The 2011 Melbourne Storm season was the 14th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season in first place, taking out the minor premiership. Storm enjoyed a strong start to the season with a 7–3 record from the opening 10 rounds. Their run of stellar form continued, losing just two games for the remainder of the season. Both of those came on the eve of the finals but the team was still able to win the Minor Premiership, finishing two points clear of Manly. After beating Newcastle 18–8 in the Qualifying final, Storm's season was prematurely ended with a home preliminary final loss to the Warriors. Melbourne again finished the season with the competition's best defence. At the Dally M awards, the Club featured prominently. Gareth Widdop also enjoyed a breakout season, playing 25 games while making 16 line breaks and providing 16 try assists. Season summary The Storm played 9 of their first 13 games at AAMI Park. The Storm's 2011 season and revival commenced with their Round 1 clash with bitter rivals, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, and Melbourne won 18–6. In Round 5 the Storm played the Parramatta Eels where their original 1998 jersey was worn by the players. This match had extra significance because it was the first time that coaches Craig Bellamy and Stephen Kearney faced off since Kearney departed the Storm as assistant at the end of 2010, to take on the Eels senior position. The Storm won convincingly, 38–0, for their first win over Parramatta since the 2009 Grand Final. The Anzac Day clash saw one of the Storm's largest home crowds with just over 22,000 attending the match, but the match was lost to the New Zealand Warriors by a narrow scoreline of 18–14. In Round 12 the Storm hosted the Cronulla Sharks at AAMI Park, in what was Cameron Smith's 200th NRL Game. The storm won 14-8 after a scoreless first half. In Round 19 the Storm traveled to Canberra Stadium to take on the Raiders. The Storm won 26–0; the scoreline was significant because it marked the first time in the Raiders history that they had been held scoreless on their own home ground. In Round 20 the Storm hosted the Brisbane Broncos at AAMI Park almost 23,000 spectators attended the match which the Storm won 26 - 6. Cameron Smith notched