Melbourne Storm could get a pre-finals boost with star halfback Jahrome Hughes ahead of schedule in his rehab from a shoulder injury as coach Craig Bellamy made a plea to Cameron Munster amid renewed talk of a bid to lure him to the NRL’s new Perth team.
Hughes dislocated his shoulder so badly in Storm’s round 21 clash against the Roosters that he had to be taken to hospital to get it back in place.
But days later he put on a movement display for media as he confirmed a contract extension and there’s now renewed hope that he could be back sooner than later to aid his team’s tough run to the finals.
Storm plays fellow top-four aspirants the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night in Melbourne, then again in Brisbane in the final round, with clashes against top-eight teams the Panthers and Bulldogs in between.
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Bellamy was reluctant to put a return date on Hughes but said he was “coming on pretty well” and hoped for a comeback before the finals.
“We’re not quite sure of when he’ll get back, but he seems to have come on,” Bellamy said.
“His movements around, just around the club, he looks like he’s coming on pretty well. We don’t want to put a week on him (for a comeback).
“We’d like him to play before the finals if he can, but at the end of the day we’re not going to take any risks either. We’ll just see how that goes and as the finals get closer we’ll see what he can do what he can’t do and then go from there.”
Bellamy is looking for an improved showing from his side in captain Harry Grant’s 100th game for the club after the Storm lost its most recent home game to Manly.
The man Grant replaced in the No.9 jersey, club and NRL legend Cameron Smith, “coughed his way through” a video message showed to the playing group, unable to get to the ground due to illness.
Grant earnt the ultimate praise from Bellamy as a “special player”.
“The big thing for me is how much he cares about the team and what we’re about and how much he cares for his teammates,” he said.
“That’s the biggest wrap I can give him. He’s got genuine care for what this club stands for and he’s got genuine care about his teammates.”
As speculation mounts that the new Perth franchise could make a mammoth offer, close to $2m a season, for Munster who is off-contract at the end of 2027, Bellamy said all Storm could do was remind the star playmaker of how much they valued him.
“Cameron’s got to do what’s right for him and at the end of the day if that’s going to Perth, it’s the best thing for him and his family. What he’s done for our club, we’re not going to be dirty on that,” he said.
“But we’d love to keep him at our club and we’ll do everything we can to keep him.”
