During the St George Illawarra Dragons’ drought-breaking win over the Sharks in Round 5, Ben Hunt again showed us why his best position is dummy-half, producing a 58-minute masterclass which included a try and a try-assist.
But despite his best performance since anyone can remember, Hunt still believes his best position is halfback and has expressed his desire to reclaim the Dragons number seven jersey.
From my observation, his form as a halfback has been inconsistent at best since guiding the Brisbane Broncos to the 2015 grand final.
I wrote an article almost two years ago questioning whether halfback was his best position after his sub-par performances in Game 1 and 2 of the 2018 Origin series.
Hunt was fortunate to be given the first crack in the seven jersey after the representative retirements of Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston, and the pressure he was under to lead Queensland into a new era and continue the dynasty was enormous.
For those who can remember Game 2, the defining moment of that series was late in the second half with Queensland trailing by four, New South Wales were down to 12 men and defending their own goal-line when Hunt inexplicably kicked the ball dead on the third tackle of the set, which ultimately caused Queensland to lose momentum and any chance of winning the game and keeping the series alive.
His inability to deliver in clutch moments resulted in Hunt losing his Queensland Maroons halfback spot to Daly Cherry-Evans – before playing most of Game 3 as bench dummy-half and he was instrumental in Queensland winning that game.
Looking back further to 2017, then-Broncos coach Wayne Bennett dropped Hunt to reserve grade before being re-called to cover for an injured Andrew McCullough at hooker and he was crucial in Brisbane reaching the preliminary final that season.
Since then, it is glaringly obvious that Hunt has continued to struggle with the responsibilities of game management and the expectations of producing the right plays during critical moments of games as the chief playmaker.
It’s fair to say he has not lived up to his $1.2 million price tag at the Dragons and you’d be lucky to find someone who would disagree, but he still has three years to make good on his paycheque – just not at halfback.
We’ve seen the influence Cameron Smith and Josh Hodgson have on their team’s performances from dummy-half, and it would be fair to say most other clubs would happily pay $1.2 million for either of them.
Ben Hunt has the ability to provide for the Dragons what Smith and Hodgson provide for their clubs.
He’s an eyes-up, ad-lib type player and we’ve seen what he can do from hooker. He provides quality service with a crisp pass, and is a strong ball runner who is quick off the mark and has a pinpoint kicking game. His creativity around the ruck makes him arguably more dangerous than most other rakes in the competition.
He’s pretty tough defending in the middle-third as well, not afraid to rush off the line to take down big opposition forwards.
Every time Hunt has donned the nine jersey or played in the dummy-half role, his skillset flourishes because he’s not preoccupied trying to game manage from halfback – which is why he’s been selected to play hooker for Queensland and Australia.
And the move to hooker is not only what I believe is best for Ben Hunt, it is also what’s best for the struggling Dragons.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
He offers more in attack than current rake Cameron McInnes and the Dragons wouldn’t lose anything from shifting McInnes to lock-forward. He’d still be defending in the middle-third, making his usual 50 tackles per game and he could play the same type of role Cameron Murray plays for Souths.
In regards to Hunt’s spot in the Queensland and Australian representative teams, it might be in his best interest to play hooker full-time and prove to selectors why he is the best man for that role.
He may not unseat Damien Cook for the Australian nine jersey, but a spot on the bench would definitely be up for grabs. His position in the Maroons side is also looking precarious, with regular dummy-halves Jake Friend, Reed Mahoney, Jake Turpin and even Harry Grant all breathing down his neck looking to steal his spot.
I believe an in-form Bent Hunt is the best dummy-half option for Queensland, but it’s up to him to accept that his best days as a halfback are long over and hooker is his best position.
Andrew
Roar Pro
Sure, but there’s no net benefit if you replace Hunt in the team with an inferior player.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
To be fair, Bennett gave up on Hunt at halfback, too.
Phat Boy
Guest
I'm biased as a Roosters fan, but also as a Queensland fan I'd take Friend on a mediocre day ahead of Hunt on a good day. Hunt is fine defensively but Friend is actually a strong defender, doesn't concede ground, has basically the most perfect tackling technique that someone of his size could have. He has shown over the last 2 seasons and especially in the last 3 weeks that when he has a pack that is going forward, he can attack very strongly and while in the past his service at dummy half has sometimes been slow, as he holds the ball up looking for an option, he has started to use his feet more when doing this so rather than allowing the defence to rush up, it draws players to him and away from his intended target.
Andrew
Roar Pro
Moving Hunt to dummy half is a obvious sign Mary is desperate & has given up trying to develop Hunt’s game at halfback. Mary really is a terrible coach. Beating a fellow 1-4 team with their own troubles isn’t much to hang your hat on. Even if we beat the lowly Titans this week I’m still sceptical. Are we really expected to believe Clune is a better halfback than Hunt? Or Hunt is a better dummy half than McInnes? McInnes is a better lock than Merrin? When you think about it, it’s all nonsense. Mary has given up & so has Frizell, Graham, Saab etc... :crying:
Albo
Roar Rookie
I have long thought Ben Hunt was an ideal number 14. Jack of all trades , master of none. He can fill in at the halves or the hooker role or other spots too, whenever the “first choice” players in those positions are injured or in need of a spell. Nothing I have seen since his $1.2m contract move to the Dragons has changed my opinion. He has been wildly over paid for the abilities he has to offer. He should be being paid like a Ben Hampton or Tyrone Peachey for mine, and played off the bench.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
The title says it all, he is a hooker
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
Fair points. He'd need to fine-tune his tackling technique to defend in the middle, but that will come down to training. He hasn't needed to defend in the middle-third since origin last year. It'll take time for him to adjust. From an attacking perspective, I still think he's shown in the past how good he can be at dummy half, spending the first 4 years of his career as a bench hooker. He also scores a lot of tries when he's at dummy-half, it's a credit to his vision and decision making. If Mary gives him a month at 9 to find his feet, you'll see how good he can be, IMO.
astro
Roar Rookie
I really think you're over-rating his defensive abilities, and the impact of having a weak defender like Hunt at 9. As you rightly say, his preference is to rush out of the line, but this isnt a sign of being fearless as much as it is a sign of his lack of confidence in tackling players one on one, coming at him at speed. With a move to hooker...If you look at the guys who leads the league in tackles, 6 of the top 10 are hookers. Hunt cant provide that level of defensive effort. He would be targeted by every forward in the game on defense, over and over again, and unless the rest of the Dragons pack is willing to work additionally hard to cover for him, whatever Hunt offers at 9 when the Dragons have the ball, will be undermined by when they don't. Having said that, I actually agree with the premise of your article...He is probably better at 9, than 7 for the reasons you state. Its just that I dont think he's a particularly good 9 either!
Herewegoagain
Guest
Nothing worse than “Poodler”.
Paul
Roar Guru
"Ben Hunt has the ability to provide for the Dragons what Smith and Hodgson provide for their clubs." This is an excellent comment and right on the money IMO. You go on to talk about his ad lib being a strength and I think that's exactly right. All really good ball players have this, but he probably has this as the dominant part of his game, which makes the game management part of role very weak. If Corey Norman can pick up the slack in managing the attack, the Dragons might have the makings of an okay spine - unless of course, more players decide to leave. :crying:
Nat
Roar Rookie
Hi Adam, Hooker might be Hunt's best position at the Knights but he's not a hooker. The majority of those reasons you listed as positives, I see as a liability. His service, sure the pass is crisp but he stands, looks and passes. The pass has to be good because in that extra second to deliver, the defence is 3-4m further forward than a swift pass off the deck. Look at that assist Smith threw last week to the winger. If Smith took that same time to deliver, the defence gets there. IMO, service is the primary role of the hooker and Hunt has not had that practice. His rushing defence creates a staggered line. He does it because he gets bumped if the forwards have any momentum. Not a bad ploy but if/when he misses havoc ensues behind him. He's being lauded for last week but he missed 9 tackles - Jimmy & JT used to get roasted for half that. Do that against a contender and they'll put a Broncos score on them. You could see last week, Mary gave the order just to play footy. Neither team were great so he stood out and mostly because he's been missing all year. Hunt is a good halfback but he is a confidence player. Bennett dropped him a few years back to give him time to revive his running game. Maybe not as long as he would have liked due to Maccas injury but he killed it in ISP and came back with a bit of form. I remember a 3rd tackle chip to Kahu for points that exemplified this but those efforts are few and far between - always have been. Please Kevvie, Qld have depth in most positions - we don't need an average utility for the sake of loyalty.
peeeko
Roar Guru
agree, but i dont think Jake Turpin is breathing down his neck
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
You're right and this question has been going on for years, as you have written yourself. Why? Mary is a weak coach, without the cajoolies to make a call even if it put him offside with a 'star', and without the man-management to sell it and make it happen. Hunt to hooker and Mac to lock should have happened years ago.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Hunt would be a much better player if he pinned the ears back and went like the clappers at times. He's fast and strong and is hard to handle but too often he poodles around when it's time to put the foot down.