Hughes on quest to topple game's great halfbacks

Jahrome Hughes has revealed his desire to claim the mantle of best halfback in the NRL, with his Melbourne teammates confident the New Zealand international is already in the conversation.

Hughes has been superb in leading a depleted Storm to the top of the NRL ladder with six rounds remaining in the season. 

The next two months will see individual and team goals combine, with the 29-year-old determined to deliver Melbourne a premiership and prove his place as the game's top playmaker in the process. 

"It's the goal but that will come [with team success]," Hughes told pan66.com. "I'm not really looking at that, I'm looking at being the best player I can for myself on this team. Then [the individual accolades] will come with all the other titles. 

"If I just do what I need to do here, do what's best for the team, be the player the boys want to play with and be led by, the other stuff will come from that."

With Hughes riding high with the Storm, it's hard to believe he spent multiple years in the rugby league wilderness early in his career. 

A talented junior, he made his NRL debut as a 19-year-old fullback with the Titans in 2013. For a period it looked like it may be his only first-grade appearance and he spent the next two years toiling away in Queensland Cup before earning a one-year deal with the Cowboys for the 2016 season.

Another solitary NRL appearance followed before the Storm came calling and he moved south in 2017. 

He was still playing fullback at this stage and it wasn't until the back end of the 2019 season when Hughes shifted to the halves to accommodate the rapid rise of Ryan Papenhuyzen. 

Since then, he's delivered the Storm the 2020 title, the 2021 minor premiership and led New Zealand to a stunning 30-0 victory over Australia in last year's Pacific Championships final. 

Despite all the trophies and the success on the field, Hughes remains underrated in the wider rugby league world. 

It's unlikely a Sydney-based halfback would be viewed in the same light, with the 29-year-old plying his trade out of the spotlight in Melbourne. His New Zealand eligibility likely also contributes to the situation as Hughes is unable to showcase his skills in the game's biggest stage of State of Origin. 

He may be underrated among fans, but Hughes' Storm teammates recognise how talented he is. 

Melbourne skipper Harry Grant has spent the past six weeks playing alongside Daly Cherry-Evans and Ben Hunt with the Maroons and said Hughes sits alongside the game's elite halfbacks.

"I put him right up there," Grant said. "We all appreciate what he does week in, week out in our team. He's got so many threats to his game, he's defending well as well, which is what you want. 

"We see what he's done week in, week out this year. A lot of people would have him up there in the top tier [of halfbacks]."

Perhaps the biggest sign of Hughes' talent is the fact he's held the Storm together during a season filled with injuries to multiple key players. 

Five-eighth Cam Munster has been restricted to just eight games so far this year and made his return from a 10-week layoff last weekend. Papenhuyzen also missed five matches with a fractured leg while Grant nursed a sternum injury during the Origin period and did not play for his club for five weeks.

Hughes has acted as the conductor throughout the team changes, with emerging fullback Sualauvi Faalogo and playmaker Tyran Wishart producing a string of impressive performances in relief. 

The result is a Storm team sitting pretty at the top of the ladder and determined to keep getting better. 

"I feel like I've been getting a lot of raps from the outside but the boys have really stepped up," Hughes said. "We haven't had a few of our players because of injury but the boys have come in and done a great job. 

"They've really helped me be able to do my job. A big shout out to those guys, especially Wishy who's done a good job at five-eighth for us. Munster comes back but Wishy's too good of a player not to have in the team so he'll be in the side somewhere."

The Storm have struggled to keep their first-choice spine on the field for multiple years, with the 1-6-7 combination playing just 22 games together since 2021 according to stats compiled by rugby league historian David Middleton. 

For perspective, the Penrith 1-6-7 has played 53 matches together in the span. 

It's hoped Munster's return will trigger a clean run to the finals as Melbourne look to build their combinations and hold off a fast-finishing Panthers in the race for top spot on the ladder.