The Melbourne Storm is balancing two critical storylines heading into their high-stakes Friday night NRL clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium: waiting on a late fitness call for star halfback Jahrome Hughes, and preparing to honor one-club workhorse Josh King’s 200th career NRL game. Hughes, a former Dally M Medal winner, has been sidelined by a persistent hamstring injury that has limited him to just three appearances since the start of June. He missed the Storm’s round loss to the Sydney Roosters last week as the club managed the nagging issue, but his name has been included in the game day squad ahead of Friday’s crunch fixture – a significant boost for a Melbourne side already crippled by injuries to key players. Five-eighth Cameron Munster is already sidelined, while winger Will Warbrick recently joined the club’s lengthy casualty list with an achilles injury, leaving the Storm thin on playmaking and backline depth. Storm head coach Craig Bellamy confirmed that the final call on Hughes’ availability will not come until after the team’s traditional captain’s run leading up to the match. “He hasn’t done much for a couple of weeks,” Bellamy told reporters of his star halfback. “We’ll just see how he goes today and then we’ll go from there.” Utility back Trent Toelau has been placed on standby to step into the side if Hughes is forced to withdraw late. Regardless of Hughes’ status, the entire Storm squad has highlighted that they are focused on delivering a win to celebrate King’s remarkable milestone. A reliable front-rower, King spent the first six years of his professional career with the Newcastle Knights before making the move south to join Melbourne ahead of the 2022 NRL season. Since crossing clubs, he has built a reputation as one of the league’s most durable and consistent forwards, missing almost no games through injury or form slumps. In his first season with the Storm, King played 25 matches, and he has notched 26 appearances in every subsequent campaign – a feat that is even more impressive given the high physical toll of playing in the middle of the scrum. Bellamy paid an extensive tribute to King, framing the 200-game milestone as a testament to the forward’s relentless work ethic rather than just good fortune. “To play 200 games at NRL level in the position that he plays and the way he plays is quite remarkable in the time that he’s done it,” Bellamy said. “He’s hardly missed any games. That’s not just being lucky, it’s a lot of hard work. The one thing that really struck me when he first came here was how much time and effort he was willing to put into his preparation for games and training. He’s always done the little things and has always been consistent with it. It didn’t matter how long or boring it got, he made sure he did what he thought he had to do.” Bellamy also highlighted King’s quiet, lead-by-example leadership style that saw him emerge as a core part of the club’s leadership group even before he received an official title. “He was a fairly quiet bloke when he first came here, a typical country bloke from Singleton,” Bellamy recalled. “He was a leader before his time in that he didn’t need to say anything. He wouldn’t have said it, but it was basically ‘look at what I do, I’m leading here’ because he was doing all the little things well and was always doing the extras. Whatever he did, he always did it the best he could and as hard as he could and as fast as he could. He was a leader before he even had a title, but now he’s in our leadership group and sets a great example.” The Storm historically lift their performance for milestone matches for long-serving players, and the entire squad has already signaled their intention to put forward their best performance to honor King’s achievement.
‘Quite remarkable’: Storm sweat on star playmaker as veteran leader prepares for major milestone
