Over the last few days it has been reported that Melbourne Storm have snapped up two highly promising young kiwis in Jahrome Hughes and Brandon Smith. Not only is this an interesting move from a Storm perspective as both have genuine talent and could prove to be the perfect players to transition away from the big-three era, there's also the angle that both are kiwis and join a club that already has a strong - perhaps the strongest - kiwi contingent in the NRL.

Brandon Smith is a dummy half who hails from Waiheke Island. When Smith was named for the Junior Kiwis earlier this year, I found this video while researching the backstories of each Junior Kiwi and it tells you all you need to know about Smith...

It doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that Smith could replace Smith, Cameron Smith, when the the Queensland great hangs up his boots. Many a wise observer, especially NRL scouts would have been watching the Junior Kiwis vs Junior Kangaroos game earlier this year where Smith was a standout for the Junior Kiwis and as we all know by now, Melbourne are the best recruiters in the NRL.

Smith has been signed from North Queensland Cowboys and his decision to leave Townsville is interesting as he basically set up base there as a youngster. The Cowboys have plenty of depth at hooker right now though with Jake Granville and Rory Kostjasyn doing a fine job as part of a consistent rotation while Ray Thompson has done a job there in recent years as well. 

Compare that to Melbourne where Cameron Smith is effectively the be-all/end-all and the decision wouldn't have been too hard. The Storm do have guy like Ben Hampton and Slade Griffin who can do a job at hooker, but Brandon Smith is a certified threat out of dummy half and his ability as an attacking weapon through the middle will give the Storm a different look. Smith's best comparison is probably to Issac Luke as he's quick enough to cause chaos, however he's also far stronger than he looks and can legit run through blokes.

Expect Brandon to join Melbourne and develop his game in reserve grade (either with Sunshine Coast or Easts Tigers), until an opportunity presents itself for Brandon to come off the bench with Cameron starting. This move alone will make the Storm dangerous as Cameron could have his workload cut (he's 33 years old, after all), possibly playing in the halves while Brandon comes on to add some spark.

Jahrome Hughes also joins the Storm from the Cowboys with 2 NRL games on his record. Hailing from Wellington, Hughes made his NRL debut with Gold Coast in 2013 before injury put him back a few years and earlier this year he played his first game for the Cowboys during the Origin period around game one.

With the ability to play fullback and in the halves, Hughes is an interesting signing because his pathway with the Storm is far less clear than Smith's. Cameron Munster basically has a lock on the fullback position, so Hughes' opportunity is likely to come in the halves and with Blake Green rumoured to be heading to a Sydney club, Cooper Cronk will need a new halves partner. 

That opens the door for Hughes in the short-term future and it would give Hughes - like Smith - the opportunity to learn from the best in the business. What's just as funky though is that the Storm also have a young halfback who is cut from a similar cloth as Cronk in Brodie Croft. Cronk and Croft are both typical No.7's in that they control a game of footy and this would be perfect for Hughes as he'd be able to add some spice to the Storm's attack.

Consider this as a possible future Melbourne Storm backline post Bill Slater and Cronk...

Cameron Munster, Young Tonumaipea, Will Chambers, Curtis Scott, Suliasi Vunivalu, Jahrome Hughes, Brodie Croft.

Now that's a pretty decent example of succession planning. Heck, let's take a look at their forward pack without Cameron Smith, assuming that they re-sign a bunch of players who are off-contract after next season...

Jesse Bromwich, Brandon Smith, Jordan McLean/Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor, Dale Finucane (Bench from: NAS, Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi, Christian Welch).

The kiwi angle flies through the roof here as well with the Storm's current kiwi gang of Bromwich x2, Harris, Proctor and NAS boosted by the additions of Smith and Hughes. Other teams like the Panthers could have more NZers but the quality of the Storm's kiwis is already undeniable and if you're looking for a team to support from a kiwi point-of-view, Melbourne Storm could be your best bet.