Nathan Cleary has declared grand-final rival Jahrome Hughes the most effective participant of the NRL season as Melbourne’s star halfback enters the Dally M Awards as favorite for the distinguished honour.
Hughes has been the architect of the Storm’s greatest season since Cameron Smith retired, steering the membership to the minor premiership amid Cam Munster and Ryan Papenhuyzen’s damage lay-offs.
He most not too long ago parlayed his well-known working talents into three tries in the course of the 48-18 thrashing of the Sydney Roosters to e book the Storm a grand-final date with Penrith.
However different features of Hughes’s recreation flourished in 2024, with the 29-year-old recording career-highs in strive assists (26) and kick metres (351 per recreation).
It has been sufficient to impress Cleary, extensively regarded the most effective participant within the recreation, forward of Wednesday night time’s Dally M Awards.
“He is been a pleasure to observe all yr, he is been on hearth. He is been the most effective participant this yr for certain,” mentioned Cleary, Hughes’s rival halfback on grand-final day.
“He is positively the most effective working halfback I’ve nearly ever seen. The way in which he takes on the road, he is consistently a menace.
“I believe he is added numerous different stuff to his recreation as effectively simply by way of recreation administration and ball taking part in.”
When voting for the Dally M Medal went behind closed doorways on the finish of spherical 12, Hughes sat in equal-Fifteenth spot and had misplaced six factors following a one-match ban for touching referee Chris Butler.
Nevertheless it was solely after Munster started a 10-week damage lay-off in spherical 11 that Hughes really started to take cost on the Storm and cement himself as a candidate for the NRL’s prime particular person prize.
Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards led the depend in spherical 12, his 31 factors effectively forward of Hughes’ 16, however he missed seven common season video games by means of damage and State of Origin absences.
James Tedesco seems to be Hughes’s main competitors after a wonderful and largely uninterrupted season for the Roosters, with Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans additionally an opportunity for the medal.
Cleary mentioned he had loved analysing Hughes’s recreation throughout his lay-offs whereas nursing hamstring and shoulder accidents this season.
“He is an ideal participant,” the Panthers co-captain mentioned.
“I’ve numerous admiration watching different halves which can be actually killing it and attempt to choose their recreation aside and add it to mine.”
Elsewhere, Canberra five-eighth Ethan Unusual, Cronulla centre Kayal Iro and Dolphins winger Jack Bostock have been shortlisted for rookie of the yr, with a two-game ban disqualifying breakout Wests Tigers star Lachlan Galvin.
Penrith prop Liam Henry shrugged at lacking a nomination regardless of turning into a mainstay of the triple reigning premiers’ bench on the cost to a grand remaining.
“I wasn’t upset in any respect,” he mentioned.
“The three which can be up completely killed it this yr. I am stoked for them. I want all of them the most effective on Wednesday.”
AAP
