Ben Hunt

[Maroon4life]

Thanks for your support GTB.

It was only last year that Hunt moved past DCE in the pecking order for Queensland State of Origin.

Who remembers DCE being regarded the best player in the game not so long ago? How's that going now?

Seems DCE's combination with Foran was a key factor.

Also, Milford was the best player in the game the week before, and was totally shut down against the Sharks.

I do agree that Hunt's long kicking game is not up to scratch - he just doesn't have the distance in his legs and that won't change. That was why McCullough was kicking the 40/20s out of dummy half because Hunt and Milford don't have the distance in their kicks.

We were spoilt with Darren Lockyer for so many years - possibly the best long kicking game ever. Let's not measure Hunt by that standard.

Noone is comparing him to Lockyer, I agree that is unfair as Lockyer was a very rare player.

McCullouch doesn't do all our kicking, he will chip in if he thinks there's a 40/20 on and that is a great skill of his but Hunt is our primary kicker and it is nowhere up to standard and hasn't looked like getting better since he debuted.

 

[Maroon4life]

He was mentally broken by the Grand Final.

He's been improving each week, even if he's currently far below his best. Him in top form combined with Milford playing at least as well as he is at the moment will give the Broncos arguably the best halves pairing in the game at the moment, rivalled only by the Cowboys.

I can't agree with you, I haven't seen any incremental improvement from Hunt since round 1.

Also I hate the cowboys but to say that Milford & Hunt on their best days are better than Morgan and Thurston on theirs is bias on your end.

 

[Maroon4life]

Dazzat is on the money here.

Hunt has already proven himself as a great player. He carried us in 2014 and was a big reason we made the GF in 2015.

Sure his form has been down this year but he has been slowly improving and deserves more time to rediscover his form.

Yeah he was a big reason we made it, was also a big reason we lost it too. Looking past the dropped ball go back and see his inability to close the game out with his unforced errors and horrible kicks.

We have a big game coming up in round 11, I hope he has his shit together because while there are a lot of Ben Hunt sympathisers on this forum there are a lot of supporters and neutrals eyes being opened up to glaring weaknesses in his game.

Happy for him to prove me wrong and go on a dally m point scoring rampage though. Bring it on Hunt.

 

[Dazzat]

Noone is comparing him to Lockyer, I agree that is unfair as Lockyer was a very rare player.

McCullouch doesn't do all our kicking, he will chip in if he thinks there's a 40/20 on and that is a great skill of his but Hunt is our primary kicker and it is nowhere up to standard and hasn't looked like getting better since he debuted.

Hunt's kicking game is about the same as its always been. He has never, and will never, be a great long kicker.

Granted, in some games this year he has taken stupid options, like mid-field bombs when field position was needed.

That's one thing North Queensland has on us - they have Lachlan Coote who can kick as well - essential four kickers.

There aren't too many quality long distance kickers in the game today. Jamie Soward goes OK. Corey Norman. Widdop. They're probably the biggest kickers.

I also think Hunt missed his combination with McCullough.

 

[GoTheBroncs]

Yeah he was a big reason we made it, was also a big reason we lost it too. Looking past the dropped ball go back and see his inability to close the game out with his unforced errors and horrible kicks.

We have a big game coming up in round 11, I hope he has his shit together because while there are a lot of Ben Hunt sympathisers on this forum there are a lot of supporters and neutrals eyes being opened up to glaring weaknesses in his game.

Happy for him to prove me wrong and go on a dally m point scoring rampage though. Bring it on Hunt.

Well it's better that we make the GF then not make it at all, I believe we would not have made it without Hunt. Yes he ultimately lost us the GF (and you're right there were plenty of things before the dropped ball). But the ability to close out games better will come with experience.

To be fair he needs to work on his short kicking game too.

On the other hand he is currently 2nd in try assists, not bad for a guy out of form.

Taking salary cap into account I cannot think of another halfback I would prefer. Think about how much time Hunt/Milford can have together and how good they could be.

 

[Shorty]

You don't think having McCollough out impacted the halves?

 

[AMD]

He's down on form, but I don't think he's been anywhere near as bad as some people have been saying. His kicking game and kicking options have always been a mixed bag, I think I've examples of both good and bad in most games this year. My biggest concern has been the lack of his running game, the last few weeks he has definitely gotten better though.

Also, as GTB said, he's 2nd in try assists so far this season. Pretty damn good for a guy down on form, and probably something that has been overshadowed by Milford's form. We would be f**king nuts to dump him right now.

 

[Dazzat]

All my good memories of Ben Hunt from the last two seasons have been around his running game and his combination with Milford when it was almost Langer/Walters like.

 

[Nightward]

I can't agree with you, I haven't seen any incremental improvement from Hunt since round 1.

If you can't see Hunt playing better from the first game against the Eels to where he was against the Cowboys, I really don't know what to say. He's still well below his best but he's been improving each game, especially after the 1-point win against the Cowboys.

The mental scarring from the Grand Final error was clearly extensive.

Also I hate the cowboys but to say that Milford & Hunt on their best days are better than Morgan and Thurston on theirs is bias on your end.

Despite Hunt's poor performance and the Broncos' habit of getting out to a decent lead in the first half and then shutting up shop in the second, they're all of five points behind on For and Against compared to the Cowboys whose halves are playing fairly well and who are competing for the full 80.

I think that says a lot.

 

[Leagueaddict]

Yeah even though I've been bagging Hunts performance off and on it would be a total knee jerk reaction to ditch the guy.

I get the feeling with Hunt that if one part of his game is off it can drag everything else down. I wish the Broncos would get themselves a couple of specialist kickers so he can concentrate on other things he's a lot better at. Like Milford the guy reads the play amazingly.

I know we have Milford and McCullough taking over kicking duties sometimes but I don't think we have anyone in the team who gets it right consistently more than 50 to 60% of the time.

 

[Lethal25]

Would you like to swap him for Benji?

 

[Rhyno]

Could get worse

Rumours Milford and Wayne had a huge falling out about not being able to play for samoa

 

[some11]

I get being a Parra supporter right now is hard but you don't have to do it mate.

13 11 14

 

[Danoz Direct]

Could get worse

Rumours Milford and Wayne had a huge falling out about not being able to play for samoa

That is rubbish mate and you know it.

 

[AceAv]

Maybe we should get back Peter Wallace M4L?

Good thing WB reads these forums and takes immediate action whenever there is a complaint about one of his players..

 

[Ghoulies]

Maybe we should get back Peter Wallace M4L?

Maybe we can lure one of Casey McGuire, Brett Seymour or Shane Perry back too?

God we spent a long time with rubbish half backs before Ben Hunt came good.

 

[Dazzat]

Maybe we can lure one of Casey McGuire, Brett Seymour or Shane Perry back too?

God we spent a long time with rubbish half backs before Ben Hunt came good.

Yeah but ... at least Shane Perry was consistent, unlike Ben Hunt.

 

[Rhyno]

Broncos wouldn't have made the GF without Perry

 

[catweasel]

Broncos wouldn't have made the GF without Perry

Nice troll attempt. Locky had nothing to do with it hey?

But you wouldn't know, your shit club hasn't had any classy players since 1987.

 

[Bronco18]

He does and has always worried me in big games, particularly away from home. Pretty sure that perception carries through to the QRL hierarchy as well.

In saying that, at this stage we need to persevere. You can't just "buy another halfback" on the open market, at least not a quality one. They don't grow on trees, a rookie like Mbye was reportedly pushing 800k. Imagine the pressure that would mount on Milford if we had a junior half running the ship.