# Jahrome Hughes

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

### 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. In Round 12, Hughes made his North Queensland debut in Wollongong, scoring a try in the 10–14 loss to St. George Illawarra. On 30 June, he signed a two-year contract with Melbourne starting in 2017.
On 3 September, Hughes was named in the Queensland Cup Team of the Year at fullback for the second straight year.

### 2017–present: Melbourne Storm

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.
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.
In 2022, Hughes started at halfback for the first time in his fourth test match representing New Zealand Kiwis. Hughes would score the opening try in the Kiwis 26–6 win against Tonga. 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.

### 2024

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. Hughes would be selected for New Zealand for the 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships, but had to withdraw from the squad due to injury.

## 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

* 2020 NRL Grand Final: Premiers
* 3× J. J. Giltinan Shield: 2019, 2021, 2024
* 2024 NRL Grand Final: Runners-up

## Statistics
### NRL

| † | 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 | Melbourne | 11 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2019 | Melbourne | 24 | 9 | 0 | – | 0 | 36 |
| 2020† | Melbourne | 19 | 7 | 0 | – | 0 | 28 |
| 2021 | Melbourne | 24 | 9 | 0 | – | 0 | 20 |
| 2022 | Melbourne | 21 | 12 | 0 | – | 0 | 48 |
| 2023 | Melbourne | 22 | 7 | | | | 28 |
| 2024 | Melbourne | 22 | 12 | | | | 48 |
| 2025 | Melbourne | | | | | | |
| Career totals | Career totals | 149 | 62 | 0 | — | 0 | 248 |