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Jahrome Hughes has knocked back the Warriors to re-sign with Melbourne for a further three seasons, but Dale Finucane is out for six weeks through injury.
Melbourne has been dealt some mixed news with halfback Jahrome Hughes re-signing and newly-appointed co-captain Dale Finucane expected to miss the first six NRL rounds with a calf injury.
Hughes knocked back a big-money offer from the Warriors to commit to the NRL premiers for another three years in a coup for the Storm a week out from their season-opener against South Sydney.
The 26-year-old was one of the hottest young players on the market with just one season to run on his contract with the Storm.
However, his development from a fringe first-grader, to fullback to premiership-winning halfback within the space of three seasons made him a major priority for the Storm.
"Having Jahrome re-sign with us is a real boost for Storm as we head into the new season," said general manager Frank Ponissi.
"He came to us after playing just four NRL games in two seasons, but he has worked extremely hard on his game with the assistance of our coaching staff and fully deserves the rewards which have come his way.
"His switch from fullback to halfback has proved to be an outstanding success and we expect there is still plenty of improvement ahead of him.
"We have also included Jahrome in our emerging leadership group in the past two seasons which is another indication of how highly regarded he is here at Storm."
His decision to reject the Warriors leaves the club without a marquee playmaker beyond the end of this season after Roger Tuivasa-Sheck announced his defection to rugby union.
Meanwhile, Dale Finucane hurt his calf at a sponsor photo shoot on Tuesday, with scans revealing the severity of the injury.
It's a massive blow for the Storm and for the 29-year-old lock, who spent eight weeks on the sidelines last season with a calf injury to his other leg.
He only returned for the preliminary final and came off the bench in the grand final to help Melbourne win the premiership.
