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Dragons Captaincy :Poisoned Chalice

goldiesaintz

Juniors
Messages
347
Hook placing captaincy responsibilities on Hunt is a good thing.
He’s been found wanting in the past so we can only hope this appointment will make him a better player, a leader rather than someone who clocked on and off previously.

l think if Ben is not proving to be the right choice, McCulloch will take over thereafter.
 

Maddragon99

Juniors
Messages
2,075
Hook placing captaincy responsibilities on Hunt is a good thing.
He’s been found wanting in the past so we can only hope this appointment will make him a better player, a leader rather than someone who clocked on and off previously.

l think if Ben is not proving to be the right choice, McCulloch will take over thereafter.
A lot of man love for Ben Hunt all of a sudden :heart:
 

Forbes Creek Dragons

First Grade
Messages
5,078
The very best of luck to Benny , may he lead the Big Red V to many victories !:innocent:
It might be a masterstroke like when Steve Smith first become captain. It definitely had to be an 80 minute player. I don’t want 5 captains and chopping and changing. I hope in the trial we see Sullivan and Macca on at the same time. I would love to see a glimpse of how the team plans to attack between hooker and halfback.
 

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,407
I can't say I think Ben hunt is a good selection given his fragility during the last 3 seasons. But I also see there weren't many other options which goes to show how messed up our turnover has been.

We are going from dragons old boys to broncos old boys. Next Alan Langer will be taking up a role at the club.
 

draco

Juniors
Messages
662
NRL 2020: Ben Hunt named as Dragons captain to replace Cameron McInnes


New Dragons coach Anthony Griffin has proved he isn’t afraid to make big calls, naming Cameron McInnes’ replacement as Dragons captain.


St George Illawarra’s Anthony Griffin has proven again he isn’t afraid to make bold calls, naming maligned halfback Ben Hunt as captain.

The Daily Telegraph has learned the coach informed the Dragons board of Hunt’s appointment on Tuesday night.

Hunt secured the club’s top individual honour after regular skipper, Cam McInnes, sustained a season-ending knee injury at training last week.

The Dragons are expected to formally announce Hunt as captain in the next 48 hours. He will lead the Dragons for the first time in next Saturday night’s Charity Shield match against South Sydney in Mudgee.

Tariq Sims and young gun Zac Lomax were among the other contenders for Griffin to consider.

Despite having just arrived at the club, veteran hooker Andrew McCullough may also have been mentioned.

Being named skipper comes after Griffin all but guaranteed Hunt the starting halfback position for this season.

Hunt still remains the target of unsettled Dragons fans after signing a five-year, $6 million contract to join the club from Brisbane in 2018.

Griffin has shown he will not walk away from making contentious calls, have already embarked on an ultimately failed pursuit of Israel Folau and secured McCullough on a three-year deal, while McInnes has been allowed to sign with Cronulla.

Hunt, 30, played four years under Griffin when the pair were together at Brisbane between 2011 and 2014.

Hunt told the Dragons website last week he was excited to be playing under Griffin again.

“It’s been great having him back here, it’s been a really enjoyable place to be. There’s a real buzz and excitement of change and something new,” Hunt said.

“He’s very clear about what he wants, he tells you how it is and expects all of his players to stay in line which makes it really enjoyable and pushes us to put our best foot forward.

“He’s created an environment that he had back at the Broncos.”

While coaching at Brisbane, Griffin was credited with transforming Hunt from a bench player into a Test and State of Origin player.

Hunt played just five of 19 games last season in his preferred halfback position. He even endured the indignity of being dropped to the interchange bench by then St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor in round five.

When appointed Dragons coach in December, Griffin made it clear he wanted Hunt to step up as a senior player.

“Hard work, honesty, leadership, all those things that have got to be important to him if he’s going to have a serious crack,” Griffin said.

“Ben can obviously play a few positions but anyone in the team, it’s got to be important to them about the team first. He can play halfback, hooker, five-eighth. He’s got a lot more potential in him to unlock and Ben knows that.”

St George Illawarra plays Parramatta in an unofficial trial against Parramatta on Thursday night at Jubilee Oval.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...s/news-story/936a20c3dd7f634169d0e8dd60564ff6
 

mickeylane

Bench
Messages
4,992
best choice and will be ably supported by Mcculloch on field - we will be seeing a more aggressive and different player this year in Ben Hunt...expect a lot of little individual efforts if we are running behind the scoreboard..We may end up getting our moneys worth in the least 3 years of his contract
 

FlameThrower

Bench
Messages
3,557
Huge risk IMO. I’ve never seen any leadership traits in the guy, he is more reserved and happy to be in the background. To now have him thrust into captaincy role, plus leading the team around the park as playmaker , plus fronting media and post match games is a big responsibility. Did we ever see him backing Cam over the last few years when the chips were down? Did we see him rev up the guys when we were behind the eight ball. All I ever saw was the nervous smile, when he kicked out on the full. He was like the rest of the players, acting like browns cows behind the goal posts...speeches & staring at the grass.
What does it say about the Club and the leadership group....not much.
Happy to be proven wrong, but I’m very sceptical....
 

ALSGI

Bench
Messages
3,101
Huge risk IMO. I’ve never seen any leadership traits in the guy, he is more reserved and happy to be in the background. To now have him thrust into captaincy role, plus leading the team around the park as playmaker , plus fronting media and post match games is a big responsibility. Did we ever see him backing Cam over the last few years when the chips were down? Did we see him rev up the guys when we were behind the eight ball. All I ever saw was the nervous smile, when he kicked out on the full. He was like the rest of the players, acting like browns cows behind the goal posts...speeches & staring at the grass.
What does it say about the Club and the leadership group....not much.
Happy to be proven wrong, but I’m very sceptical....
Fair enough, your view is understood. Agree, risky.

I’ve seen plenty of unlikely people become great leaders when given the opportunity as well as plenty that were disasters.

Hoping this can give Ben the confidence that will be a game changer. I reckon Captaincy would have taken Soward to the next level too, just not the right timing for that back then.

I’m optimistic this could work with Capt Hunt.
 

TruSaint

Referee
Messages
20,855
Not a fan of Hunt being the Captain.
Just think that's the way Hook will go.

If Hook thinks the captaincy will be good for Hunts game then I'll back it.

Let's face it, he's the one player most critical to our success during this transition period.

If he fires with the captaincy, then we have the most to gain.

Tariq only needs to be fit to fire up I reckon, but perhaps the vc will give his a sense of responsibility that could be good for his game.

Zac has plenty of time ahead of him, I'd just let him focus on honing his skills...

Seems @Dragsters was right.
 

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