Ben Hunt

[Brutalitops]

In all honesty there is some shit being written in here.
All the praise for Hunt whilst we are coming 13th with a differential of -62 is just a joke.
He is supposed to be making a difference and taking ownership as that was the reasoning behind buying him so as to relieve the pressure off Widdop.
Now people posting how good it is that Norman takes the pressure off Hunt.
FMD the apologies and excuses just keep coming and all the while we are in free fall.
Time to stop taking the meds and face up to reality everyone Hunt is an upgrade on the shit we have had previously but there is no way he is the player who will make the difference each and every week.
His best games are when others play well and not despite others playing poorly.

I think you're way off this time OT. Most likely recognise that Hunt is not even close to the problem and his form has not been too bad in a team that's in free fall, form wise.

To expect any single player to be "the difference" in picking up the slack in a team of poor outside backs, battered forwards, poor bench management and most importantly, a numpty of a coach who has no idea how to handle this team is very unfair. I'm not saying his form has been fantastic or anything but it's silly to expect just because he's the highest paid he has to BE the team

Without Hunt there our differential is -150

 

[Old Timer]

I think you're way off this time OT. Most likely recognise that Hunt is not even close to the problem and his form has not been too bad in a team that's in free fall, form wise.

To expect any single player to be "the difference" in picking up the slack in a team of poor outside backs, battered forwards, poor bench management and most importantly, a numpty of a coach who has no idea how to handle this team is very unfair. I'm not saying his form has been fantastic or anything but it's silly to expect just because he's the highest paid he has to BE the team

Without Hunt there our differential is -150

You have to go back to all the press, comments as well as the posts made in here re why we signed Hunt.
In a good side that was well coached ( Broncos) he was fragile whilst at times brilliant.
In a club that is a mediocre side and badly coached he flounders and that is a fact.
Not saying that where we are is his fault but all he "hype" was how he would make a difference and IMO that is a very contestable argument.

 

[Brutalitops]

You have to go back to all the press, comments as well as the posts made in here re why we signed Hunt.
In a good side that was well coached ( Broncos) he was fragile whilst at times brilliant.
In a club that is a mediocre side and badly coached he flounders and that is a fact.
Not saying that where we are is his fault but all he "hype" was how he would make a difference and IMO that is a very contestable argument.

I suppose we must agree to disagree here OT. I simply don't find him to be floundering. I feel he creates opportunities all over the field which are often let down by those around him.

He doesn't thrive as much as we hoped in a side coached by Mary I agree there. If only the board looked at Hunt's potential under a decent staff and put two and two together! I fear Hunt's entire contract is going to be served under this bellend

 

[Old Timer]

I suppose we must agree to disagree here OT. I simply don't find him to be floundering. I feel he creates opportunities all over the field which are often let down by those around him.

He doesn't thrive as much as we hoped in a side coached by Mary I agree there. If only the board looked at Hunt's potential under a decent staff and put two and two together! I fear Hunt's entire contract is going to be served under this bellend

People think I am anti Hunt which is not correct although I do believe that he is a fragile type of player so I just call it as I see it.
I agree that if we had a better coach and structure he would do much better but the fact remains he was purchased to do a job under this coach and this structure and he fails to deliver that week in week out which in the wash up is what was expected for the money we paid.
In many ways the real question is could anyone else deliver better than Hunt and that is most likely a big NO although I think Cronk's obvious status in the game might have altered the BOD's and coaches methodology.
So in the end my post is somewhat of a reality check in that people shouldn't expect the impossible from players that come to our club given the current structure & circumstances.
Almost everyone is doomed to failure and those with any frailty will fail much quicker.

 

[Jbjbjb40]

People think I am anti Hunt which is not correct although I do believe that he is a fragile type of player so I just call it as I see it.
I agree that if we had a better coach and structure he would do much better but the fact remains he was purchased to do a job under this coach and this structure and he fails to deliver that week in week out which in the wash up is what was expected for the money we paid.
In many ways the real question is could anyone else deliver better than Hunt and that is most likely a big NO although I think Cronk's obvious status in the game might have altered the BOD's and coaches methodology.
So in the end my post is somewhat of a reality check in that people shouldn't expect the impossible from players that come to our club given the current structure & circumstances.
Almost everyone is doomed to failure and those with any frailty will fail much quicker.

Without even mentioning Mary. Hunt should not be judged on his average performances when the big fella’s aren’t making decent yards. When that happens (once every two months) he is usually a standout in defence and attack

 

[dragon thomo]

Good Player

 

[BLM01]

People think I am anti Hunt which is not correct although I do believe that he is a fragile type of player so I just call it as I see it.
I agree that if we had a better coach and structure he would do much better but the fact remains he was purchased to do a job under this coach and this structure and he fails to deliver that week in week out which in the wash up is what was expected for the money we paid.
In many ways the real question is could anyone else deliver better than Hunt and that is most likely a big NO although I think Cronk's obvious status in the game might have altered the BOD's and coaches methodology.
So in the end my post is somewhat of a reality check in that people shouldn't expect the impossible from players that come to our club given the current structure & circumstances.
Almost everyone is doomed to failure and those with any frailty will fail much quicker.

What you say is right to a point but need to go further. We do not win the ruck or look for offloads to often. Easy to defend and swarm us with numbers cause they are not going to be caught short. They slow us down in the play the ball and so we make poor metres compared to most..if not all..and everyone puts quick linespeed on us. How are our halves supposed to dominate off that.

But I hear you and YES can get a bit mentally jilted from a few things going wrong. I think even at 950K if true we paid about 200K a year too much for what his standing in the game at the time was.
However he is the best 7 option we have and can be a good attacking weapon..the coaching...enough said.

 

[getsmarty]

In all honesty there is some shit being written in here.
All the praise for Hunt whilst we are coming 13th with a differential of -62 is just a joke.
He is supposed to be making a difference and taking ownership as that was the reasoning behind buying him so as to relieve the pressure off Widdop.
Now people posting how good it is that Norman takes the pressure off Hunt.
FMD the apologies and excuses just keep coming and all the while we are in free fall.
Time to stop taking the meds and face up to reality everyone Hunt is an upgrade on the shit we have had previously but there is no way he is the player who will make the difference each and every week.
His best games are when others play well and not despite others playing poorly.

With all due respect OT...B Hunt is not the problem....

 

[Paddles]

Hunt, like all halves, is at the mercy of his forwards.

When they are going forward (e.g. the first 10 rounds of 2018) he dominates. He's not JT but is creative and has good skills. A year and a bit ago, he was being spoken of as the buy of the season and best in comp.

Conversely, when the forwards make no meters, have no linespeed in defence, and let the opposition swarm, Hunt looks average. He has less time, doubts himself, tries to compensate for the softness in the middle and makes errors.

If the forwards aim up, Hunt will once again be lauded. Replacing a half while your forwards are not doing much does not change fundamental issues.

 

[Old Timer]

With all due respect OT...B Hunt is not the problem....

I am not saying he is the problem but I am saying that IMO he hasn’t delivered to the level we expected after all the hype around his signing
There are many reasons why that is so including coaching, style of footy we play, forwards not laying a platform etc etc but that doesn’t alter the fact Hunt was purchased to be a game manager so as to allow Widdop to more freedom
In my estimation he has not delivered in that expectation.

 

[blacksafake]

I am not saying he is the problem but I am saying that IMO he hasn’t delivered to the level we expected after all the hype around his signing
There are many reasons why that is so including coaching, style of footy we play, forwards not laying a platform etc etc but that doesn’t alter the fact Hunt was purchased to be a game manager so as to allow Widdop to more freedom
In my estimation he has not delivered in that expectation.

You have some fair points there OT, But bear in mind Widdop has missed a lot of games the last couple of seasons which has probably impacted on Ben at times.From memory when he was there they were,in most cases a lethal combination.I've also noticed on numerous occasions that he has created an overlap or thrown a long ball to someone with space which has led to nothing due to the lack of speed of our outside backs.
Is he the superstar the club were hoping for,No.
Was he the best available at the time,Yes.
Is he a good rep quality player,Yes.
He's also the least of our problems with our side.

 

[giboz71]

Hunt is not the problem. In an era which saw the likes of Andrew Johns, JT and Cooper Cronk, I think we expect too much from elite halves. Those days are gone.

DCE would be regarded as the premier half in the game now and Ben Hunt I would regard as his equal. Ash Taylor, Nathan Cleary, Anthony Milford are on huge contracts as well and Hunt surpasses all those guys.

To be honest, a halves combination of Ben Hunt and Corey Norman should be winning plenty of games. Add Gareth Widdop to the mix and we should be the envy of the NRL.

Problem is we have a coaching staff that has no idea how to use these obvious strengths to exploit.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Hunt is like "a box of chocolates".

 

[BLM01]

Hunt is not the problem. In an era which saw the likes of Andrew Johns, JT and Cooper Cronk, I think we expect too much from elite halves. Those days are gone.

DCE would be regarded as the premier half in the game now and Ben Hunt I would regard as his equal. Ash Taylor, Nathan Cleary, Anthony Milford are on huge contracts as well and Hunt surpasses all those guys.

To be honest, a halves combination of Ben Hunt and Corey Norman should be winning plenty of games. Add Gareth Widdop to the mix and we should be the envy of the NRL.

Problem is we have a coaching staff that has no idea how to these obvious strengths to exploit.

Correct. Those days are gone as the stupid NRL cant see that the way the game is played, not reducing interchange and allowing long tackle times before calling held, 10 metre rule and the wrestle etc which flows down the line to junior coaching is eliminating football smarts and the so called nippy creative halfbacks and now we are seeing a shortage of front rowers...oh well...that can play origin for NSW & QLD anyway.
Why?...the way the NRL is played and adminstered our athletic player targets now mostly come from other nations backgrounds for obvious reasons who would rather and fair enough play for their country of history. Alter the way the game is played, referreed and we would see the balance swing back to a norm.

 

[blacksafake]

Correct. Those days are gone as the stupid NRL cant see that the way the game is played, not reducing interchange and allowing long tackle times before calling held, 10 metre rule and the wrestle etc which flows down the line to junior coaching is eliminating football smarts and the so called nippy creative halfbacks and now we are seeing a shortage of front rowers...oh well...that can play origin for NSW & QLD anyway.
Why?...the way the NRL is played and adminstered our athletic player targets now mostly come from other nations backgrounds for obvious reasons who would rather and fair enough play for their country of history. Alter the way the game is played, referreed and we would see the balance swing back to a norm.

Exactly.
The term i hate these days is "Athlete"
There's no such thing as a "footballer"
All you hear from the commentators are "what an athlete"
Bring back the 5 metre rule.

 

[possm]

In all honesty there is some shit being written in here.
All the praise for Hunt whilst we are coming 13th with a differential of -62 is just a joke.
He is supposed to be making a difference and taking ownership as that was the reasoning behind buying him so as to relieve the pressure off Widdop.
Now people posting how good it is that Norman takes the pressure off Hunt.
FMD the apologies and excuses just keep coming and all the while we are in free fall.
Time to stop taking the meds and face up to reality everyone Hunt is an upgrade on the shit we have had previously but there is no way he is the player who will make the difference each and every week.
His best games are when others play well and not despite others playing poorly.

So all of a sudden Hunt's defence has improved out of sight - over 50 tackles in SOO 1. He definitely looks the goods as a hooker however, we already have a hooker in McInnes.

 

[getsmarty]

Maroons hooker gains big confidence boost
Queensland Maroons Ben Hunt reflects on his 80 minute effort in the middle and tells NRL.com Reporter Katie Brown where he’ll look to improve his game on Sunday at the second State of Origin clash in Perth

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/06/20/maroons-hooker-gains-big-confidence-boost/

 

[BLM01]

Exactly.
The term i hate these days is "Athlete"
There's no such thing as a "footballer"
All you hear from the commentators are "what an athlete"
Bring back the 5 metre rule.

5 metres cant happen cause too much wrestle and time in the ruck. Front rowers will have to get back 20 and steam on to it to make any metres. I played in the 5 metre era and the only way 5 metre could work is they have to get off the tackle immediately once momentum halted or hits the ground..but bring back the penalty for thse involuntary tackles throwing yourself on the ground.
I say go in between 7-8 metres with the ruck sped up a bit as a 1st step.
Refs do not call held early enough...they intice injuries to a point with surrenders and allowing them to wrestle standing up before calling held..even when they do call.held or get off..often the players still put them to ground or fall over making it look like they lost balance or have no choice or a player throws an offload 3 secs after his momentum has stopped. It is a joke ATM and gain the refs to a blind eye. They wonder why their is crushers etc..that is why. Momentum stopped no more offload no more tackle.. HELD loud and clear, penalty for non compliance simple

 

[West coast dragon]

Hunts fragility was on show for all to see when he dropped that ball in the gf against the cows then that kick in origin last year then the rumors started swirling about him not settling into life on the gong then his mrs went into bat for him it appears as though he does carry the burden a bit when he needs overcome it all the chat about his salary too was always simmering in the background

 

[giboz71]

So all of a sudden Hunt's defence has improved out of sight - over 50 tackles in SOO 1. He definitely looks the goods as a hooker however, we already have a hooker in McInnes.

The fact he has the ability to make 50 tackles in an Origin shows his toughness and competitiveness.

Add his smarts as a half (including 40/20 kicks etc) and I think he's worth the cash we paid. A few times now.he's bailed us out with solo tries close to the line.

His skills and effort aren't a problem. Mentally he can be fragile I suppose but this gets overstated by the media. He's definitely an elite player and I'm glad we have him.