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Ben in the Hunt for NRL glory

Roar Rookie
25th November, 2014
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Ben Hunt - falling upwards into an Origin jersey. (AAP Image/ Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Roar Rookie
25th November, 2014
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Brisbane halfback and Australian utility Ben Hunt has proved he is ready for the NRL big time after finishing second only to the game’s greatest, Johnathan Thurston, in the statistics columns.

Hunt had an excellent 2014 season in his first year as a full-time halfback, making his debut for Australia and narrowly missing out on the opportunity for Queensland.

Finishing fifth in the Daly M statistics after leading it for most of the year, many critics believed that Hunt was ripped off for the halfback of the year award this season.

A Fox Sports poll showed that 80 per cent of the 8000 voters believed that Hunt should have received the award over Daley Cherry-Evans. It seems that the statistics comparison and public opinion has no effect on the panel who select the team of the year, however.

The team is purely their opinion and it seems that if they like a player more then they pick them.

Ben Hunt finished the year as the halfback with the most tries, line breaks, tackle busts, run metres, kicking metres and kicks. He can only be compared to the natural halfback who took a five-eighth role for his club team this year, Johnathan Thurston.

Thurston took away two of Hunt’s winning categories while wearing the number six this season, also leading him in the field goals, line break assists, offloads and the competition in try assists.

While Thurston fails to lose his shine, Hunt has certainly made a huge claim for the Queensland and Australian number seven, leading both Cooper Cronk and Daly Cherry-Evans. A Fox Sports poll with more than 3000 responses puts Hunt as the third best halfback in the game.

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The poll has Thurston leading outright, as expected, on 42.99 per cent, Shaun Johnson on 11.3 per cent, Hunt on 6.86 per cent, Cronk on 6.16 per cent and Cherry-Evans on 5.86 per cent. Interestingly, all four of Queensland’s halves options are rated in the top five in the world.

Ben Hunt will partner the excitement machine Anthony Milford in the halves at the Broncos this season, making a combination that is sure to be unpredictable and thrilling to watch. Look for big things from Hunt this year because he proved in his Test games that he won’t be ripped off as the best halfback again.

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