The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in Victoria.

The Storm has officially won one NRL premiership (1999), one minor premiership (2011) and one World Club Challenge victory (2000) in its history. The club also has won several other titles from between 2006–10 but these were annulled after the club was found to have breached the salary cap; these titles included two premierships (2007 and 2009), three minor premierships (2006, 2007 and 2008) and one World Club Challenge (2010). Altogether the club has competed in five grand finals, winning three of these grand finals.

From their inception and until the end of 2009, the Storm played the majority of home games at Olympic Park Stadium. Since 2010, the club has played its home games at AAMI Park.

Originally a Super League initiative and one of six NRL teams which are privately owned, the Melbourne club is currently 100% owned and operated by News Limited.

Melbourne ([ˈmelbən, -bn̩, ˈmæl-],rhotically  /ˈmɛlbərn/) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.

The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay). The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities.

Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.

Billy Slater (born 18 June 1983 in Nambour, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League (NRL). An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne, with whom he set the club record for most ever tries and NRL record for most ever tries by a fullback. Slater also won two grand finals, one Dally M Medal and one Clive Churchill Medal with the Storm. With the Kangaroos he was the 2008 World Cup's top try-scorer and player of the tournament and won the 2008 Golden Boot Award as the World player of the year. Slater was also the winner of the television game show Australia's Greatest Athlete in 2009 and 2010.

Slater began playing rugby league for the Brothers club in Innisfail, Queensland at only four years old. He continued to make the Innisfail representative side every season until his final year with the club.

At sixteen years of age, Slater decided to follow his personal passion for thoroughbred racing, working initially in Sydney as a roustabout for the racehorse trainer, Gai Waterhouse.

Cooper Patrick Cronk (born 5 December 1983 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Melbourne Storm of the NRL. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative halfback, he has played his whole NRL career to date with the Storm with whom he won the 2007 and 2009 NRL Grand Finals.

Cronk attended St. Laurence's College, South Brisbane from 1994–2001, where he represented the Schools the 1st XV rugby union side for number of years.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, he was selected to play in the Queensland and Australian Schoolboys Teams.

Cronk was then selected to play in the Norths Devils team. He quickly established himself in the Queensland Cup and trained with the Storm Squad in 2003. He scored 37 tries for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.

Cronk made his debut for the Storm in 2004, starting as a utility back coming off the bench and playing at five-eighth, hooker and lock.

In 2006, Cronk won the Dally M Halfback of the Year award. He also played at half-back for Melbourne in the 2006 NRL Grand Final loss to Brisbane.