While Jahrome Hughes is desperate to be back on deck for Melbourne's clash with Manly, the Storm won't risk the star halfback who is on the comeback from a calf injury.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Coach Craig Bellamy said there was no temptation to rush Hughes into the line-up to take on Manly despite his halves partner Cameron Munster being ruled out for up to 10 weeks with a groin injury.
Hughes has missed the past two matches but looked to be running freely at Storm training on Wednesday, with the side travelling to Sydney for the 4 Pines Park match on Friday night.
"With a bye coming up we're not going to take any risks, but he's very confident," Bellamy said of Hughes.
"The physio thinks he's done enough work to be ready to play as well so there's positive signs but we will check him out after training and see how he goes.
"It's a good thing for us with Jahrome to come back with Munster's injury but we won't put him back in just because of that.
"If there's any doubt at all, he will have another two weeks."
The Storm can take confidence from their second-half romp against Parramatta, piling on 32 points after Munster left the field just before half-time, with rookie Grant Anderson moving into the five-eighth role.
"The way they played ... it would have been easy to say this is getting too hard here - Munster's out and we haven't got Paps (Ryan Papenhuyzen) or Hughesy (Hughes).
"But they all doubled down and did their role so I was real happy and proud with the way they played."
Munster has had ongoing groin trouble, missing the opening four rounds, but Bellamy said the medical staff didn't believe surgery was the answer.
"It's been mentioned but the medical team don't think it's the best way to go," he said.
"They're here to make those decisions so he will go into rehab and see how it goes, hopefully he will be back in plenty of time if we're there at the end."
Australian Associated Press
