The race to fill the role of Storm’s five-eighth is wide open according to coach Craig Bellamy.
The master coach has listed five possible candidates to slot into the No.6 jersey left vacant by the departure of Blake Green in the off-season.
Cameron Munster has been tipped to make the shift to the playmaking role should Billy Slater complete his return from injury.
However he is not the only one named as a potential suitor to partner Cooper Cronk in the halves.
“We think that would be a good position for Cameron. He has shown a lot in the pre-season playing there to be quite honest,” Bellamy said.
“Having said that we’ve got Brodie Croft as well who played one game last year. We think he did a good job there and he’s been training well in the pre-season.
“We’ve got a young kid from the Cowboys in Jahrome Hughes, we think he can fit in well there as well.
“We’ve had Curtis Scott doing a little bit of five-eighth as well and Ryley Jacks who has come down from one of our feeder clubs. He’s had a little bit of experience in our squad as well.
“We’ve got a few guys there. Obviously they are pretty big boots to fill, Blake Green did a tremendous job here for two years but hopefully out of that group we will find someone to fill that position.”
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Who will be our next five-eighth?
Cameron Munster
Has had the endorsement of many that he is more than capable of playing in the No.6 should Slater return full fit in 2017. Has the line speed and ability to break tackles that could prove a nightmare for opposition defences. So far the NRL has only seen what the youngster car do at fullback, 2017 could be the chance to show his full compliment of skills.
Curtis Scott
Set the Auckland Nines alight earlier this year with some dazzling runs. Played two games at centre early in the 2016 season before suffering a broken leg in Round 4. Similar to Munster in that he has an outstanding burst of speed and could be a surprise pack option for Craig Bellamy.
Brodie Croft
Has just the one NRL game under his belt but did enough to show he is a Storm playmaker of the future. He had an assist in his game against the Dragons, a perfectly weighted chip-kick to Suliasi Vunivalu.
Jahrome Hughes
Previously played one NRL game each with the Gold Coast Titans and North Queensland Cowboys. Spent most of 2016 putting in impressive performances for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup, finishing the year as the Club’s best player. Now with several years of experience under his belt, Hughes will be motivated to earn his place in Craig Bellamy’s team.
Ryley Jacks
Names the Player of the Year for Storm’s feeder team Sunshine Coast Falcons, Jacks brings an acute playmaking ability to the Storm squad. He is always calm under pressure and could be the perfect compliment to Cooper Cronk’s game.
