Storm likely to be without Hughes for Roosters challenge

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has conceded Jahrome Hughes is unlikely to face the Sydney Roosters in their NRL semi-final on Friday night.

The Storm are coming off a thrashing at the hands of the Brisbane Broncos, but will enter this clash as a $1.40 favourite with online bookmakers.

The Roosters ($2.96) are set to roll the dice themselves, with Paul Momirovski set to play his first competitive game of rugby league since round 9, when he suffered a serious shoulder injury.

The Storm, who have one of the youngest teams in the NRL, are hopeful Kiwi International Tariq Sims will provide them with enough clout in the halves, with Hughes (calf) injury set to sideline the star half-back.

Young ace Tyran Wishart looks set to be given first crack at halfback, but he shared responsibilities with Jonah Pezet at training earlier in the week.

“We have got a couple of other options we can use, but he [Wishart] has done most of the training there,” Bellamy said.

But Sims, who is a NSW Origin player, could be the trump card to ignite the Storms’ finals campaign after a string of injuries since crossing from the Dragons.

“He was always behind the eight ball early in the season,” Bellamy said. “He probably had the less amount of pre-season of anyone in our club, because he just kept getting injured.

“He had a couple of calf injuries, and he had a shoulder injury, and then he had another calf injury, so he didn’t really get the preparation for the season that you want.

“Obviously he’s an experienced player so he’s had plenty of pre-seasons but his preparation for the season wasn’t good at all.

“It’s taken a little while to get there, but we’re thinking that he’s finding his feet and his best now and hopefully his experience might help us on Friday night as well.”

The Storm have also recalled Papua New Guinea centre Justin Olam and Kiwi Reimis Smith into the squad, following spells in the Queensland Cup.

The Roosters were narrow 13-12 winners over Cronulla in week 1 of the NRL finals.

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