# 2008 Melbourne Storm season

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

* World Club Challenge – With club captain Cameron Smith back home to be present at the birth of his first child, Melbourne go down 11–4 to Leeds Rhinos in the 2008 World Club Challenge at a rain-swept Elland Road. Ryan Hoffman scored the only try for Melbourne.
* Round 1 – Billy Slater scores a hat-trick as Melbourne begins their title defence with a 32-18 opening round victory over the New Zealand Warriors at the Telstra Dome. A twice tardy Melbourne are fined $10,000 by the NRL for failing to take the field on time.
* Round 2 – Melbourne prop forward Brett White and Cronulla forward Ben Ross are both sent off. Ross is sent off for striking Cooper Cronk with a late elbow, while White is sent off for punching Ross in the ensuing fight. White is later suspended for four matches. The 17–16 defeat ends the clubs 15-match winning streak at Olympic Park.
* Round 3 – Storm experience successive losses for the first time since 2006 as the Sydney Roosters upset Melbourne 10–6.
* 30 March – 2007 Dally M Rookie of the Year Israel Folau announces he is leaving Melbourne at the end of the 2008 season, signing a four-year deal with Brisbane Broncos reportedly worth $1.6m.
* 18 April – Coach Craig Bellamy signs a new contract extension, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2013 NRL season.
* Round 5 – A man of the match performance from Billy Slater, sees Melbourne defeat Manly 26–4 in the Grand Final rematch at Olympic Park.
* Round 6 – Wearing replica 1998 home jerseys, Melbourne stage a second half comeback to defeat Canberra Raiders 23–16, after trailing 16–4 at halftime. Aiden Tolman makes his NRL debut with Melbourne, becoming the first player in the club's history to graduate from playing in the NRL Under-20s competition, which was in its inaugural season.
* 28 May – Michael Crocker announces he will be leaving the club at the completion of the 2008 season, signing a three-year deal with Super League's Hull F.C.
* Round 10 – Missing nine players to State of Origin selection, as well as coach Craig Bellamy, St George Illawarra snap Melbourne's five-match winning streak.
* Round 11 – With club stalwart Matt Geyer playing his 250th first grade game, Melbourne outlast South Sydney Rabbitohs 15–10 at Gosford, as eight players back up from the midweek Origin fixture.
* Round 12 – Storm hold the Bulldogs scoreless in a 46–0 win, with Cameron Smith scoring 18 points.
* Round 13 – With Origin again ruining team selections, Melbourne missing ten players are held scoreless 18–0 against the Gold Coast Titans. It's the first time since the 2003 NRL finals that Melbourne are held scoreless.
* Round 16 – Again missing nine players (and coach Craig Bellamy), Melbourne struggle against Parramatta Eels, losing 24–22. Previously Parramatta had not defeated Melbourne since 2005.
* Round 17 – A dominant Greg Inglis leads Melbourne to a 30–14 win over Canberra at Olympic Park. The victory marking Craig Bellamy's 100th coaching victory at premiership level (from 147 games).
* Round 19 – A wild brawl in the 23rd minute saw Billy Slater and Adam Blair sin binned, while minutes later Jason Ryles was sent off by referee Gavin Badger as Melbourne defeated St George Illawarra 26–0.
* Round 20 – Michael Crocker experiences defeat for the first time in a Melbourne jersey, with the Warriors 8–6 win over the Storm. Crocker had played 34 games since joining the Storm without tasting defeat.
* 30 July – Halfback Cooper Cronk re-signs with the club for a further five seasons.
* 9 August – Greg Inglis is named at centre in the Australian Rugby League's Indigenous Team of the Century.
* 27 August – The Sydney Morning Herald reports that NRL CEO David Gallop held secret talks with Greg Inglis to ensure he did follow other players in 'defecting' to rugby union.
* Round 26 – Melbourne claim their third straight minor premiership, defeating South Sydney 42–4 in the final match of the regular season. Level on competition points with Manly, Melbourne took the J. J. Giltinan Shield with a superior points differential (+302 versus +290). In his final home game at Olympic Park, Matt Geyer scored the first try of the match and was honoured with a special presentation at full time.
* 9 September – Billy Slater and Cameron Smith finish in a tie for second for the Dally M Medal behind former Storm halfback Matt Orford. Slater's suspension for fighting in Round 19 costs him the victory.
* 10 September – Despite strong interest from European rugby union clubs, Greg Inglis commits his future to the Storm, signing a new four-year contract reportedly worth $1.8m.
* Semi Final – In a pulsating match in front of over 50,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium, Melbourne score a last minute try to win 16–14 over the Brisbane Broncos. Forwards Jeremy Smith and Cameron Smith are cited for a tackle on Sam Thaiday during the second half. Jeremy Smith later accepts a one-match suspension, while Cameron Smith pleads not guilty to a charge of unnecessary contact to the head or neck. In a lengthy NRL judiciary hearing, Cameron Smith is suspended for two-matches, ruling him out of the rest of the season.
* Preliminary Final – After Melbourne's comfortable 28–0 win over Cronulla, coach Craig Bellamy launches into a long-winded attack on the NRL, the NRL judiciary, bookmakers, and the media following the suspension of Cameron Smith. Bellamy's comments, endorsed by club CEO Brian Waldron, result in the NRL fining the club $50,000 with NRL CEO David Gallop accusing the pair of an "unprecedented, irrational, premeditated and defamatory attack on the integrity of the judiciary panel and the game's judiciary process."
* 30 September – The Men of League charity announce the game's greatest club players at their annual ball, with Cameron Smith named as Melbourne's club great.

### Milestone games

| Round | Player | Milestone |
| Round 3 | Clifford Manua | Storm debut |
| Round 6 | Aiden Tolman | NRL debut |
| Round 10 | Brett Anderson | Storm debut |
| Round 10 | Dane Nielsen | Storm debut |
| Round 10 | Kevin Proctor | NRL debut |
| Round 10 | Liam Foran | NRL debut |
| Round 11 | Matt Geyer | 250th game |
| Round 11 | Jeremy Smith | 50th game |
| Round 13 | Joe Tomane | NRL debut |
| Round 13 | Sam Joe | NRL debut |
| Round 16 | Sinbad Kali | NRL debut |
| Round 17 | Cooper Cronk | 100th game |
| Round 18 | Matt Geyer | 250th Storm game |
| Qualifying Final | Anthony Quinn | 150th game |
| Qualifying Final | Jeff Lima | 50th game |
| Semi Final | Israel Folau | 50th game |
| Preliminary Final | Adam Blair | 50th game |

### 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

| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
| 15 February | Trial | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford | Won | 56 | 10 | B Slater (2), J Williams, J Tomane, C Smith, A Moore, I Folau, C Cronk, R Aitken, W Chambers | S Turner (4), J Smith (2), L Foran, C Smith | | |
| 22 February | Trial | Halifax | Shay Stadium, Halifax, West Yorkshire | Won | 26 | 10 | B Slater (2), S Tagataese, I Folau, R Aitken, B MacDougall | S Turner | | |
* 29 February 2008 20:00 GMT (UTC+0)
| Leeds Rhinos | 11 – 4 | Melbourne Storm |
| Tries: 1 Donald 38' Goals: 3 Sinfield pen 11', 39', pen 60' (3/3) Drop goals: 1 Sinfield 68' | 1st: 8 – 4 2nd: 3 – 0 Report | Tries: 1 Hoffman 16' Goals: 0/1 Turner (0/1) |
* Elland Road, Leeds Attendance: 33,204 Referee: Ashley Klein Player of the Match: Kevin Sinfield

### 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 | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | – | H | A | A | H | A | – | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | B | W | L | W | W | L | B | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Points | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 38 |

#### Matches

Source:
* (g.p.) – Golden Point extra time
* (pen) – Penalty try
| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Mel. | Opp. | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Ref |
| 17 March | 1 | New Zealand Warriors | Telstra Dome, Melbourne | Won | 32 | 18 | B Slater (3), D Johnson, S Tagataese | C Smith 5/6, S Turner 1/1 | | |
| 23 March | 2 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Lost | 16 | 17 | R Aitken, I Folau, B White | C Smith 2/3 | | |
| 29 March | 3 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 6 | 10 | B Slater | C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 4 April | 4 | Brisbane Broncos | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 28 | 8 | A Quinn (3), I Folau, R Hoffman | C Smith 4/5 | | |
| 11 April | 5 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 26 | 4 | B Slater (2), R Hoffman, G Inglis, A Quinn | C Smith 3/6 | | |
| 21 April | 6 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium, Canberra | Won | 23 | 16 | W Chambers, I Folau, B Slater, S Turner | C Smith 3/4 | C Cronk | |
| 26 April | 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville | Won | 12 | 10 | I Folau, G Inglis | C Smith 2/2 | | |
| 3 May | 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 12 May | 9 | Newcastle Knights | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 18 | 4 | I Folau (2), A Quinn | C Smith 3/3 | | |
| 17 May | 10 | St George Illawarra Dragons | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 12 | 36 | W Chambers, S Manu | J Smith 1/2, S Turner 1/1 | | |
| 24 May | 11 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford | Won | 15 | 10 | W Chambers, J Smith | C Smith 3/4 | C Cronk | |
| 31 May | 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 46 | 0 | M Geyer (2), M Crocker, C Cronk, I Folau, C Smith, J Smith, S Turner | C Smith 7/8 | | |
| 9 June | 13 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast | Lost | 0 | 18 | | | | |
| 14 June | 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 21 June | 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 48 | 20 | G Inglis (3), S Turner (2), I Folau, M Geyer, B Slater, J Smith | C Smith 6/9 | | |
| 29 June | 16 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney | Lost | 22 | 24 | S Manu (2), C Cronk, J Tomane | S Turner 2/2, C Cronk 1/2 | | |
| 6 July | 17 | Canberra Raiders | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 30 | 14 | G Inglis (2), S Manu, A Quinn, B Slater, S Turner | C Smith 3/6 | | |
| 14 July | 18 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney | Won | 30 | 18 | G Inglis (3), S Manu, B Slater | C Smith 5/5 | | |
| 21 July | 19 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 26 | 0 | I Folau, M Geyer, J Lima, J Smith, S Turner | C Smith 3/5 | | |
| 27 July | 20 | New Zealand Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland | Lost | 6 | 8 | S Manu | C Smith 1/1 | | |
| 1 August | 21 | Gold Coast Titans | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 44 | 4 | I Folau (2), G Inglis (2), M Geyer, R Hoffman, A Quinn, J Smith, S Turner | C Smith 4/9 | | |
| 8 August | 22 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval, Sydney | Won | 16 | 10 | C Cronk, I Folau, M Geyer | C Smith 2/3 | | |
| 15 August | 23 | Sydney Roosters | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 30 | 6 | A Quinn (2), C Cronk, B Slater, C Smith | C Smith 5/6 | | |
| 25 August | 24 | Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium, Sydney | Won | 40 | 6 | G Inglis (3), S Turner (2), J Lima, A Quinn, C Smith | C Smith 4/8 | | |
| 30 August | 25 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | Lost | 16 | 17 | I Folau, G Inglis, S Manu | C Smith 2/3 | | |
| 7 September | 26 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Olympic Park, Melbourne | Won | 42 | 4 | B Slater (2), B Anderson, M Geyer, R Hoffman, A Quinn, C Smith, J Smith | C Smith 4/7, M Geyer 1/1 | | |

### Finals

* Qualifying final 14 September 2008 4:00pm AEST
| Melbourne Storm | 15–18 | New Zealand Warriors |
| Tries: Israel Folau Anthony Quinn Goals: Cameron Smith 3/4 Field Goals: Greg Inglis | | Tries: Jerome Ropati Manu Vatuvei Michael Witt Goals: Michael Witt 3/4 |
* Olympic Park Attendance: 15,193 Referee: Jason Robinson
* Saturday, 20 September 19:45 AEST (UTC+10)
| Brisbane Broncos | 14 – 16 | Melbourne Storm |
| Tries: 2 Boyd 3' Kemp 32' Goals: 3 Parker 5', 33', pen 62' (3/3) | 1st: 12–0 2nd: 2–16 Report | Tries: 3 Crocker 46' Slater 64' Inglis 80' Goals: 2 C Smith 47', 65' (2/3) Sin bin: 1 Lima 61' to 71' |
* Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 50,466 Referee: Shayne Hayne
* Preliminary final 26 September 2008 7:45pm AEST
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0–28 | Melbourne Storm |
| | | Tries: Steve Turner (2) Adam Blair Israel Folau Matt Geyer Goals: Steve Turner 4/5 |
* Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 27,570 Referee: Tony Archer
* Sunday, 5 October 17:15 AEDT (UTC+11)
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 40 – 0 | Melbourne Storm |
| Tries: 8 Robertson 33', 47', 55' Ballin 23' Kite 58' Williams 67' Menzies 73' Bell 75' Goals: 4 Matai 47', 58' (2/4) Lyon 73', 77' (2/2) Orford (0/2) | 1st: 8–0 2nd: 32–0 Report | |
* ANZ Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 80,388 Referee: Tony Archer Touch judges: Steve Chiddy, Jeff Younis Clive Churchill Medal: Brent Kite (Manly)

## Ladder

2008 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |

## 2008 Coaching Staff

* Head coach: Craig Bellamy
* Assistant coaches: Michael Maguire & Stephen Kearney
* Specialist coach: Matthew Johns
* Strength and conditioning Coach: Alex Corvo
* Football Manager: Frank Ponissi
* NRL Under 20s Coach: Brad Arthur
* Feeder Club Coach: Jamie Feeney (Central Coast Storm)

## 2008 squad

List current as of 3 November 2021
| Cap | Player name | Position | First Storm Game | Previous First Grade RL club |
| 18 | Matt Geyer | WG | 1998 | Perth Reds |
| 55 | Cameron Smith (c) | HK | 2002 | Melbourne Storm |
| 58 | Billy Slater | FB | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 60 | Dallas Johnson | LK | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 62 | Ryan Hoffman | SR, LK | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 68 | Antonio Kaufusi | PR | 2003 | Melbourne Storm |
| 70 | Ben MacDougall | CE | 2004 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
| 72 | Steve Turner | WG | 2004 | Penrith Panthers |
| 73 | Cooper Cronk | HB | 2004 | Melbourne Storm |
| 74 | Jeremy Smith | LK | 2004 | Melbourne Storm |
| 76 | Brett White | PR | 2005 | Melbourne Storm |
| 79 | Greg Inglis | CE | 2005 | Melbourne Storm |
| 84 | Michael Crocker | SR | 2006 | Sydney Roosters |
| 86 | Adam Blair | PR | 2006 | Melbourne Storm |
| 90 | Jeff Lima | PR | 2006 | Melbourne Storm |
| 91 | Anthony Quinn | WG | 2007 | Newcastle Knights |
| 92 | Israel Folau | WG | 2007 | Melbourne Storm |
| 95 | Sam Tagataese | PR | 2007 | Melbourne Storm |
| 96 | Russell Aitken | HK | 2007 | Cronulla Sharks |
| 97 | Will Chambers | CE | 2007 | Melbourne Storm |
| 98 | Sika Manu | SR | 2007 | Melbourne Storm |
| 99 | Scott Anderson | PR | 2007 | Melbourne Storm |
| 101 | Clifford Manua | PR | 2008 | Brisbane Broncos |
| 102 | Aiden Tolman | PR | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| 103 | Brett Anderson | WG | 2008 | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 104 | Dane Nielsen | CE | 2008 | Cronulla Sharks |
| 105 | Kevin Proctor | SR | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| 106 | Liam Foran | HB | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| 107 | Joseph Tomane | WG | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| 108 | Sam Joe | WG | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| 109 | Sinbad Kali | SR | 2008 | Melbourne Storm |
| - | Aidan Guerra | SR | Yet to Debut | Melbourne Storm |
| - | Lucas Miller | FE | Yet to Debut | Melbourne Storm |
| - | Danny Vaughan | PR | Yet to Debut | Melbourne Storm |

## Representative honours

This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2008.
| Player | 2008 ANZAC Test | City vs Country Origin | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | 2008 Rugby League World Cup |
| Jay Aston | – | – | – | – | – | Papua New Guinea |
| Adam Blair | New Zealand | – | – | – | – | New Zealand |
| Michael Crocker | Australia | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | – |
| Israel Folau | Australia | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia |
| Ryan Hoffman | Australia | – | New South Wales | New South Wales | New South Wales | – |
| Greg Inglis | Australia | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia |
| Dallas Johnson | – | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | – |
| Antonio Kaufusi | – | – | – | – | – | Tonga |
| Sika Manu | – | – | – | – | – | New Zealand |
| Anthony Quinn | – | Country | New South Wales | New South Wales | New South Wales | – |
| Billy Slater | Australia | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia |
| Cameron Smith | Australia (c) | – | Queensland (c) | Queensland (c) | Queensland (c) | Australia (c) |
| Jeremy Smith | New Zealand | – | – | – | – | New Zealand |
| Steve Turner | – | – | – | New South Wales | – | – |
| Brett White | – | Country | New South Wales | New South Wales | New South Wales | – |

## Statistics

This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2008 NRL season.
* Statistics sources:
| Name | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field goals | Points |
| Russell Aitken | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Brett Anderson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Scott Anderson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Blair | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Will Chambers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Michael Crocker | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Cooper Cronk | 28 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
| Israel Folau | 25 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| Liam Foran | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Geyer | 28 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
| Ryan Hoffman | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Greg Inglis | 22 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 69 |
| Sam Joe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Johnson | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sinbad Kali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antonio Kaufusi | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Lima | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Sika Manu | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Clifford Manua | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dane Nielsen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Proctor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Quinn | 24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Billy Slater | 24 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| Cameron Smith | 23 | 4 | 77 | 0 | 170 |
| Jeremy Smith | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
| Sam Tagataese | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Aiden Tolman | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Tomane | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Turner | 25 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 60 |
| Brett White | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 30 players used | — | 116 | 88 | 3 | 643 |

### Scorers

Most points in a game: 18 points
* Round 12 – Cameron Smith (1 try, 7 goals) vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Most tries in a game: 3
* Round 1 – Billy Slater vs New Zealand Warriors
* Round 4 – Anthony Quinn vs Brisbane Broncos
* Round 15 – Greg Inglis vs North Queensland Cowboys
* Round 18 – Greg Inglis vs Wests Tigers
* Round 24 – Greg Inglis vs Penrith Panthers

### Winning games

Highest score in a winning game: 48 points
* Round 15 vs North Queensland Cowboys
Lowest score in a winning game: 15 points
* Round 11 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Greatest winning margin: 46 points
* Round 12 vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Greatest number of games won consecutively: 5
* Round 4 – Round 9

### Losing games

Highest score in a losing game: 22 points
* Round 16 vs Parramatta Eels
Lowest score in a losing game: 0 points
* Round 13 vs Gold Coast Titans
* Grand Final vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Greatest losing margin: 40 points
* Grand Final vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Greatest number of games lost consecutively: 2
* Round 2 – Round 3

## 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

2008 Toyota Cup seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Canberra Raiders (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 744 | 581 | +163 | 40 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 684 | 476 | +208 | 35 |
| 3 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 721 | 533 | +188 | 35 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 692 | 583 | +109 | 35 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 578 | 564 | +14 | 35 |
| 6 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 561 | 520 | +41 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 711 | 587 | +124 | 31 |
| 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 686 | 567 | +119 | 31 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 620 | 623 | -3 | 30 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 618 | 584 | +34 | 28 |
| 11 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 519 | 532 | -13 | 26 |
| 12 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 526 | 630 | -104 | 21 |
| 13 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 512 | 638 | -126 | 21 |
| 14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 394 | 666 | -272 | 17 |
| 15 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 480 | 721 | -241 | 16 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 455 | 696 | -241 | 15 |

### Statistics

Source:

#### Scorers

Most points in a game: 16 points
* Round 1 – Joe Tomane (2 tries, 4 goals) vs New Zealand Warriors
* Round 9 – Trent Walker (4 tries) vs Newcastle Knights
Most tries in a game: 4
* Round 9 – Trent Walker vs Newcastle Knights
Most points (season): 106
* Liam Foran (3 tries, 47 goals)
Most tries (season): 13
* Sam Joe

## 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.
2008 New South Wales Cup :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 10 | Central Coast Storm | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 518 | 563 | -45 | 16 |