Jahrome Hughes emerges as Bears No.1 target in top five hit list
Storm star Jahrome Hughes has emerged as the Bears’ No.1 target, as Billy Moore draws up his hit list of the five players the NRL’s 18th team should sign to make them competitive in their debut season.
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Jahrome Hughes has emerged as the Bears’ No.1 target with the Storm halfback tipped to potentially earn $1.5 million a season and become the highest-paid player in NRL history by moving to Perth.
Bears director Billy Moore, earmarked for a potential board position, has drawn up a hit list of the five players the NRL’s 18th team should sign to be a competitive outfit in their debut season in 2027.
His ‘Fab Five’ includes Hughes, Broncos duo Payne Haas and Selwyn Cobbo, Dolphins strike weapon Herbie Farnworth and Roosters back-rower Angus Crichton.
The Bears entry to the NRL will be formally announced in the next fortnight, paving the way for the West Australian franchise to begin signing 36 players from November 1 as they construct their foundation roster.
As it stands, there are 180 top-liners off-contract next season.
But the existing 17 clubs are certain to act quickly, ostensibly having a six-month headstart to stave off a Bears assault on the code’s best players.
But Moore believes there are five non-negotiable targets and has urged the Bears to outlay $4.5m to sign a big three of Hughes, Haas and Cobbo to headline a bold new era in WA.
The Storm are no strangers to expansion poaching raids.
The Dolphins signed Melbourne premiership trio Felise Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers, Jesse and Kenny, for Redcliffe’s debut season in 2023 and now the Storm face a fresh expansion threat.
Hughes is off-contract at the end of 2026 and Melbourne have moved to extend the reigning Dally M Medallist until the end of 2029, which would effectively keep him at the Storm for life.
But with the Bears and 19th team Papua New Guinea set to bombard the player market, Hughes can capitalise like never before on the NRL’s fresh expansion phase.
Hughes is happy in Melbourne, but the Storm have their work cut out keeping fellow big guns Ryan Papenhuyzen and Harry Grant, who are also off-contract next year, under the salary cap.
A veteran of 156 NRL games and 10 Tests for New Zealand, Hughes is on around $900,000 this season at Melbourne, but could easily surge past the $1 million mark on the open market.
Hughes, who turns 31 in October, is confronting the final contract of his career.
He must cash in.
And Moore says the Bears should go hard for Hughes with a $1.5 million-a-season offer, which would see the premiership halfback eclipse Dylan Brown ($1.3 million), Nathan Cleary ($1.3m) and Kalyn Ponga ($1.4m) as the highest-paid player in the code.
“The first three players I would sign for the Bears would be Jahrome Hughes, Payne Haas and Selwyn Cobbo,” said North Sydney legend Moore.
“The Dolphins provided a great recruiting template in that they missed one big marquee star, but they got the steel in Kaufusi and the Bromwich brothers.
“For me, we (the Bears) need an enforcer and a shot-caller and that’s Haas and Hughes.
“To get them away from their current clubs, the reality is the Bears will have to look at paying $1.5 million, but both of them are worth every cent.
“Jahrome is in the top three halfbacks in the game.
“He is turning 31, but that’s not an issue when you consider Daly Cherry-Evans is 36, so Hughes could easily play for another five or six years.
“In an expansion NRL environment, his experience, individual brilliance and rugby league IQ makes him worth $1.5 million.”
Cobbo, 22, is currently off-contract, while Haas, 25, is tied to the Broncos for another 12 months, making both available for the Bears’ return to the big league in 2027.
Broncos boss Dave Donaghy remains confident the club will keep both and has issued a hands-off edict to NRL rivals over Haas, with Brisbane keen to secure the NRL’s No.1 prop before he heads to free agency in November.
Cobbo is on around $650,000, while Haas is on $1.1 million this season, with Moore conceding it will take an enormous offer to convince the Broncos prop to leave the comforts of Brisbane.
“Haas is worth $1.5 million, I’ve never seen a prop with a motor like his,” Moore said.
“The Bears will need a big man to set the standard up front and Haas is currently the form prop of the league.
“Cobbo won’t play fullback at Brisbane while Reece Walsh is there, but he would be a walk-up start in the No.1 jumper for the Bears.
“I’d also go after Herbie Farnworth (aged 25), who is the best centre in the world for mine, and I love the idea of having Angus Crichton (29) on an edge.
“Crichton is off-contract next year and he would bring a bit of craziness to the Bears pack.”
One fascinating political pawn in the Bears’ roster construction is the potential signing of Brad Arthur as Perth’s foundation coach.
Arthur is managed by Pacific Sports Management, one of the code’s leading agencies which has more than 50 NRL stars on its books, including Cobbo, Jason Taumalolo, Dylan Brown and Titans whiz-kid Keano Kini, who is also off-contract next year.
Yet arguably their biggest stable star is Storm champion Hughes.
If Arthur is formally appointed in the coming weeks, it would make sense for the former Eels coach to target players aligned with the PSM stable, such as Hughes, Cobbo and Kini.
Queensland Rugby League boss and former North Sydney star Ben Ikin says Hughes and Haas should be priority targets for the Bears.
“You wouldn’t stray too far from the Dolphins model – they went after leaders,” Ikin said.
“You want good humans who are really consistent players.
“It won’t be easy to put a squad together.
“The Bears will have to figure out pretty quickly what their environment is going to look like, because players will want to know what kind of environment they are stepping into.
“They will have the same amount of money the other clubs have to spend, so it’s about the pitch and all the different elements of the club that will have to be pulled together really quickly to entice players over the other side of the country.
“Payne Haas absolutely sets the standards every day, while Jahrome Hughes is in a good system and is at the top of his game.
“You would hit gold if you could sign those guys to build some momentum from day one.”
Originally published as Jahrome Hughes emerges as Bears No.1 target in top five hit list
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