Jahrome Hughes

Jahrome Hughes
Personal information
Born (1994-10-08) 8 October 1994 (age 30)
Wellington, New Zealand
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Fullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013 Gold Coast Titans 1 0 0 0 0
2016 North Qld Cowboys 1 1 0 0 4
2017– Melbourne Storm 148 61 0 0 244
Total 150 62 0 0 248
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Queensland Residents 2 1 0 0 4
2019–24 Māori All Stars 3 0 0 0 0
2019–23 New Zealand 10 4 0 0 16
Source: [1]
As of 27 September 2024

Jahrome Hughes (born 8 October 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the New Zealand Māori and New Zealand at international level. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020.

He previously played for the Gold Coast Titans and the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL, and played as a fullback earlier in his career.

Early life

Hughes was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and is of Māori, and Welsh descent.[2]

He played junior rugby league for the Harbour City Eagles.

In 2008, Hughes moved to the Gold Coast, where he played for the Tugun Seahawks and Currumbin Eagles. He was educated at Palm Beach Currumbin State High School.

Playing career

Early career

Hughes played for the Sydney Roosters SG Ball Cup team before being signed by the Gold Coast Titans in 2012.[3] He played for the Gold Coast NYC team from 2012 to 2014.

2013–2014: Gold Coast Titans

In Round 17 of the 2013 NRL season, Hughes made his NRL debut for the Gold Coast Titans against Penrith at Darwin.[4] In 2014, he spent the season in the NYC and was released by the Gold Coast at the end of the year.

2015

Hughes joined the new Queensland Cup side, the Townsville Blackhawks.[5] In September, he was named at fullback in the 2015 Queensland Cup Team of the Year. Hughes was named Blackhawks' Best Back and Players' Player.[6]

In October, Hughes signed a one-year contract with North Queensland.[7]

2016: North Queensland Cowboys

On 8 May, Hughes represented the Queensland Residents against the New South Wales Residents, playing at fullback and scoring a try in the 16–30 win.[8] In Round 12, Hughes made his North Queensland debut in Wollongong, scoring a try in the 10–14 loss to St. George Illawarra.[9] On 30 June, he signed a two-year contract with Melbourne starting in 2017.[10]

On 3 September, Hughes was named in the Queensland Cup Team of the Year at fullback for the second straight year.[11]

2017–present: Melbourne Storm

Hughes warming up for the Kiwis in 2018

In round 16 of the 2017 season, Hughes made his Melbourne Storm debut against the Sydney Roosters at Adelaide on 24 June, becoming Melbourne player 184. Hughes earned selection for the New Zealand national rugby league team at the end of the 2018 season, but did not make the run-on team.

After the retirement of Billy Slater and injury to Scott Drinkwater, Hughes began the 2019 season playing fullback. Following consistent performances for the Storm, Hughes made his international debut for New Zealand Kiwis against Tonga. He scored a try on debut and played off the bench.

In round 23, Hughes made the move to halfback to accommodate Ryan Papenhuyzen at fullback at the expense of usual halfback Brodie Croft. Hughes would remain there for the remaining games of the 2019 season, scoring a try in the finals series however the Storm would lose in the preliminary finals to 2018 grand final opponent, the Sydney Roosters in a tight game 14–6.

Hughes would make the permanent move into the halves in 2020 usually partnering Cameron Munster, but occasionally partnering with Cameron Smith. This transition would prove successful with Hughes starting at halfback in Melbourne's 26–20 2020 NRL Grand Final over Penrith.[12]

Hughes would cap a personally successful 2021 season by being awarded the Melbourne Storm Player of the Year award, also being crowned as the 2021 Kiwi Player of the Year. He would also fill in as Melbourne Storm captain for the first time in 2022, re-signing with the club until the end of the 2026 NRL season.[13]

In 2022, Hughes started at halfback for the first time in his fourth test match representing New Zealand Kiwis.[14] Hughes would score the opening try in the Kiwis 26–6 win against Tonga.[15] Hughes played 22 games for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished third on the table. Hughes played in Melbourne's preliminary final loss against Penrith.[16]

2024

Hughes during the 2024 NRL Grand Final.

On 2 October, Hughes took out the Dally M Medal winning by just one point. Hughes played a total of 23 matches for Melbourne in the 2024 NRL season as the club were runaway minor premiers. Hughes played in Melbourne's 2024 NRL Grand Final loss against Penrith.[17][18] Hughes would be selected for New Zealand for the 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships, but had to withdraw from the squad due to injury.[19][20]

Honours

Individual
  • 2× Queensland Cup Team of the Year: 2015, 2016
  • Spirit of ANZAC Medal: 2021
  • New Zealand International: 2019
  • Melbourne Storm Best Back: 2021
  • 2× Melbourne Storm Cameron Smith Player of the Year: 2021, 2024
  • Dally M Halfback of the Year: 2024
  • Dally M Medal: 2024
  • RLPA Team of the Year: 2024
  • RLPA The Players Champion: 2024
Club

Statistics

NRL

[21].
† Denotes seasons in which Hughes won an NRL Premiership
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2013 Gold Coast Titans 1 0 0 – 0 0
2016 North Queensland 1 1 0 – 0 4
2017 Melbourne 4 3 0 – 0 12
2018 11 2 0 – 0 8
2019 24 9 0 – 0 36
2020† 19 7 0 – 0 28
2021 24 9 0 – 0 20
2022 21 12 0 – 0 48
2023 22 7 28
2024 22 12 48
Career totals 149 62 0 — 0 248

References

  1. ^ "Jahrome Hughes – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 8 October 1994. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. ^ Walter, Brad (23 March 2022). "League of nations:Stars representing 40 countries". National Rugby League.
  3. ^ "Blackhawks fullback Jahrome Hughes close to NRL deal". Townsville Bulletin. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  4. ^ Gardini, Adam (6 July 2013). "The Late Mail: Titans vs Panthers". titans.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Jahrome Hughes « Mendi Townsville & Districts Blackhawks RLFC". Blackhawkstsv.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Award Winners – Presentation Night 2015 « Mendi Townsville & Districts Blackhawks RLFC". Blackhawkstsv.com.au. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Blackhawks fullback Jahrome Hughes earns Cowboys contract". Townsville Bulletin. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. ^ Nunn, Michael. "NSW too strong in Residents match". QRL. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  9. ^ National Rugby League (28 May 2016). "Dragons hold out brave". Cowboys. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Storm trump Titans to sign youngster Hughes". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Chudleigh wins Courier-Mail Medal". 31 August 2016.
  12. ^ Hytner, Mike (25 October 2020). "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". The Guardian.
  13. ^ "Jahrome Hughes: Season in Review". melbournestorm.com.au. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  14. ^ Burgess, Michael (24 June 2022). "Rugby league: Kiwis playmaker Jahrome Hughes finally set for first start after long wait". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  15. ^ Tiernan, Eammon (25 June 2022). "'That was a clinic': World No. 1 Kiwis dominate Tonga in emotional homecoming". Australia: Fox Sports. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  16. ^ "NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review". www.sportingnews.com.
  17. ^ "NRL grand final 2024 quick hits: Biting allegation, Panthers halves swansong and a controversial bunker decision". www.abc.net.au.
  18. ^ Pryde, Scott (2 October 2024). "Jahrome Hughes claims 2024 NRL Dally M Medal". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Hughes ruled out of Pacific Championships". nzrl.co.nz. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Pacific Championships: Kiwis hit as Jahrome Hughes forced to withdraw with neck injury". NZ Herald. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  21. ^ Jahrome Hughes player profile at Rugby League Tables