HUGHES SEEING WHAT OTHERS HAVE KNOWN
MELBOURNE Storm coach Craig Bellamy could see what Jahrome Hughes was missing.
Like Bellamy, so too could the manufactured halfback’s teammates.
Hughes, 25, had the tools to be a regular NRL playmaker, from speed and smarts to courage and creativity. The only ingredient missing was selfbelief.
The New Zealander, who grew up in Queensland, played only two games, between bouts of injury, when Storm swooped in 2016 — one at Gold Coast in 2013 and another at North Queensland in 2016.
Four seasons on, Hughes has emerged as one of Bellamy’s most valuable pieces in the premiership puzzle.
“It’s probably taken a little bit longer than what we’d hoped, I suppose,” Bellamy said of Hughes’ development ahead of the playmaker’s 50th game in purple.
“He’s a talented kid, Jahrome Hughes, but I think he lacked a little bit of belief in himself, to be quite honest.
“I think he’s on his way to a long career as a halfback in the NRL. The big thing for him was to get the confidence of the players and he probably doubted that earlier, but he’s … doing a good job for us this year and building good combinations on that right edge.”
The transformation of Hughes from fullback to halfback has not been without uncertainty. He was part of a frustrating but required halfback rotation in 2018, then survived a 2019 pre-season shootout with Scott Drinkwater and Ryan Papenhuyzen for Billy Slater’s vacated No. 1 jersey.
Hughes was moved to halfback at the end of 2019 as breakout star Papenhuyzen made it impossible for Bellamy to use the speedster off the bench.
The turning point came earlier in the season, with Hughes urged to play on instinct and make the most of his strengths instead of trying to be a textbook halfback.
Since Round 4, Hughes has recorded five try assists, scored four and busted 23 tackles, while averaging about 70 run metres.
“I tried to think too much about halfback play and doing all that organising and playmaking,” Hughes said.
“The coaches sat down with me and said, ‘You’re a runner first so be a runner, pick your times right and you still get to do the other stuff’. But I think I have got to be a runner first.”
Storm will be without joint vice-captain Dale Finucane (neck) on Saturday against the Bulldogs.