“I’m not sure if he’s going to stay retired. He might reassess things after a year. But for now, I think it’s probably best for him to stay retired. He’s got a lot of other things he’s looking at.”
Hughes has yet to reach the same point as Papenhuyzen, despite the injury.
Ryan Papenhuyzen has suffered some horrific injuries and concussions during his NRL career.Credit: NRL photos
The 2024 Dally M gold medalist was sidelined for one match last year after breaking his arm in March. Then when he dislocated his shoulder in July, there were fears he would be out for the rest of the season, but he missed five weeks.
He then broke his hand in September, prompting surgeons to insert a titanium plate and screws as reinforcement, but returned 22 days later to play in the preliminary final, followed by a decision that scored in every game.
“It’s just ticking all the boxes I need to and getting from training to what I felt I had to go through,” Hughes said.
“So just being able to get the confidence through training and obviously the physio and the medical team helping me get to where I needed to be gave me the confidence to go into the games. So I felt pretty good playing.”
Jahrome Hughes scored a try in the grand final defeat in Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images
Broken bones heal. Heartbreaks are another matter and Hughes and his team-mates have vowed to move on after the crushing disappointment of back-to-back grand final defeats.
“Obviously it hurts to get into a grand final and not go all the way,” he said.
The arm protector worn by Jahrome Hughes in the preliminary final and grand final last season.Credit: Getty Images
“But I think you just have to learn from it and then move on. I think if you hang on to it for too long in the wrong way, it can really eat you up inside.”
“For me personally and the rest of the team, we just learned from it and will use it as motivation for next season.”
With the departure of Papenhuyzen and enforcer Nelson Asof-Solomona, who is pursuing a professional boxing career, alongside the concussion-enforced absence of back-rower Eliesa Kato, the Storm’s “next man up” mentality will be tested as it rarely has been in recent times.
“Obviously it was tough to lose those guys,” Hughes said.
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“But we try not to look at who we don’t have as who we have in the team. We’ve been doing that since I’ve been at this club.
“With injuries and things like that, we’re not going to be, ‘Hell, we don’t have them.’
“We look at who is entering these places and help them, use them as best we can.”
“Guys chasing those spots are hungry and fighting for those positions. And our team is really picking it up.”
One of the players touted as a possible signing is representative utility Zac Lomax, who is embroiled in a legal dispute with Parramatta in a bid to join the Storm.
“He’s a representative player,” Hughes said.
“And he’s going to add quality to any team. So if that happens, I think it’s a win for us.
“But yeah, if he were to come here, that’s awesome. If not, then yeah. We’re also happy with who we have right now.”
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