Jahrome Hughes fended with his heavily padded arm to break the line — then crashed down on it as he scored an incredible solo try.

It was a statement of intent in the first half from the Storm halfback, in a remarkable return from injury that helped snare Melbourne a grand final spot.

But as for Cronulla — the Sharks undercooked their approach to attacking Hughes and his damaged left arm in Friday’s preliminary final loss, which proved costly as they again fell short in September. Hughes made just 10 tackles and apart from getting a bloodied mouth when Braydon Trindall rushed out of the line in the second half and accidentally clocked him with his forehead, was not unduly troubled when he ran the ball.

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Champion halfback Cooper Cronk said that Hughes was remarkably confident despite carrying a pair of significant injuries, having wondered pre-game if the open secret of his fragile arm meant that he’d be ruthlessly targeted. Meanwhile, star Dolphins playmaker Isaiya Katoa called out the Sharks for not pouring more pressure on his battered body.

“If I’m in a prelim final, I’ve got a stuffed shoulder, broken forearm, I’m playing in a dinner suit trying to get through to the GF,” Cronk said on Fox League.

“Jahrome Hughes, with his first opportunity to run, just does what he’s done throughout his career. Breaks off that right foot, just goes through. He did it all in the first half and the other part, he didn’t get found out defensively, did he?”

Katoa said: “No, he didn’t. I don’t think the Sharks went to him and targeted him as much as they should have or could have. I just think the way he actually put himself in the picture to make tackles, he wasn’t shying away from contact and I think that paid him back when he ended up getting the footy in his hands.”

Hughes has fractured his forearm just 22 days earlier. Former Bulldogs premiership half Braith Anasta added: “The Cronulla Sharks didn’t really get at him as much as we thought.”

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Jahrome Hughes celebrates his try.Source: FOX SPORTS

Manly premiership winner Kieran Foran said he “marvelled” at Hughes’ comeback performance.

“What a confidence-booster for Jahrome coming back, preliminary final, all the questions marks over his injuries and he comes out and does this. What a line break, pins the ears back, gets to the line, you can see he gets up there, he just knew he was in,” Foran said.

While Cameron Munster was sensational throughout, Hughes put in an extraordinary stint and the fact that he got through unscathed while nursing a busted limb is an enormous boost for Melbourne as they tackle a second consecutive grand final, and their 11th in the past 20 years.

“Jahrome Hughes, it’s an inspiring performance,” Cronk said.

“A lot of pressure was on him to just turn up and do his role. He did more than that — he ran the ball like he didn’t even have an injury.”

Storm coach Craig Bellamy lauded Hughes’ performance post-game. There was also a hint of added scrutiny brought on by replacement halfback Jonah Pezet’s starring hand in a week one finals win over the Bulldogs, but Hughes was adamant that he was fit and ready.

“It was a big call to leave Jonah out, he done a really good job last week, but the thing with Hughesy when I spoke to him about it – well, he spoke to me – he was just so confident that he was OK,” Bellamy said.

“He’s not an overconfident or cocky kid at all, so when he told me he was ready, I knew he’d be ready.

“They were always going to test him out, and he knew that. I think he swapped positions over a couple of times to make it a little bit harder to get at him.

“But at the end of the day, he wasn’t hesitant with his running game at all, he wasn’t hesitant with his kicking. It just proves that what he said was deadset right, he was ready to play and I thought, with all due respect, he was one of our better players.”