The 2024 and 2025 runners-up look set to replace the pair with two players who have been discarded by rivals.
Melbourne confirmed on Thursday they have signed South Sydney prop Davvy Moale on a one-year deal. They have also recruited Jack Hetherington, after Newcastle opted not to re-sign him.
Davvy Moale has signed a one-year deal with the Storm.Credit: Getty Images
The Storm have a remarkable record for salvaging the careers of players apparently destined for the NRL scrapheap, and Hinchcliffe is a classic example.
After playing 21 games for Canberra in 2007-08, he was released and feared his professional career was over. Instead, he was thrown a lifeline by Melbourne, where he played 175 top-grade games, including two grand final wins, before joining their coaching staff.
Hinchcliffe said it was no fluke Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has such a knack for transforming journeymen into top talent.
“I think the first thing is just to identify the character,” he said.
Melbourne will be Jack Hetherington’s fifth NRL club.Credit: Getty Images
“We want good people in our environment, in our club, so I think that’s the number one thing that we look at when you’re trying to recruit a player to your club.”
Hinchcliffe said Bellamy and senior players try to instil in recruits an appetite for hard work.
“One of Craig’s greatest strengths is that he coaches effort and he teaches the player what effort looks like, on both sides of the ball,” he said.
“A player who comes here, they don’t have to be the most talented player, but if they’re fit and healthy, and they train hard, Craig can teach them, and we as a club can teach them, the little areas of the game that we really value.
“Competing hard at training, day in, day out, that creates a real high-performing environment for them to thrive in and be the best player they can be.
“We want them to bring their strengths to our team, and when they realise they just have to go out and execute his role in our system, within that there’s a real confidence and belief that the players get.”
Moale, who played 70 NRL games for Souths, will link with the Storm after the Christmas break. He will spend only one season in Melbourne before starting a three-year deal at Manly.
Hetherington, after stints with Penrith, the Warriors, Canterbury and Newcastle, has made 96 NRL appearances but is yet to realise the potential that once prompted Phil Gould to label him an “elite” talent capable of playing at State of Origin level.
Mainly used as a bench prop by the Knights, Hetherington could also be an option on the edge at Melbourne, potentially as a replacement for Katoa.
“Jack’s been unreal,” Hinchcliffe said.
“I’m really excited that we get the opportunity to work with Jack.
“He’s been around for a little while, and he’s got some great attributes as a footy player. He even admits himself he’s had some lapses in discipline throughout his career, for one reason or another.
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“But I think he’s got himself to a point in his career where his goal is to reach the potential that we all know he has.
“With Jack, and also Davvy Moale, we think that they’re good guys to be able to come into our system and not just survive but really thrive and make us better.
“Melbourne’s kind of a unique place, because none of us are from here, and not many of us have family or friends here when we arrive.
“So when you move here, you move here to become the best rugby league player you can be. And it’s a pretty good environment if you’ve got the right mindset to do whatever it takes.”
