Craig Bellamy’s big call on his Melbourne halves combination almost came unstuck before the opening whistle at AAMI Park with Jahrome Hughes suffering a suspected serious knee injury which almost ruled him out of their semi-final win over Parramatta.

Bellamy had opted for a late season switch, dumping regular halfback Brodie Croft and shifting fullback Hughes to the No.7 jersey so he could start speedster Ryan Papenhuyzen at the back.

But Croft was back on deck on Monday after Hughes went down after big prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui fell on his leg at training.

“On our first session this week Jahrome had a collision with another player and our physio thought he’d done his ACL,” Bellamy said after the 36-0 victory.

“Crofty was in – he did the rest of the session – but obviously the injury wasn’t as bad as our physio thought and Jahrome trained yesterday.”

Kiwi international Hughes was one of the Storm’s best in the seven-try romp – scoring a try while setting up another with a clever kicking game.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Bellamy said.

“It’s a decision I made because I think it’s better for the team and sometimes you get those wrong but I thought Hughesy was really good.”

Hughes himself played down the injury, saying his teammates called it a “grade three carry-on”.

“For a little while I was concerned … I fell awkwardly but the scans came up good and it was only a little medial so I was cheering,” the 24-year-old said.

“Once the scans came back I knew I could play through the pain and it’s pulled up pretty good.”