Ryan Papenhuyzen concussed, Nelson Asofa-Solomona hit with ban, Jahrome Hughes injured after horror night in Brisbane

Melbourne Storm’s week one finals hopes are in disarray, with fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen set to join star halfback Jahrome Hughes and enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona watching the club’s finals campaign from the sidelines after failing a concussion test in the wake of Thursday’s disastrous loss to Brisbane.

Coach Craig Bellamy declared he was “pissed off” with his team’s effort ahead of a home final against the Bulldogs next weekend that he’ll now enter without the key trio after Asofa-Solomona was handed a three-week ban and Hughes suffered a fractured forearm.

It’s unclear whether he can return at all this season, with Tyran Wishart and Jonah Pezet the men most likely to replace him.

Asofa-Solomona could also be done for the season after he was whacked with a grade 2 careless high tackle charge that will sideline him miss three weeks even with an early guilty plea after foul play ruled him out of last year’s grand final.

In a further blow, superstar fullback Papenhuyzen will miss the game against the Bulldogs after he suffered a head knock in the final few minutes as a result of a high shot from Josiah Karapani.

Papenhuyzen has had concussion issues in the past and failed his head injury assessment after the match, with Nick Meaney likely to replace him at the back.

“Melbourne Storm can confirm halfback Jahrome Hughes has suffered a fractured forearm in last night’s match-up with the Brisbane Broncos,” a club statement read

“Hughes will have scans on his return to Melbourne later today and will then consult a surgeon on a recovery plan.

“Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has also failed his head injury assessment following an incident in the second half. He will enter the NRL’s concussion protocols.

With speculation mounting over Asofa-Solomona’s future, having struggled to get back into Bellamy’s team, the Kiwi international and premiership winner could have played his last game for the Storm.

The Storm had nothing to play for on Thursday night having already wrapped up second spot but return home in a world of hurt, with Hughes in major doubt to play again this year after he injured his arm while making a tackle in his first game back from a dislocated shoulder.

While they have options to replace Hughes Bellamy’s biggest concern is his side’s defence after they lost 30-14 to the Broncos, making it 70 points they’ve conceded in the past two weeks after they went down 40-10 at home to the Roosters.

It’s their worst defensive two-game stretch since 2005 when they conceded 77 points in rounds 21 and 22. The Storm also conceded 70 in 2006 and gave up 69 points in 2013 but bounced back to score 68 the following week.

The top defensive teams go on to win the premiership, and Bellamy has seen some worrying signs a week out from the finals.

“(I’m) pissed off at a few things,” he said.

“I’m disappointed again to be quite honest. It looked to me like we lacked a whole heap of patience, we were pretty undisciplined as well – lots of penalties and six-agains.

“The biggest disappointment for me is over the last two weeks we’ve had 70 points put on us. That’s not a good thing, not a good sign coming into finals having that many points scored against you.

“With the team we’ve got we’ve probably been known for our attack in the last couple of years, but defence is what wins big games, and big games are just about to start. We’re nowhere near where we should be in that department.”

After losing last year’s grand final, many people expected the Storm to go one better in 2025, but Bellamy poured cold water on that notion when asked if they could win it all.

“I’m doubting that at the moment,” he said ahead of next week’s Bulldogs clash.

“Two weeks of it. We’ll see next week. We’ll find out.”

Five-eighth Cameron Munster was equally frustrated with his side’s defensive frailties that were exposed by Broncos fullback Reece Walsh.

“We’ve got to worry about our own four walls. Defence wins games, and we’ve leaked so many points. If we can work on our defence, then points will come,” he said.

“Individually, we’ve all got to have a good look at ourselves because defensively we have an attitude problem. The last few weeks, the attitude stinks.”

Their attack on Thursday also looked a bit clunky, but Harry Grant’s return next week should solve some of those problems.

The biggest headache they have now is who comes in to replace Hughes, with Tyran Wishart and Jonah Pezet fighting it out for the No.7 jersey.

“I played with them the last three or four weeks before Jahrome came back and we had a really good combination – I think we lost one game and that was against the Roosters (last week),” Munster said.

“It’s obviously going to be disappointing not having Hughesy there because he’s such an integral part to our attack and defence, and he’s a class player who won the Dally M for a reason last year.

“But we’ve got some good depth in our halves, and I’ve got a lot of belief in those guys.

“I know a lot of people are going to put a lot of speculation and a lot of stuff in the headlines in the media about whether we can do it or not, but that’s what you sell papers for.”