• 19 January –
Will Chambers returns to the club after two seasons playing rugby union. • Pre-season – Melbourne play
Queensland Cup affiliate team
Easts Tigers for the Darren Bell Cup in a pre-season trial fixture at
Langlands Park. Bell, who was the recruitment manager at the club died of a heart attack late in 2011. Melbourne win the match 36–8 scoring seven tries to two. Will Chambers scoring the first try in his return to rugby league. • 10 February – The Australian Rugby League Commission announces that they have guaranteed $26.5m in funding for the club as part of an agreement with
News Limited, with the competition gaining their independence from the media conglomerate. • 18 February – In front of 11,752 fans at the
North Hobart Oval in Tasmania, Melbourne defeat the
Brisbane Broncos 34–30 in their final trial match before the start of the season.
Billy Slater scoring a double in his first action for the year. Melbourne had led 34–16 until late in the game, with
Ryan Hinchcliffe stretchered from the field with seven minutes left following an ugly tackle from
Petero Civoniceva. • Round 13 – In Todd Lowrie's 150th NRL appearance, Melbourne retain the
Michael Moore Trophy, coming from 12–0 down to defeat the Warriors in Auckland. The match was Anthony Quinn's 100th appearance for the club. • Round 22 – With a try after 35 seconds to
Sisa Waqa, Melbourne end their losing streak with a 46–6 defeat of the
Penrith Panthers. Jessie Bromwich also played his 50th game for the Storm. • Round 24 – Cooper Cronk scores the match-winning field goal with six minutes remaining to secure a 19–18 win over the Brisbane Broncos at
Suncorp Stadium. The club also announcing the signing of
Junior Moors from the Wests Tigers, with both players joining the club for the 2013 season. In round 19 against the
North Queensland Cowboys at AAMI Park, the players wore a one-off promotional jersey was worn to promote
The Dark Knight Rises. The jersey was predominantly black with the Batman logo on the front and back.
Indigenous For the first time in club history, Melbourne wore an indigenous design in the round 22 match against the
Penrith Panthers. The promotion was a part of the NRL's
Close the Gap round, a campaign the NRL had begun supporting in partnership with
Oxfam in 2010. The jersey was mostly orange, a colour never worn previously by the club, and featured the Storm’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) logo which was designed by Lenny Briggs and Dixon Patten.
Attendance averages == Fixtures ==