After his side’s 22-12 Round 1 win over the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy lauded Jahrome Hughes, declaring him the man of the match.
Stepping into the shoes of retired champion Billy Slater, Hughes put in a scintillating performance, running in the first try of the 2019 NRL season and dominating the game with a linebreak and 224 running metres.
Somehow, even in one of the biggest player losses a team could face, the Storm still came out ahead.
The reason why is an unrivalled level of young talent, ready to burst into first-grade footy.
Hughes is 24 years old, and with only 18 NRL matches under his belt, he has already been an inclusion for the New Zealand national squad, and could be in line for a Test debut sooner rather than later.
What makes this situation even more fortunate for the purple army is that Hughes was not their first-choice fullback this season.
The position was meant to go straight to Scott Drinkwater, who had heads turning when he made his NRL debut in Round 25 last year.
Had he not suffered a pectoral injury, first crack would have been his. That’s a pretty powerful assessment of the 21-year-old.
Spoiled for choice. Melbourne have always looked that way.
New Zealand Test halfback Richard Swain was a mainstay in the early Storm teams. Why didn’t a player of his calibre finish his career in Melbourne?
Answer: Cameron Smith.
Cam Smith (Simon Cooper/PA via AP)
He’ll retire with records aplomb, achievements and successes beyond compare – arguably as the greatest to ever lace on a boot. The Storm obviously made the right call.
And we’re seeing the beginnings of another hooker transition, with Brandon Smith – dubbed the ‘rolling block of cheese’ by Andrew Johns as he attacked the Brisbane defensive line – is already making a name for himself while predominantly playing out of position, at lock.
This isn’t the same situation, he won’t push out Smith, but he’s already got a Test debut under his belt (at hooker, for that matter).
But learning under the best hooker the game has ever seen, who still somehow manages to find ways to be one step ahead of every opponent? That’s a priceless opportunity.
That’s only three blokes, with a long list of youngsters already in the first-grade side. When you factor in all the others dominating for feeder clubs, the Storm’s success every year is almost preordained.
The club’s lost a lot of experience over the last couple of years: three Dally Ms, three Clive Churchills, 67 State of Origin appearances, 74 Test caps, and over 1000 first-grade appearances.
And that’s just between Ryan Hoffman, Cooper Cronk and Slater.
But with Joe Stimson, Felise Kaufusi, Josh Addo-Carr and Tui Kamikamica (gosh there are so many names) helping establish dominance, and Smith, Jesse Bromwich and Cameron Munster providing a constant superstar presence, Melbourne will just keep churning out the wins we’ve all become accustomed to over the years.
Craig Bellamy must get headaches over how to integrate his young guns while he still has his older heads, but that’s gotta be a good headache to have.
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