If anyone had told Jack Howarth at the start of the 2024 season that he’d be preparing for a home preliminary final in front of a packed crowd after 12 games in a row as Melbourne Storm’s starting centre, he would have called them “crazy”.
In and out of the side twice more for single games this season, coming off the bench, amid a shifting backline as Bellamy reshuffled his line-up to deal with injuries, Howarth got back in for the round 15 clash with the Warriors, got his first crack at starting centre two games later and has played every game since.Despite having to bide his time before making his mark, Howarth said it was probably the right call, and he was now better placed to deliver on the belief and trust showed in him.
“They said that I earned their trust. And that’s a big thing that you’ve got to do to get into the team, so when I got that, got told that all the players wanted to play with me, and that they believe and trust me, gave me that confidence. Bellamy also took a strong interest in building Howarth up, and their relationship has been crucial to the young star’s rise.
“It’s a good culture and environment that we have. Young people come in, I reckon by the first couple of weeks there they feel like they’ve been here for ages.Fox League’s Greg Alexander admitted he was surprised the Storm offered Howarth such a long-term deal so young, given he is signed until the end of the 2027 season.
“That is probably a rare occurrence with Melbourne to spend a lot of money on a young kid, so it was good to see him finally get a chance this season.“I think he is up for rookie of the year this season and I have been very impressed with him. Storm coach Craig Bellamy puts Howarth’s vast improvement in 2024 down to an attitude adjustment in the pre-season.