DALLY M medallist and Melbourne kingpin Jahrome Hughes has described 19-year-old Cooper Clarke as “the future of our club”.
The St Gregory’s Campbelltown product only made his NRL debut in March but is already a leading light, scoring a try in the 24-8 win over Parramatta at Magic Round last weekend.
“He’s a good kid and he’s gonna be a great player for a long time,” New Zealand Test star Hughes told ABC Radio.
“He’s probably the future of our club right now and he’s just a kid. I can’t wait to see him grow.”
Clarke is the son of former Western Suburbs star Leo Clarke. His brother Zakauri plays for Penrith and Coopr moved to Queensland to prepare himself for the step up at Melbourne.
Cooper once weighed in at 145kg before knuckling down, his father saying Zak long had more commitment and always looked like a first grader.
This Friday the Storm take on Canterbury at Accor Stadium without their Origin stars Harry Grant, Cameron Munster, Xavier Coates and Felise Kaufusi They broke a seven-match losing streak a fortnight ago.
“We can’t just sit and think that after two wins it’s going to happen,” said Hughes. “We have to keep going after it.
“It’s going to be tough without those guys but I can’t try to do everything myself.
“I can lift a bit of leadership around the club but the boys who come in, I’ve just got to back them and make them play their game and given them confidence to play and yeah, I’ll be doing that.”
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