Not because he didn't like their players or respect coach Craig Bellamy, he just got sick of watching them succeed when he was a youngster.
"I remember, I actually used to hate the Storm because they were so good," the Storm half admitted this week.
Hughes will on Sunday play his third grand final in six seasons for the Storm, while gunning for a second premiership to go with the ring he won in 2020.
No club has played in more grand finals in the NRL era, with Melbourne's 12 four clear of the next best, the Sydney Roosters.
Sunday's decider against Brisbane will also mark Craig Bellamy's 11th as coach, taking him past Wayne Bennett for the most in history.
And on joining the Storm in 2017, Hughes immediately saw what made them the winning machine he once envied.
"I've got a lot of respect for Craig and what he's done," Hughes said.
"I know he's a big reason for it, just what he brings to the club, and how hard he works. He demands that from his players, and his staff as well."
Hughes isn't alone.
"Because they're so successful, I think it's hard to like the Storm when you're a fan of another team," prop Josh King said.
"I certainly never hated them that much that I was actively cursing them or anything.
"But when you're a young fella and probably don't understand much about footy, it's easy to dislike a team that wins all the time.
"Once I started to play professionally and tried to better myself, that's when the Storm became really intriguing to me."
For others, there were obvious reasons to like the Storm.
"I always liked the Storm and respected them from afar, with so many good Queenslanders playing for them," captain Harry Grant said.
"But also just the way they carried themselves and played in games, it was pretty enjoyable and exciting to watch."
In reality, the likes of Hughes are now the ones driving the next generation of Melbourne success, and giving rival fans every reason to look on with envy.
His effort to return 22 days after breaking his forearm to play in a preliminary final will likely go down in folklore, and last year's Dally M Medallist again looms as crucial on Sunday night.
"It was very, very inspiring to see," Grant said.
"The way he sort of attacked that ... he played within 22 days but was training for a week before that.
"The best thing was he went out and did his job to the standard that we know Jahrome can do, and you know, fingers crossed, he can do that again on Sunday."
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