‘It's not good news': Storm face crucial call at halfback as premiership favourites deal with Jahrome Hughes' shoulder injury
Hughes left the field just minutes into the second half of Melbourne's gutsy 34-30 win over the Roosters with the club confirming immediately that he'd dislocated his shoulder after landing awkwardly while making a tackle on James Tedesco.
The reigning Dally M Medal winner was in agony and had to be helped off Allianz Stadium, with Melbourne's medical staff unable to put it back in.
Confirmation Jahrome Hughes has injured his shoulder and won’t return tonight. He is going to hospital for assessment and pain relief.
We will provide another update as soon as we can ðŸ'œ
— Melbourne Storm (@storm) July 24, 2025
'He's gone to the hospital and the doctor has gone with him. We're not really sure (how bad it is) but it's dislocated and they couldn't get it (back) in here so he'll probably have to go under to get it back in,' Bellamy said after the game.
'Whether he's got a crack in it as well or whether (it's something else) we might not find out until tomorrow, but you'd like to think they'll get it back in tonight.
'It's not good news, but we're not sure the severity of it until he has an X-ray or a scan.
'I experienced it myself. I had both my shoulders reconstructed.
'I think the longer they're out, it's a bigger problem. The longer it's out, the more it stretches the ligaments and the muscles around the joint. I don't think it's overly good news.'
Storm indicate Jahrome Hughes suffered a dislocated shoulder - textbook mechanism landing on outstretched arm.
General recovery guide:
- minimal structural damage/joint stable: trial rehab for 3-6 weeks
- significant damage/joint unstable: reco surgery & 3+ months pic.twitter.com/ZPrcIql9oy
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 24, 2025
Hughes has had shoulder issues in the past and will miss the rest of the season if scans confirm the worst.
It would be a huge blow for the premiership favourites who bravely fought on without him as skipper Harry Grant stood tall with superstars Cameron Munster, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona also missing.
Hughes had already set up a try and was starting to look threatening in attack before he was forced off, with the result moving them back into second spot for now.
'I reckon it was just getting to the stage of the game where he would have started doing a bit more running,' Bellamy said.
'The back end of the first half he started doing a bit of running and he was causing some issues for the Roosters defence.
'No one wants to lose their halfback. He's a massive part of our footy team.'
Bellamy has two clear options for next week's game against the Eels, with Tyran Wishart and Jonah Pezet the men most likely to partner Munster in the halves.
Wishart played five-eighth on Thursday night and filled in admirably in the halves last season while Munster was out injured, while Pezet is a more traditional halfback but has played just two NRL games off the bench this year after returning from a serious knee injury.
'We'll give someone else a chance,' Bellamy said.
'Munster should be back next week, and with 'Wish' and 'Pez', he's only a young kid who hasn't had much first grade experience at all. But he's a good organiser and kicker.
'We'll see what we think is best for the team. 'Mun' will come back in and then we'll go from there.
'We probably won't recover completely because he was the Dally M player of the year last year. However long he's out for, we're going to miss him.'
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