Ahead of his 100th NRL game Jahrome Hughes says Melbourne remain in high spirits despite their run of losses, feeling they are finding form ahead of the finals.
Despite losing a third successive game for the first time in his Melbourne career, halfback Jahrome Hughes says the Storm remain resolute that their NRL premiership ambitions are on track.
Hughes will play his 100th NRL game when they face South Sydney, who have won their last three, on Saturday night at Accor Stadium.
The 27-year-old played one game with Gold Coast in 2013 and one with North Queensland in 2016, but since making his Storm debut a year later he has emerged as one of the game's best No.7s.
Despite chalking up three successive losses for the first time in seven years, falling to Canberra 20-16 last round, Hughes felt their form was moving in the right direction.
"It feels a bit weird - I don't think I've lost three in a row before and it's not a good feeling," Hughes said on Wednesday.
"Hopefully we can turn it around, not just for my 100 games, but we need a win.
"But the boys have been good, we're still very confident in ourselves and very confident and how we're looking to go into the finals.
"It was a pretty rough patch, the Origin period, on top of our own injuries but now that it's all over ... we didn't get the win but we showed on the weekend, we can play good footy."
With a season-ending knee injury to superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen coming on top of the run of results which has seen the side drop to fourth, the doomsayers are writing off Melbourne's title chances.
Hughes said coach Craig Bellamy would use the talk as motivation.
"People have been writing us off every year - when Coops (Cooper Cronk) left and then Smithy (Cameron Smith) and Bill (Slater) - but I think we just feed off it," said the 27-year-old Kiwi international.
"We don't mind flying under the radar so it's probably not a bad thing at the moment.
"I think Craig will get little snippets from that and use it as motivation for us."
The return from injury of Latrell Mitchell has been key to the seventh-placed Rabbitohs' resurgence with the fullback in beast-mode in their win over Canterbury.
Hughes said the Storm would need to shut him down.
"Every time we play, that's got him in there we need to watch out for him," he said of Mitchell, who missed 10 games with a hamstring injury.
"They've got Cody Walker as well so they're a great attacking team, so we need to be on.
"I thought our defence was a lot better on the weekend compared to the weeks before so but I think we're going need to step it up again because their attack is very lethal."
