McGregor not concerned by Hunt demotion
Mitch Jennings@@Mitch_Jenno
8 Jun 2017, 7 p.m.
DRAGONS coach Paul McGregor has no concerns over the club’s decision to go all-in on Ben Hunt from next season, despite the Broncos half being dropped to reserve grade by Wayne Bennett this week.
DUMPED: Dragons-bound Broncos half Ben Hunt has been dropped to reserve grade this week by coach Wayne Bennett. Picture: Getty Images
Hunt’s six-year six-million-dollar deal, done prior to the start of the 2017 season, sparked a market frenzy in the NRL halves ranks and took a big bite out of the Dragons salary cap.
It led some to question the wisdom of the long-term deal given Hunt's struggle to recapture his red-hot 2015 form that spurred the Broncos to the grand final.
Those question marks re-emerged on Thursday when Hunt was dumped by Bennett ahead of the Broncos clash with Souths on Friday.
McGregor will coach Hunt for at least two of his six seasons with the Dragons, having signed a two-year contract extension this week, and said he has no doubts that Hunt will be a valuable acquisition.
“I’ve got no doubts at all,” McGregor said when asked whether Hunt’s demotion gave him pause for thought.
“Ben’s certainly a good acquisition for our club in 2018. He is playing with the Broncos in 2017 so he’s not going to help us this year but going forward he’s definitely a player we think will take the club in a good direction.
“I watch a lot of footy and certainly when I’ve seen Ben Hunt play, up until his injury, he was playing really well. I saw the game he played against the Warriors [two weeks ago] and I thought he played really well there.
“We’ve seen this year with the players that have come to our club in Cameron McInnes and Paul Vaughan… they didn’t finish in first grade last year and they’re playing the best footy of their careers. I’ve got no doubt when Ben does come into our environment he’ll play really good footy.”
Bennett anointed Hunt’s replacement Kodi Nikorima as the Broncos long-term halfback on Thursday but indicated Hunt wouldn’t be released early from the final year of his contract.
McGregor said he’s not about to delve back into recruitment and retention in an effort to get Hunt to the club this year.
“You’d have to talk to [recruitment chief] Ian [Millward] about that but I’m very comfortable with our playing group and where we’re sitting on the table,” McGregor said.
“It’s something I haven’t really thought about and won’t give much energy to right now. I’m very comfortable with our roster.”
Hunt’s woes have provided an opportunity for Benji Marshall to continue his NRL career after being let go by the Dragons last season, with McGregor happy to see his former charge’s new lease on life.
“I’ve always liked Benj,” McGregor said.
“He was really good for us in 2015. You’ve got to remember he came second in the Dally M that year.
“He obviously had his issues last year with a lot of injuries and the travel he was doing but he’s found a nice stable home in Brisbane. He’s obviously enjoying what he’s doing up there and we’re seeing the fruits of that in how he’s playing.”
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4717722/mcgregor-unfazed-by-hunts-broncos-axing/?cs=3713