Mention the idea of "Jahrome Hughes, Dally M winner" to the man himself and he'll visibly wince.

"I don't know if that'll happen, there's been a lot of talk about it. For myself, I'm more worried about the team accolades," Hughes said.

"I'd love for us to win a premiership, if the Dally M comes, it comes, but that's not my focus at the minute."

If things keep going the way they've been going for Melbourne, and for Hughes, he very well could end up with both.

The Storm are four points clear at the top of the ladder and riding high after Thursday night's win over Penrith. Nathan Cleary's shoulder injury should push them into outright premiership favouritism.

And after years of being overlooked as one of the NRL's top halfbacks, Hughes could very well be closing in on the game's biggest individual prize after a season of such consistent brilliance that his case is fast becoming undeniable.

When the 29-year-old talks about playing halfback he makes it sound very straightforward.

"It's playing to my strengths and keeping it simple. Especially now, having (Cameron) Munster and Paps (Ryan Papenhuyzen) full time and having Wishy (Tyran Wishart) come off the bench, my job is really simple," Hughes said.

"I have to keep the team together, kick well – I'm the main kicker at the moment so as long as I kick well and get the boys outside me some good ball they can do the rest.

"I'm reaping the rewards but I'm just trying to play simple footy."

But simple is not the same as easy – if it was, everybody would be doing it. Nor is it simply a triumph of the fabled Melbourne Storm system because, in many ways, Hughes himself has become the system this year.

Papenhuyzen was out for six weeks earlier in the year through injury while Munster has missed ten games throughout the campaign, which required Hughes to take greater control of the side.

"It's a little bit different (when they're out) because without them I'm more the leader out there," Hughes said.

"But it doesn't change too much, to be honest – if it's someone like Sua (Fa'alogo) and Wishy out there it's the same, I just have to get them good ball and they do the rest.

"But overall it's more of a leader, guiding the team around the park, and when those boys are back they help me do that."

It's a task he excelled at – Hughes has already levelled his career high for try assists with three regular-season games remaining.

He's averaging his highest total of run metres per game since he was a fullback and he's kicking both more frequently and better than ever before.

Hughes believes that hitting new heights as a playmaker has its genesis in his play for New Zealand in last year's Pacific Championship.

He helped steer the Kiwis to their record 30-0 demolition of Australia in the final and it was a style he's replicated this year with the Storm to terrific effect.

"I felt like the team, and especially the leaders in the team, gave me the confidence that they wanted me to lead," said Hughes.

"I'd never thought of myself as being the leader of a national side but I embraced it and it helped me play good footy, better footy. I tried to take that back to Storm this year, I wanted to take a bigger role. I felt like it helped my game if I was the leader of the team or took the reins.

"That doesn't mean I have to be a star player, it's more about control.

"That's probably a big reason why I've played my best footy this year – if I can take the reins of a national side that helps my confidence with the Storm side."

That transition at Test level was one former New Zealand coach and current New South Wales Origin mentor Michael Maguire had been eyeing for some time.

Maguire gave Hughes his Kiwi debut as a bench utility in 2019 and described his progression in the black and white jersey as "a boy becoming a man."

"I've always been pushing in that space with him because I always believed he could do it," Maguire said.

"Over the years you'd see him do it and maybe back off a bit but now, with his maturity and where he fits into the game, he's very consistent at it.

"If he plays to his abilities, and we know his abilities are high, people will follow.

"He was outstanding in that last campaign, along with many other players, but you have to have someone calling the shots and Jahrome's that. Everyone jumped on the back of that."

Taking on such a mantle couldn't have been easy. Hughes was following in the footsteps of Benji Marshall and Shaun Johnson, two of the greatest New Zealand players of all time.

But replacing legends has proven to be something of a speciality for Hughes – after all, his predecessor at halfback for the Storm was Cooper Cronk.

For Maguire, Hughes' greatest improvement has come at the very highest levels of halfback play, for both the Storm and New Zealand.

"I think his running game has improved, his vision and the planning of a game, the longevity of building fatigue in a game, that's another thing he's developed and that's what wins you the big games," Maguire said.

"There's a reason why the big teams like Melbourne win games, they go the distance of what's required to build pressure on the opposition.

"That comes down to a smart half who's got to kick the ball into positions where it keeps the pressure on.

"Sometimes that half needs to do that when they're on the back foot and that's something I think Jahrome has become very good at, knowing the team might be under pressure but with a good kick you're never far away from flipping momentum onto the opposition.

"He knows how to win at the highest level."