was revealed the club had been in breach of salary cap rules. Despite losing seven games, Storm managed to finish in top spot on the NRL ladder for a third successive season. They had to wait until the final game to do it though, defeating South Sydney 42–4. A loss to the Warriors in the Qualifying final meant Storm had to do it the hard way and they did just that, defeating the Broncos and Sharks on the road. That tough road eventually caught up with Melbourne in the decider, which they lost to Manly. Matt Geyer became the first Storm player to reach 250 games while Billy Slater followed on from Cameron Smith the previous year, earning the Golden boot award as the best player in the world.

Season Summary

Milestone games

Jerseys

Apparel supplier Reebok kept the same home jersey design as worn in previous seasons. The clash jersey changed to a mostly white jersey, featuring purple shoulder stripes and side panels together with sublimated purple thunderbolts, worn with purple shorts and white socks with two purple stripes. An alternate jersey was worn in the NRL's heritage round, with Melbourne wearing a replica uniform combination similar to their 1998 home colours. In line with the celebrations of the centenary of rugby league in Australia, an additional patch was worn above the NRL logo.

Fixtures

Pre season

Regular season

Result by round

Matches

Source:

Finals

Ladder

2008 Coaching Staff

2008 squad

List current as of 3 November 2021

Player movements

Losses Gains

Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2008.

Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2008 NRL season.

Scorers

Most points in a game: 18 points Most tries in a game: 3

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 48 points Lowest score in a winning game: 15 points Greatest winning margin: 46 points Greatest number of games won consecutively: 5

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 22 points Lowest score in a losing game: 0 points Greatest losing margin: 40 points Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2

NRL Under 20s

For the first time since the formation of the NRL in 1998, every team fielded a team in the same second-tier competition the NRL Under-20s, guaranteeing fans a high standard curtain raiser before every NRL game. The National Youth Championships (known commercially as the Toyota Cup due to sponsorship from Toyota Australia) ran parallel to the NRL. Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players. In the competition's inaugural season, Melbourne were coached by Brad Arthur finished in 13th position, failing to make the finals. Melbourne used 28 players across the season, with five players (Liam Foran, Sam Joe, Kevin Proctor, Joe Tomane, and Aiden Tolman) also making NRL appearances in 2008.

Ladder

Statistics

Source:

Scorers

Most points in a game: 16 points Most tries in a game: 4 Most points (season): 106 Most tries (season): 13

Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 36 points Lowest score in a winning game: 22 points Greatest winning margin: 24 points Greatest number of games won consecutively: 2

Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 32 points Lowest score in a losing game: 6 points Greatest losing margin: 32 points Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 4

Feeder Team

Established in 2007 and coached by former Storm player Jamie Feeney, Melbourne sent their back-up players to play with Central Coast Storm, with home games played at Morry Breen Oval, the base of Central Coast team Wyong Roos. Central Coast missed the finals, finishing in 10th position (out of 12 teams). The Player of the Year award was won by former Newcastle Knights player Reegan Tanner.

Awards

Trophy Cabinet

Melbourne Storm Awards Night

Dally M Awards Night

Rugby League World Golden Boot Awards Night

RLPA Awards Night

RLIF Awards