And now are you glad we have signed Ben Hunt ?

[BrissyRedV]

There you have it, our $6 million dollar man is a reserve grader. People on here have him as a top 3 halfback in the NRL, yet his coach doesn't even rate him the best in his club.

So was our best prop this season and our hooker...

 

[blaza88z]

Vaughan was up against much stiffer competition for a spot than Hunt.



Yeah Bennett is well known for dropping players after they sign elsewhere because he did it once 16 years ago under much different circumstances...

You can't reason with them, once they see the Ben Hunt montage on youtube, they're sold that he's one of the greatest halves of all time.. reality is, his kicking game absolutely sucks and he goes missing consistently when the game is on the line, last week for example.. it was all Benji

 

[BrissyRedV]

If Bennett didn't rate Hunt, he would release him.

 

[possm]

Benji and Hunt play in different positions. Benji at 6 and Hunt at 7. If Hunt is being dropped, it has nothing to do with Benji holding a first grade spot. In my opinion this is a continuation of the rift between Hunt and the Broncos which appears to be the real reason Hunt accepted the Dragons offer - he wanted out of the Broncos.

 

[SBD82]

Hunt is a halfback and Bennett has Benji playing at five-eighth, so not Benji for Hunt it's Benji for Millward. It seems Bennett understands how to get the best out of Benji. Just another example why Mary should not be extended.

Benji is going to be our next recruitment officer?!?

 

[BringTheNoise]

If Bennett didn't rate Hunt, he would release him.

What kind of logic is that? There's no suggestion that Dragons could even approached Broncos about an early release or even have room to accommodate him. It's purely wishful thinking from fans on this forum who believe Hunt is the messiah.

 

[BringTheNoise]

The fact that we will be paying Hunt literally twice as much as what Sharks pay Maloney pretty much sums up our recruitment and retention strategy.

 

[BringTheNoise]

Benji is going to be our next recruitment officer?!?

Hahaha. I assume he means Milford, which still makes no sense considering Benji and Milford will both be named in the side...

 

[BrissyRedV]

What kind of logic is that? There's no suggestion that Dragons could even approached Broncos about an early release or even have room to accommodate him.

You are kidding right? Do you really think that little of the recruitment staff that they wouldn't make an approach to get him early especially seeing as we currently have McGroan at half back? You need to chill a little.

It's purely wishful thinking from fans on this forum who believe Hunt is the messiah.

Much like those that think Dugan is the Messiah I suppose.

 

[SBD82]

You can't reason with them, once they see the Ben Hunt montage on youtube, they're sold that he's one of the greatest halves of all time.. reality is, his kicking game absolutely sucks and he goes missing consistently when the game is on the line, last week for example.. it was all Benji

Surely you can forgive dragons fans for being excited about bringing an actual halfback to the club, despite his limitations.

His kicking game might not be great, but it's better than McCrone's.

And if you look through our halfbacks of the last decade, not one of them was an out and out half. Fien, benji, Hornby... all makeshift 7s.

I have my reservations about hunt. But we need a legitimate halfback, and have for a long time. And he improves the most glaring weakness that we have on our roster.

 

[BringTheNoise]

You are kidding right? Do you really think that little of the recruitment staff that they wouldn't make an approach to get him early especially seeing as we currently have McGroan at half back? You need to chill a little.

Much like those that think Dugan is the Messiah I suppose.

No I'm not kidding. Even if Hunt were released what money is available to sign him for the remainder of the season? Please enlighten me. And why should Broncos release him early for our benefit when they can just as easily let him play reggies and recall him later if he returns to form or someone is injured/suspended?

 

[BrissyRedV]

No I'm not kidding. Even if Hunt were released what money is available to sign him for the remainder of the season?

The only people who would know our salary cap position is those within the club. We could be flushed with funds for all you know.

And why should Broncos release him early for our benefit when they can just as easily let him play reggies and recall him later if he returns to form or someone is injured/suspended?

They won't release him because he is such a quality player and would strengthen us greatly. Bennett is no fool. This dropping is purely personal because Hunt dare leave the Broncos. Had they also been against a top team this week I would dare say he would not have been dropped.

 

[BringTheNoise]

Surely you can forgive dragons fans for being excited about bringing an actual halfback to the club, despite his limitations.

His kicking game might not be great, but it's better than McCrone's.

And if you look through our halfbacks of the last decade, not one of them was an out and out half. Fien, benji, Hornby... all makeshift 7s.

I have my reservations about hunt. But we need a legitimate halfback, and have for a long time. And he improves the most glaring weakness that we have on our roster.

I agree we need a legitimate halfback. But to put all our eggs in one basket is crazy. For the next 6 years we have very little room to move with our salary cap. We already lost 2 internationals within a week.

We have a heap of promising juniors coming through who will be off contract in 2-3 years. If they live up to their potential and other clubs come circling will we have the money available to sign them to upgraded contracts when most of our cap is tied up in 2 players?

As I've stated before, for what we are paying Hunt he better be OUTSTANDING week in, week out for the entirety of his contract. So far nothing he has shown indicates that he can deliver that.

A legitimate halfback? Yes. A million dollar halfback? No.

 

[BringTheNoise]

The only people who would know our salary cap position is those within the club. We could be flushed with funds for all you know.

They won't release him because he is such a quality player and would strengthen us greatly. Bennett is no fool. This dropping is purely personal because Hunt dare leave the Broncos. Had they also been against a top team this week I would dare say he would not have been dropped.

Why would we be flushed with funds? Are you honestly saying we have gone into the season without expending the entire salary cap?

Your second paragraph is purely speculative. Bennett cares about winning first and foremost. Broncos have been losing and he had to make changes, which he has done. If he has genuinely dropped Hunt for signing with us then please explain to me why he literally waited months to do so?

So far no-one has been able to deny that on recent form Benji is outplaying Hunt.

 

[SBD82]

I agree we need a legitimate halfback. But to put all our eggs in one basket is crazy. For the next 6 years we have very little room to move with our salary cap. We already lost 2 internationals within a week.

We have a heap of promising juniors coming through who will be off contract in 2-3 years. If they live up to their potential and other clubs come circling will we have the money available to sign them to upgraded contracts when most of our cap is tied up in 2 players?

As I've stated before, for what we are paying Hunt he better be OUTSTANDING week in, week out for the entirety of his contract. So far nothing he has shown indicates that he can deliver that.

A legitimate halfback? Yes. A million dollar halfback? No.

I pretty much agree with all of this. My reservations are similar to yours. The things I wrote above are more about why I can understand why people are so excited to have him.

For the record, I don't really believe the numbers thrown around in the media. Although that may be wishful thinking on my part.

My biggest issue is the long term contract. Even if I'm right about the reported figures being inflated, he will still be on good dollars and it will put pressure on our cap long term if he turns out to be dogshit.

 

[BringTheNoise]

I pretty much agree with all of this. My reservations are similar to yours. The things I wrote above are more about why I can understand why people are so excited to have him.

For the record, I don't really believe the numbers thrown around in the media. Although that may be wishful thinking on my part.

My biggest issue is the long term contract. Even if I'm right about the reported figures being inflated, he will still be on good dollars and it will put pressure on our cap long term if he turns out to be dogshit.

I agree the figures may be inflated but on the same note I don't believe for 1 second that he signed with us because Mary rode a jetski.

It takes a pretty penny to dislodge a player from the Broncos.

 

[BrissyRedV]

Why would we be flushed with funds? Are you honestly saying we have gone into the season without expending the entire salary cap?

Indeed we could have gone into this season without spending all our cap. I do recall Millward suggesting we did look for another half back and that we had funds to spare when Hutchison was injured.

Your second paragraph is purely speculative. Bennett cares about winning first and foremost. Broncos have been losing and he had to make changes, which he has done. If he has genuinely dropped Hunt for signing with us then please explain to me why he literally waited months to do so?

They lost 2 games. One without there origin stars when they were severely under strength and one to another top 4 team by 2 points. From what I saw of the game, they did not lose it because of Ben Hunt. Why did he wait? Well you would have to ask Bennett but he did rush him straight back in after his injury.

So far no-one has been able to deny that on recent form Benji is outplaying Hunt.

Did Benji show some good touches? Yes he did and did do so with us on occasion. But he has hardly been consistent over the years. He also isn't in the starting line up over Hunt though is he?

 

[CarrrnDragons]

C'mon Bennett, drop him and then grant Hunt a release...We could yet win this in 2017!!

 

[blaza88z]

Surely you can forgive dragons fans for being excited about bringing an actual halfback to the club, despite his limitations.

His kicking game might not be great, but it's better than McCrone's.

And if you look through our halfbacks of the last decade, not one of them was an out and out half. Fien, benji, Hornby... all makeshift 7s.

I have my reservations about hunt. But we need a legitimate halfback, and have for a long time. And he improves the most glaring weakness that we have on our roster.

I agree with you, I would be excited too. I just don't get how fans can pretend like he's the savior given some of his epic failures in big moments over the years, I am not talking once a season or anything, it's a consistent thing with Ben Hunt, he simply goes missing.

It's a monumental risk at the price thrown around and the length of the contract, that's how I see it and it's significant that Bennett opted not to match the Dragons offer yet we were able to table a huge deal to snag Jack Bird from the shire.

 

[BringTheNoise]

Indeed we could have gone into this season without spending all our cap. I do recall Millward suggesting we did look for another half back and that we had funds to spare when Hutchison was injured.

They lost 2 games. One without there origin stars when they were severely under strength and one to another top 4 team by 2 points. From what I saw of the game, they did not lose it because of Ben Hunt. Why did he wait? Well you would have to ask Bennett but he did rush him straight back in after his injury.

Did Benji show some good touches? Yes he did and did do so with us on occasion. But he has hardly been consistent over the years. He also isn't in the starting line up over Hunt though is he?

We can go back and forth on this forever. You have your thoughts, I have mine and we may never know Bennett's rationale behind his team selections and thoughts on Hunt. Let's just leave it at that before another thread turns to dog shit.