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The Brisbane Broncos are coming under increasing scrutiny after their 1-3 start to the 2013 season.
With what appears to be an extremely tough few rounds ahead of them, one has to wonder how long Anthony Griffin will stick with his under-performing halves combination of Scott Prince and Peter Wallace.
Think what you will of Wallace, but let’s be honest. He had the privilege of playing with and learning from one of the greatest five-eighths the game has ever seen, yet has failed to step up and dominate as Broncos halves always have.
Despite working with experienced half and returning Bronco Scott Prince, Wallace has failed to fire.
The time has come for the 27-year-old to move back to the Queensland Cup and make way for a young half to take the reins.
Prince’s record speaks for itself and he should be given time to settle back in to the club. A plethora of experience can surely be gained from having Princey at Red Hill.
Aidan Sezer is a prime example of what playing with a footballer of Prince’s calibre can do for a young player’s confidence.
The young Gold Coast Titans five-eighth has stepped up his game in the early rounds of the 2013 season after playing only one season as Prince’s sidekick.
Subsequently, not only has good form reignited at the Titans, so too has the ‘big brother v little brother’ debate.
Enter a young half, and the Brisbane Broncos.
In what can only be described as an opportunity missed, the Broncos have lost Corey Norman to the Parramatta Eels for the 2014 season and, with him, the chance to capitalise on Prince’s proven leadership and Norman’s obvious potential as a five-eight.
That’s the beauty of hindsight.
With all signs indicating the 2014 season will be Prince’s last, there is no better way to use the short time Prince will be around the club than to milk every ounce of knowledge out of him, every bit of experience, every skill and piece of determination that allowed him to lead the Wests Tigers to premiership glory in 2005.
The final step: inject this into a rising star of the game. It should have been Norman. Now, however, is time to look to the future of the rugby league powerhouse.
After being named the inaugural Toyota Cup Player of the Year in 2008, Ben Hunt has never been allowed a genuine opportunity to cement his spot at half back.
Sure, he has played a few games here and there, but hasn’t been given a long term shot at the position he grew up playing.
The Broncos have always prided themselves on the first class players they developed staying for less money than could be earned by moving south, just to remain a Bronco.
Years and dollars have been invested into the development of Norman and Hunt and, with the Knights looming over Hunt, it will be a devastating blow to the Broncos brand of loyalty to lose two young guns, and potential legends of the game, both in the same year.
While many could argue Hunt is not up to the task, it is time to accept the reality that limited options are presenting themselves and the Broncos are in desperate need of retaining one of their young halves.
What better way of doing this than giving the 23-year-old the halfback position and some time to make it his own?
If Wayne Bennett sees the potential in Hunt, you can bet your bottom dollar that he has the ability to develop into one of the stars of the game.
Who will fill Hunt’s number 14 role on the bench? That’s a debate for another day.
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