“Turned upside down”: Storm sweating on Hughes injury

Nicholas Quinlan • July 25th, 2025 11:29 am

The Melbourne Storm are currently waiting on scan results to determine how long star halfback Jahrome Hughes will be sidelined for following an injury to his shoulder.

The reigning Dally M Medallist sustained a dislocation to his left shoulder during the Storm’s 34-30 win against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.

The incident took place within the first minutes of the second half following an attempt to make a tackle on James Tedesco.

It was immediately apparent that the New Zealand international was in trouble as he grimaced throughout the medical staff’s assessment of his shoulder before being taken off the field.

And despite the best efforts made by the Storm’s medical staff, they were unable to get the shoulder back in at the ground, meaning Hughes was then taken to the hospital.

Reacting immediately after it happened on commentary, SEN’s Jimmy Smith and Tim Mannah felt that this could have a significant impact on the Storm’s season.

“This is huge for tonight. This is huge for the Melbourne Storm’s season,” said Smith.

“There’s a lot of people holding their breath now in Melbourne Storm world,” added Mannah.

“The whole NRL gets turned upside down if he’s out.”

According to The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis, the hospital staff were able to get the shoulder back in place. But the Storm and Hughes are still waiting for scan results to determine the severity of the injury.

“Jahrome Hughes returned to the team hotel last night with his shoulder back in place,” Carayannis said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“The Storm are confident of no structural damage to that shoulder, which indicates they may be able to nurse him through the back end of the year.

“At some point, you’d assume that he is going to need surgery to repair it.

“He might be able to play six games or might be able to play six minutes. They’ve just got to wait for the shoulder to settle down, get proper scans and get back to Melbourne.

“But very early indications are that the Storm have some hope of Hughes being back this year.”

Regardless of how long he is out for his injury, it will provide a serious blow to the Storm’s chances of winning the premiership this year.

Hughes was in superb form for the Storm this season. Across the 17 games he played, the halfback managed 19 try assists, 13 line break assists and six tries, showing his impact as a playmaker in the No. 7 jersey.

Speaking from the ground, captain Harry Grant remained hopeful that the halfback wouldn’t be sidelined for too long, but believes his squad is capable of overcoming Hughes’ absence.

“It’s obviously disappointing for Hughesy and our team,” he told SEN League.

“We don’t know the diagnosis yet, so (we’ll) see what the physio says, see what the scans come back and then go from there.

“One thing we do have is a very deep squad, and sometimes that brings out the best of a team when your backs are against the wall.

“But hopefully for Hughesy, it’s not too bad.”