Initially not seen as a halfback, the Melbourne Storm’s No.7 has made the position his own with one of the most dominant seasons in the NRL.
could well apply to rugby league halfbacks: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Penrith’s Nathan Cleary was born a natural No.7 with strong rugby league genes on both sides of his family.
Hughes had a parallel path to greatness as New Zealand’s halfback. He was selected on the Kiwis 2018 tour to the UK but did not play a game. According to coach Michael Maguire, his attitude was substandard and his approach to training was poor. “He wasn’t the best,” Maguire says. “A quiet kid. He was learning how to train. He was a fullback, really.”
Home, as a welcoming, even spiritual place, is a concept not known, or long forgotten by many players and, indeed some NRL clubs, such as the merged entities of St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers who play at a combined six stadia. Indeed, as players are increasingly recruited from Polynesian families, have their fees paid at private schools, shopped to different NRL clubs by avaricious managers and opportunistic clubs, too many future NRL players will never know a place to call home.
Married to Molly, a Gold Coast girl he met at high school, he says, “Dad is still in Wellington, but the Storm is home to me now.” When the Storm won the minor premiership and Bellamy stood him down from the Cowboys match, he was unconcerned it would cost him Dally M votes. “Everything is about the Storm,” he said. It didn’t matter as he claimed the prestigious honour on Wednesday night in Sydney.
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