“[The time out] was a blessing in disguise. I got another couple of weeks to rest my shoulder. To be fair, I felt really confident with my shoulder. A lot of people said I was rushed back, but it was just bad luck [the fractured forearm]. It was a totally different injury. It was frustrating to hear [people say] I was rushed back.”
Hughes assured Craig Bellamy he was fit to play, and the master coach backed him.
Braydon Trindall’s high shot on Jahrome Hughes.
“It was a big call to leave Jonah [Pezet] out, but the thing with Hughesy, when he spoke to me about it, he was just so confident 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.”
Hughes tested out his arm last Thursday, and was relieved to find there were no issues.
“I wanted to get a full week of [contact] and didn’t want to come in the week of the game trying [to test it] at the captain’s run – that would have put the team under pressure,” Hughes said.
The arm guard worn by Jahrome Hughes in Friday’s preliminary final.Credit: Getty Images
“I wanted to say I was right a week before. Once I did that, that gave me and all the boys confidence.”
Hughes praised back-rower Eli Katoa and his fellow right-edge defenders for protecting him from Cronulla’s attackers, who tested his arm on several occasions.
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The 30-year-old reigning Dally M Medal winner was more upset about his fat lip, which happened in the second half when Trindall shot out of the defensive line. Trindall was penalised but not placed on report.
“I think they [officials] said because it was head-on-head [contact] it’s not as bad,” Hughes said of the incident, which left him bloodied.
“But you can’t go out there and be reckless and headbutt people, can you?
“It looked like that. I think when you’re coming out of the line, not in control, it’s a bit dangerous if you’re leading with your head and start getting head-on-head contact. You can do a lot of damage. It’s done a bit of damage to my mouth, but it’s all good.”
As for why Melbourne can turn around last year’s grand final defeat, Hughes said: “We have a lot of self belief in this group. The loss of last year will help us a bit, not just with motivation, but learning about what we did right and what we did wrong, not just in the game but in the prep – there’s a lot that goes into the training week.
“Hopefully we can handle that a bit better.”
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