Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has elaborated on the decision to once again select Tyran Wishart over Jonah Pezet ahead of the Round 23 NRL blockbuster against Brisbane.
Wishart, 24, will deputise at seven for injured star Jahrome Hughes for the second week running when he lines up alongside representative five-eighth Cameron Munster on Thursday night at AAMI Park.
“At the end of the day, everyone who’s not in the side would like to be starting in first grade,” Bellamy said when asked about Pezet not being able to crack the starting number seven spot in Hughes’ absence.
“Jonah hasn’t played a lot of footy this year, he’s been injured, whereas ‘Wish’ has been on the bench and he hasn’t let us down in any position.”
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“Wish can play anywhere so he gives us that ability depending on what happens in games—and then we have Jonah who can come into that position (halfback) if needed,” Bellamy continued.
Asked about the possibility of Pezet being loaned to a NRL rival club in 2026, similar to current Storm captain Harry Grant who spent the 2020 season with the Wests Tigers when stuck behind Cameron Smith, Bellamy suggested he was more focused on the task at hand in 2025.
“We’re getting close to the finals and that’s where my attention is, the recruiting guys can look at that stuff, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.
With the finals indeed just five rounds away, Bellamy explained the Storm is ‘in a pretty good position.”
“We have a tough run, (after this week) we have Penrith, the Bulldogs and then the Broncos again up in Brisbane and then the Roosters, so it’s a tough run home.”
‘We’d like him to play before the finals’
Bellamy also revealed the club hasn’t completely given up on Jahrome Hughes returning to the field before week one of the NRL finals.
“He looks like he’s coming on pretty well,” Bellamy said of Hughes’ rehab from a dislocated left shoulder suffered in Round 21 against the Sydney Roosters.
“We don’t want to put a week on it, but we’d like him to play before the finals if he can—we’re not going to take any risks, but as the finals get closer we’ll see what he can do and what he can’t do, and go from there.”