Jahrome Hughes (born 8 October 1994) is a New Zealand professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

in the NRL, and the New Zealand Māori and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at international level. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020. He previously played for the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

and the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, and played as a earlier in his career.

Early life

Hughes was born in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, and is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, and Welsh descent. He played junior rugby league for the Harbour City Eagles. In 2008, Hughes moved to the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, where he played for the

Tugun Seahawks The Tugun Seahawks are a rugby league club based in the Gold Coast suburb of Tugun. Their home ground (Betty Diamond Complex) is adjacent to Gold Coast Airport and their colours are Blue & White. The Seahawks' first season in the Gold Coast R ...

and

Currumbin Eagles Formed in 1976 as the Currumbin Football Club, the Currumbin Eagles compete in both the junior and senior Gold Coast Rugby League competitions. The club is based at the Merv Craig Sporting Complex in Currumbin Waters, Queensland and the club's ...

. He was educated at

Palm Beach Currumbin State High School Palm Beach Currumbin State High School (PBC High School or PBC) is an independent co-educational public school (government funded), in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast suburb of Currumbin, Queensland, Australia. PBC is Queensland's south ...

Playing career

Early career

Hughes played for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

SG Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...

team before being signed by the Gold Coast Titans in 2012. He played for the Gold Coast

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

team from 2012 to 2014.

2013–2014: Gold Coast Titans

In Round 17 of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

, Hughes made his NRL debut for the

against Penrith at Darwin. In 2014, he spent the season in the NYC and was released by the

at the end of the year.

2015

Hughes joined the new

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...

side, the

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

. 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 The Queensland Residents rugby league team is a representative rugby league team consisting of players who compete in the Intrust Super Cup (Queensland Cup) competition. They currently play an annual fixture against NSW Cup Representative Team, ...

against the

New South Wales Residents New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, playing at fullback and scoring a try in the 16–30 win. In Round 12, Hughes made his North Queensland debut in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

, scoring a try in the 10–14 loss to St. George Illawarra. On 30 June, he signed a two-year contract with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

starting in 2017. On 3 September, Hughes was named in the

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

debut against the

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on 24 June, becoming Melbourne player 184. Hughes earned selection for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

at the end of the 2018 season, but did not make the run-on team. After the retirement of

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire ...

and injury to Scott Drinkwater, Hughes began the 2019 season playing . Following consistent performances for the Storm, Hughes made his international debut for

New Zealand Kiwis The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. He scored a try on debut and played off the bench. In round 23, Hughes made the move to to accommodate

Ryan Papenhuyzen Ryan Papenhuyzen (born 10 June 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020. Early life Papen ...

at at the expense of usual

Brodie Croft Brodie Croft (born 14 July 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Early l ...

. 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

in a tight game 14–6. Hughes would make the permanent move into the halves in 2020 usually partnering

Cameron Munster Cameron Munster (born 13 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and Australia at international level. Munster has played for Queensland in the State of Origin ...

, but occasionally partnering with

Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Smi ...

. This transition would prove successful with Hughes starting at halfback in Melbourne's 26–20

2020 NRL Grand Final The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Melb ...

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

. Hughes would score the opening try in the Kiwis 26–6 win against

Achievements and accolades

Individual

*Queensland Cup Team of the Year: 2015, 2016 *New Zealand International: 2019

Melbourne Storm

Premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

: 2020 * Spirit of ANZAC Medal: 2021 * Melbourne Storm Player of the Year: 2021

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 NRL Season.''Jahrome Hughes player profile at Rugby League Tables
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References

External links

Melbourne Storm profileTownsville Blackhawks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Jahrome 1994 births Living people Gold Coast Titans players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people of Welsh descent New Zealand rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Wellington City Townsville Blackhawks players Sunshine Coast Falcons players