# 2003 Melbourne Storm season

The 2003 Melbourne Storm season was the 6th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 5th out of 15 teams, before reaching the semi-final where they were knocked out by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. It was Craig Bellamy's first season as head coach of the club.
Under new coach Craig Bellamy, the 2003 season for the Storm was one of regaining premiership credibility. Melbourne reached the finals for the first time since 2000 with evergreen Robbie Kearns and a confident Matt Orford showing the way.
A disappointing exit two weeks before the Grand Final was tempered by the rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith gave splendid service to Orford and his forwards. He was rewarded with a place in the Maroons Origin side and was unlucky to miss the Kangaroos train-on squad.
The silky and pacy moves of Slater in the centres and at fullback were attention getters for fans and keen judges of football talent alike. His debut season for the Storm realised a record 19 tries and talk of a big future in the game.

## Season Summary

* Pre season – Melbourne are one of four clubs fined for salary cap breaches during the 2002 NRL season. Melbourne's fine is $66,698 relating to previous contracts.
* World Sevens – Storm participate in the return of Rugby League World Sevens, losing all three of their pool matches at Aussie Stadium. Steven Bell captained the squad, which included a number of new recruits and players yet to make their NRL debut.
* 14 February – Stephen Kearney is appointed as Melbourne captain.
* 20 February – Reports emerge former trackwork jockey Billy Slater has secured a spot in Melbourne's squad ahead of the 2003 season.
* 27 February – Willie Leyshon announces his retirement from rugby league after a succession of serious knee injuries. Leyshon blaming strength and conditioning coach Alex Corvo and physiotherapist Matt Natusch for ignoring his pleas for an altered training program due to his persistent knee injuries.
* 5 March – A number of Sydney NRL clubs voice their opposition to the NRL's decision to grant salary cap concessions to Melbourne to help support relocated players.
* 12 March – NRL CEO David Gallop throws his support behind the proposal to allow Melbourne salary cap concessions to cover relocation expenses for players. Melbourne had put forward a proposal asking the NRL for a $265,000 concession on top of the $3.25m salary cap.
* Round 1 – Recovering from a 22–0 deficit, Melbourne stage an amazing comeback victory 36–32 over Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Toyota Park. On his NRL debut, Billy Slater scores a stunning try to spark the comeback, with Steven Bell scoring a hat-trick.
* 18 March – Melbourne Executive Director John Ribot withdraws Melbourne's application for salary cap concessions for players living away from home, saying "Melbourne don't want to be the source of division among the other clubs." Parramatta Eels boss Denis Fitzgerald and Penrith Panthers boss Shane Richardson had been outspoken in the days since the proposal was first mooted, with Canberra Raiders also requesting salary cap concessions.
* Round 2 – Prop forward Rodney Howe suffers a serious knee injury as an understrength Melbourne thrash Penrith 42–16. Head coach Craig Bellamy praises rookie Billy Slater who scored two tries in the win, saying "he's got something special about him. I wasn't quite sure when he was going to actually show it, but he's showed it pretty early. He's a special talent." Jake Webster becomes the first Melbourne-born player to debut with the club, but it would be his only appearance for the season after injurying his anterior cruciate ligament the following week playing for Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.
* 23 April – Aaron Moule announces his retirement from rugby league due to niggling injury problems.
* Round 7 – In his Storm debut, Andrew McFadden is injured again, succumbing to a groin injury in the first half. McFadden's injuries keep him out of the line-up for the rest of the season.
* Round 8 – Returning after a two-week injury break, Matt Orford scores 16 points in Melbourne's dominate 46–6 victory over a depleted Newcastle Knights.
* 9 May – Robbie Ross undergoes surgery on a bulging disc injury, after playing five of the opening eight games of the season.
* Round 9 – Melbourne inflict Canberra Raiders' first defeat of the season 30–10, despite an injury in the warm-up to Junior Langi.
* Round 10 – In the last game of rugby league at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium, an injury to Matt Orford cruels Melbourne's quest for a first win over the Broncos since 2001.
* 6 June – Matt Geyer signs a two-year contract extension, to keep him in Melbourne until the end of the 2005 NRL season.
* 7 June – Scott Hill re-signs with Melbourne, inking a new five-year contract.
* Round 13 – South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Melbourne for the first time, with the league cellar-dwellers stunning Melbourne 41–14.
* Round 14 – Ending a two-game winless streak, Melbourne defeat Penrith 32–12 to end the Panthers' eight-game winning streak.
* Round 15 – Five-eighth Scott Hill suffers a shoulder injury in Melbourne's loss to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Hill had feared his season was over, but subsequent scans cleared him of a serious injury.
* Round 17 – 0–4 at the venue, Melbourne upset Canberra 18–8 to win their first game ever at Bruce Stadium.
* 9 July – Melbourne sign promising fullback Steve Turner to a three-year contract from 2004.
* 11 July – John Ribot is forced to deny rumours the club would merge with Collingwood saying, "I don't think you'll see us merging. I've got more chance of flying to the moon."
* 19 July – Robbie Kearns signs on with Melbourne for a further two seasons.
* Round 19 – Brisbane Broncos pip Melbourne 26–22 in the club's first ever golden point game, after scores were tied 22–all after 80 minutes. Broncos winger Scott Minto scores the winning try three minutes into extra time.
* 27 July – Fan-favourite Marcus Bai announces he will be leaving Melbourne at the end of the season, taking up a two-year contact with Leeds Rhinos.
* Round 21 – Melbourne reclaim the Michael Moore Trophy, winning 14–12 over New Zealand Warriors with a 41-metre penalty goal from Matt Orford the difference.
* Round 23 – After his first game back from injury since June, Scott Hill is ruled out for the rest of the season after re-injuring his troublesome shoulder.
* 4 September – In a dispute with the RLPA, the NRL cancel the annual Dally M Awards. Both Billy Slater and Cameron Smith were among the favourites for the Rookie of the Year Award.
* Round 26 – In a rousing farewell, Marcus Bai scores and converts a try in his farewell appearance at Olympic Park. Melbourne thrash Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 40–10 to finish the season in fifth place, securing the club's first finals appearance since the 2000 NRL season.
* Qualifying Final – In a controversial 30–18 upset win over Canberra, referee Tim Mander cracks down on Melbourne players employing so-called 'grapple tackles' to slow down the play-the-ball. Coach Craig Bellamy accuses Canberra of making complaints to the NRL about the tackling style, claims rejected by both the NRL and Canberra coach Matt Elliott. The controversy overshadows Melbourne's first finals win since the 1999 NRL Grand Final, causing much media talk in the days after the game between Melbourne officials, referee's boss Robert Finch and league pundits.
* Semi Final – Melbourne are eliminated from the finals in a whitewash by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, held scoreless in a 30–0 defeat. It is the first time in 158 NRL games that Melbourne had failed to score.

### Milestone games

| Round | Player | Milestone |
| Round 1 | Billy Slater | NRL debut |
| Round 1 | David Kidwell | Storm debut |
| Round 1 | Dallas Johnson | NRL debut |
| Round 2 | Jake Webster | NRL debut |
| Round 6 | Ryan Hoffman | NRL debut |
| Round 7 | Andrew McFadden | Storm debut |
| Round 8 | Peter Robinson | 50th game |
| Round 12 | Robert Tanielu | Storm debut |
| Round 13 | Nathan Sologinkin | Storm debut |
| Round 14 | Dustin Cooper | NRL debut |
| Round 15 | Marcus Bai | 150th game |
| Round 15 | Nathan Friend | Storm debut |
| Round 20 | Steven Bell | 50th game |
| Round 22 | Antonio Kaufusi | NRL debut |
| Round 24 | Matt King | NRL debut |

### Jerseys

Melbourne signed up a new apparel partner for the 2003 season, with Canterbury of New Zealand the new manufacturer of club jerseys. The home jersey design was unchanged from the 2001-02 jersey, but for a white collar replacing the gold. The club's clash colours was changed to a mostly white design with a purple chevron and gold thunderbolts, worn with navy shorts.

## Fixtures
### Pre Season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. |
| 1 February | Rugby League World Sevens | Brisbane Broncos | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 18 | 38 |
| 1 February | Rugby League World Sevens | Canberra Raiders | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 8 | 24 |
| 2 February | Rugby League World Sevens | Lebanon | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 10 | 20 |
| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
| 22 February | Trial | South Sydney Rabbitohs | North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich | Won | 44 | 24 | B Slater (2), R Ross, R Kearns, D Johnson, S Bell, S Tadulala, M Orford | M Orford (5), M Geyer | | |
| 1 March | Trial | Canberra Raiders | Morwell Recreation Reserve, Morwell | Lost | 4 | 6 | R Ross | | | |

### Regular season
#### Result by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Ground | A | H | – | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | – | A |
| Result | W | W | B | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | B | W |
| Position | 7 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Points | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |

#### Matches

Source:
* (g.p.) – Golden Point extra time
* (pen) – Penalty try
| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
| 16 March | 1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Park, Sydney | Won | 36 | 32 | S Bell (3), M Geyer (2), M Orford, B Slater | M Orford 4/7 | | |
| 22 March | 2 | Penrith Panthers | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 42 | 16 | B Slater (2), S Tadulala (2), M Geyer, P Robinson, C Smith, D Williams | M Geyer 5/9 | | |
| 29 March | 3 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 April | 4 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Lost | 28 | 44 | A Moule (2), M Bai, M Orford, R Ross | M Orford 4/5 | | |
| 12 April | 5 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 12 | B Slater (2), M Bai | M Orford 2/2, C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 20 April | 6 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | Lost | 14 | 20 | R Ross, B Slater, S Tadulala | C Smith 1/1, M Turner 0/2 | | |
| 26 April | 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Lost | 12 | 32 | M Bai, M Sargent | C Smith 2/2 | | |
| 3 May | 8 | Newcastle Knights | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 46 | 6 | B Slater (2), S Bell, S Kearney, D Kidwell, M Orford, R Ross, C Smith | M Orford 6/8, C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 10 May | 9 | Canberra Raiders | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 30 | 10 | S Bell, M Geyer, K Reynoldson, P Robinson | M Orford 7/7 | | |
| 18 May | 10 | Brisbane Broncos | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Lost | 16 | 36 | M Geyer, D Kidwell, B Slater | M Orford 1/2, C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 24 May | 11 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Won | 12 | 10 | S Kearney, S Tadulala | M Orford 2/4 | | |
| 1 June | 12 | Sydney Roosters | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Lost | 20 | 27 | S Bell (2), M Orford | M Orford 4/4 | | |
| 8 June | 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 14 | 41 | M Bai, M Geyer, K Reynoldson | M Orford 1/3 | | |
| 14 June | 14 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Park, Sydney | Won | 32 | 12 | M Bai, M Geyer, R Kearns, D Kidwell, M Orford | M Orford 6/6 | | |
| 22 June | 15 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Lost | 12 | 26 | B Slater | M Orford 4/4 | | |
| 28 June | 16 | Wests Tigers | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 16 | 8 | B Slater (2), D Cooper | M Orford 2/3 | | |
| 6 July | 17 | Canberra Raiders | Bruce Stadium, Canberra | Won | 18 | 8 | S Bell, M Geyer, F Moala | M Orford 2/2, C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 12 July | 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 22 | 16 | M Geyer, R Hoffman, F Moala, M Orford | M Orford 3/6 | | |
| 20 July | 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Lost (g.p.) | 22 | 26 | M Bai, R Hoffman, F Moala, B Slater | M Orford 3/5 | | |
| 26 July | 20 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 24 | 6 | B Slater (2), M Geyer, R Kearns | M Orford 4/5 | | |
| 2 August | 21 | New Zealand Warriors | Ericsson Stadium, Auckland | Won | 14 | 12 | M Bai, K Reynoldson | M Orford 3/4 | | |
| 10 August | 22 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Sydney Showground, Sydney | Lost | 4 | 50 | M Geyer | M Orford 0/1 | | |
| 17 August | 23 | Parramatta Eels | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 50 | 12 | B Slater (3), M Bai, S Bell, F Moala, M Orford, C Smith, D Williams | M Orford 6/8, C Smith 1/2 | | |
| 22 August | 24 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium, Wollongong | Won | 22 | 14 | F Moala (2), M Sargent, B Slater | M Orford 3/5 | | |
| 30 August | 25 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 September | 26 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 40 | 10 | M Geyer (2), M Bai, S Bell, M King, F Moala, D Williams | M Orford 4/5, M Bai 1/1, M Sargent 1/1 | | |

### Finals

* Qualifying final 12 September 2003
| Canberra Raiders | 18 - 30 | Melbourne Storm |
| Tries: Jamaal Lolesi Joel Monaghan Michael Monaghan Goals: Clinton Schifcofske 3/4 | | Tries: Marcus Bai (2) Matt Geyer Fifita Moala Matt Orford Cameron Smith Goals: Matt Orford 3/6 |
* Bruce Stadium Attendance: 14,094 Referee: Tim Mander
* Semi final 21 September 2003
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 30 - 0 | Melbourne Storm |
| Tries: Nigel Vagana (2) Corey Hughes Willie Mason Adam Perry Goals: Hazem El Masri 4/7 Field Goals: Braith Anasta (2) | | |
* Aussie Stadium Attendance: 19,367 Referee: Bill Harrigan

## Ladder

2003 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 659 | 527 | +132 | 40 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 680 | 445 | +235 | 38 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 702 | 419 | +283 | 36 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 620 | 463 | +157 | 36 |
| 5 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 564 | 486 | +78 | 34 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 34 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 632 | 635 | -3 | 32 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 497 | 464 | +33 | 28 |
| 9 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 570 | 582 | -12 | 26 |
| 10 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 548 | 593 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 606 | 629 | -23 | 24 |
| 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 704 | -207 | 20 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 598 | -128 | 18 |
| 14 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 557 | 791 | -234 | 18 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 457 | 758 | -301 | 10 |

## 2003 Coaching Staff

* Head coach: Craig Bellamy
* Assistant coach: Dean Lance
* Football manager: Greg Brentnall
* Physical Preparation Coach: Alex Corvo
* Physiotherapist: Matt Natusch
* Head trainer: Troy Thompson

## 2003 squad

List current as of 6 September 2021
| Cap | Player name | Position | First Storm Game | Previous First Grade RL club |
| 1 | Robbie Ross | FB | 1998 | Hunter Mariners |
| 3 | Aaron Moule | WG, CE | 1998 | South Queensland Crushers |
| 5 | Marcus Bai | WG | 1998 | Gold Coast Chargers |
| 6 | Scott Hill | FE | 1998 | Hunter Mariners |
| 8 | Rodney Howe | PR | 1998 | Perth Reds |
| 9 | Danny Williams | LK, SR, HK | 1998 | North Sydney Bears |
| 10 | Robbie Kearns | PR | 1998 | Perth Reds |
| 18 | Matt Geyer | WG | 1998 | Perth Reds |
| 28 | Stephen Kearney | SR | 1999 | New Zealand Warriors |
| 34 | Fifita Moala | WG | 2000 | Melbourne Storm |
| 37 | Glen Turner | SR | 2000 | Melbourne Storm |
| 38 | Peter Robinson | SR | 2000 | Melbourne Storm |
| 42 | Junior Langi | CE | 2001 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| 43 | Matt Orford | HB | 2001 | Northern Eagles |
| 44 | Steven Bell | CE | 2001 | Melbourne Storm |
| 48 | Semi Tadulala | WG | 2001 | Melbourne Storm |
| 51 | Mitchell Sargent | PR | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 53 | Michael Russo | SR | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 54 | Marty Turner | HB | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 55 | Cameron Smith | HK | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 56 | Kirk Reynoldson | SR | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 57 | Keith Mason | PR | 2002 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
| 58 | Billy Slater | FB | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 59 | David Kidwell | SR | 2003 | Sydney Roosters |
| 60 | Dallas Johnson | LK | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 61 | Jake Webster | WG | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 62 | Ryan Hoffman | SR | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 63 | Andrew McFadden | HB | 2003 | Parramatta Eels |
| 64 | Robert Tanielu | PR | 2003 | Brisbane Broncos |
| 65 | Nathan Sologinkin | SR | 2003 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| 66 | Dustin Cooper | WG | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 67 | Nathan Friend | HK | 2003 | Brisbane Broncos |
| 68 | Antonio Kaufusi | PR | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 69 | Matt King | CE | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| – | Marc Brentnall | HB | Yet to debut | Melbourne Storm |
| – | Cooper Cronk | HB | Yet to debut | Melbourne Storm |
| – | Brett Finn | HK | Yet to debut | Melbourne Storm |

## Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2003.
| Player | City vs Country Origin | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Midseason Test | 2003 Kangaroo tour |
| Robbie Kearns | City (c) | New South Wales | New South Wales | New South Wales | – | Australia |
| Stephen Kearney | – | – | – | – | New Zealand | – |
| Cameron Smith | – | – | – | Queensland | – | – |

## Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2003 NRL season.
* Statistics sources:
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Points |
| Marcus Bai | 26 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| Steven Bell | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Dustin Cooper | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nathan Friend | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Geyer | 26 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 66 |
| Scott Hill | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Hoffman | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Rodney Howe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Johnson | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antonio Kaufusi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Kearney | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Robbie Kearns | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| David Kidwell | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Matt King | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Junior Langi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew McFadden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Mason | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fifita Moala | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Aaron Moule | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Matt Orford | 24 | 8 | 74 | 0 | 180 |
| Kirk Reynoldson | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Peter Robinson | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Robbie Ross | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Mitchell Sargent | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Billy Slater | 26 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| Cameron Smith | 24 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 32 |
| Nathan Sologinkin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Semi Tadulala | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Robert Tanielu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Turner | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marty Turner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Webster | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Williams | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 33 players used | — | 104 | 89 | 0 | 594 |

### Scorers

Most points in a game: 16 points
* Round 8 - Matt Orford (1 try, 6 goals) vs Newcastle Knights
* Round 14 - Matt Orford (1 try, 6 goals) vs Penrith Panthers
* Round 23 - Matt Orford (1 try, 6 goals) vs Parramatta Eels
Most tries in a game: 3
* Round 1 - Steven Bell vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
* Round 23 - Billy Slater vs Parramatta Eels

### Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 50 points
* Round 23 vs Parramatta Eels
Lowest score in a winning game: 12 points
* Round 11 vs Parramatta Eels
Greatest winning margin: 40 points
* Round 8 vs Newcastle Knights
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 4
* Round 23 - Qualifying Final

### Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 28 points
* Round 4 vs Newcastle Knights
Lowest score in a losing game: 0 points
* Semi Final vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Greatest losing margin: 46 points
* Round 22 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2
* Round 6 - Round 7
* Round 12 - Round 13

## Feeder Team

Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Coached by Gary Greinke, Norths missed the finals for the first time under the affiliation with Melbourne, with Cooper Cronk winning club's player of the year award.
2003 Queensland Cup :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 8 | Norths Devils | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 615 | 589 | +26 | 21 |

## Awards and honours
### Melbourne Storm Awards Night

* Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: Robbie Kearns
* Melbourne Storm Rookie of the Year: Cameron Smith
* Melbourne Storm Clubman of the Year: Marcus Bai
* Mick Moore Chairman's Award: Danny Williams