Unbelievable..He made it: Melbourne Storm star player..
Melbourne Storm’s devastating Jahrome Hughes blow is offset by Ryan Papenhuyzen’s return.
Superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has returned to the Melbourne Storm, but halfback Jahrome Hughes has suffered a potentially fatal injury. Saturday was Papenhuyzen’s first NRL game in almost a year, and he fared well in his first experience playing in the top division after shattering his kneecap in July of last year.
While Papenhuyzen appeared unfazed throughout his 18 minutes of duty off the bench, Hughes’ situation is not as favorable. The halfback, who hobbled out of AAMI Park with a knee injury late in the 37-18 victory on Saturday, will miss the Storm’s match against Brisbane in the final round.
Following the game, Hughes was observed wearing a knee brace, and a medial strain was first diagnosed. Anything more serious than a grade one injury, according to NRL Physio Brien Seeney, would need a multiple-week layoff and be disastrous for Melbourne’s finals hopes.
Given the five-day turnaround, Storm coach Craig Bellamy stated he couldn’t see Hughes traveling north to play the Broncos on Thursday night the following week. Bellamy expressed optimism that his key player, number seven, will be available for the opening week of the playoffs.
“It looks like he’s got a slight medial, they don’t think it’s too bad but I wouldn’t imagine he will play next week as it’s a five-day turnaround,” Bellamy stated. “He’s going to get scanned tomorrow.”
In addition, Bellamy disclosed that hooker Harry Grant sustained a shoulder injury but managed to finish the game. For the second time in three weeks, the Queensland State of Origin rake began the match on the bench.
“He was sore and it looked like he was going to come off at some stage which is a big call as he’s a tough little bastard,” Bellamy remarked on Grant. “We will check that but again I don’t think it’s too serious but you’d rather have a few more days for him to recover.”
In the Titans victory, Jahrome Hughes is hurt, but Ryan Papenhuyzen plays in his first NRL match in over a year.
Ryan Papenhuyzen has returned to the NRL, having missed over a year due to a broken kneecap.
In Melbourne’s 37-16 victory over the Gold Coast, the great fullback entered the game in the 62nd minute and, significantly, showed no signs of rust by playing down the middle for the last quarter of the match without any strapping or protection on his legs.
As he ran onto the field, the audience let out a yell, and according to Papenhuyzen, the experience was pure “elation”.
He told ABC Sport, “It’s something special and something I’ll cherish forever.”
Strong from the start, Papaenhuyzen took the ball from Harry Grant one out of the dummy half, stepped over Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, and made a swift play with the ball.
Melbourne was immediately on the attack, and two plays later, Christian Welch scored a try thanks to a nice run by Jahrome Hughes and a Grant feed.
After spending three weeks in the lower-division Queensland Cup working out his knee, he was understandably delighted to be back in the NRL despite falling off a few tackles and not being at his best as the game went on.
“You notice the return, but as you approach it, you get knocked back for no apparent reason. That was perhaps the most difficult thing I had to deal with.
“It has been an adventure. Although it was difficult, many assured me that it would all be worthwhile in the end, and I can now state with certainty that it was.”
It brought back memories of Papenhuyzen’s early days as Hughes’ backup, before the New Zealand international became one of the top halfbacks in the game.
With Nick Meaney in the starting lineup and in the best shape of his career, the Storm are eager to gradually get Papenhuyzen back into the lineup off the bench. However, Hughes’ injury
Hughes left the game early in the Titans game due to a medial ligament injury, and he finished the day with a severely iced knee following some unintentional friendly fire during a tackle.
If Hughes is sidelined for an extended period of time in the last round, the Storm may insert Meaney into the halves to partner Cameron Munster, with Papenhuyzen regaining the top spot.
After an agonizing 405-day rehabilitation and recovery odyssey that brought him all the way to the United States, it would be a swift promotion.
When injuries began to claim Papenhuyzen, he was about to make his NSW debut and was fighting for a place in the Australian squad.
The Storm were already used to playing without their first-choice fullback, despite the fact that the bizarre incident that kept him out of action for over a year.
Between round six and round nineteen of the next year, he only participated in one game, primarily because of persistent concussion symptoms, although ending his breakthrough season with the Clive Churchill Medal when Melbourne defeated Penrith in the grand final of 2020.
He missed more football in 2022 due to recurring hamstring problems, missing six weeks in the middle of the season before an extremely unfortunate incident occurred in just his third game back.
When Papenhuyzen moved to block a charging Jack Wighton from reaching the tryline in the 20th minute of the Storm’s game against the Raiders, their knees collided, shattering the Storm player’s patella in several places.
That was in 2022’s 18th round.
Papenhuyzen returned to the field 405 days later to a resounding cheer from the Melbourne supporters.
Regarding the audience reaction, Munster told Fox Sports, “I thought it was Elton John or something.”
The 25-year-old completed with seven carries for 44 meters, and the audience continued to roar at every move he made.
“It was an amazing welcome when I entered the field,” he said to ABC Sport.
“I haven’t heard noise like that for a while, so for that to be for me, I’m just stoked and can’t thank everyone enough.”
For helping him get through “some really dark days” on the way back, Storm physio Liam Robinson received special recognition from Papenhuyzen.
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