Asked about winning without Smith, Slater and Cronk, Hughes added: “I think just winning one is enough for us.
“That’s what everyone goes out every year to do. The big thing is a lot of people thought we couldn’t win one without them, so it’s a little bit of a driving factor there.
“We have a new group every year and our sole goal is to win a premiership. I think we’ve got a great group this year, we’re really connected, really hard working and really keen.
“Hopefully we can do something special.”
Bellamy said he was grateful to have great key-position players when asked how his current big three compared to the originals.
“I don’t think there’s a whole heap of difference,” Bellamy said. “They obviously play in the same positions, but they have different strengths and different shortcomings.
“We try to improve the shortcomings and focus on their strengths as well. I’ve got to say these guys still don’t have the experience of the big three – they played for a long time and a long time together.
Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater in 2017.
“You’d like to think there’s improvement in our spine. Like I say, they all have strengths and things they need to improve.”
The fan fest brought both teams face to face ahead of the Storm-Broncos grand final at Accor Stadium on Sunday. One of the talking points was the inflammatory remarks from the usually mild-mannered Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu, who kicked off grand final week by labelling his opponents as “stuck up”.
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It’s provided days of content, but Bellamy wasn’t giving it any more oxygen.
“I didn’t actually hear it, but I heard about it,” the Storm coach said. “I was surprised. I’ll leave it at that.”
Broncos coach Michael Maguire will come up against Bellamy, the pair being teammates from their playing days in Canberra. Maguire went on to be an assistant to Bellamy for five seasons.
“That’s the reason why the teams are here, across the board they have quality players, all 17 of them,” Maguire said. “I know our players want to play and do their part for each other. [If they do that], I’ll be a happy coach.”
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