No, because most Broncos fans blame the signing of Ashton Sims on the loss of Petero Civoniceiva. Hunt on the other hand, is seen as something of a saviour. For years, the Broncos were victim of some extremely insipid play from Peter Wallace and were dying for a natural half. Up steps Ben Hunt, who after years of slumming it as a bench hooker, is given the shot and makes the most of it. It's a great Rugby League story and it's difficult not to be forgiving of him.
As for Sims, the problem is that you have to be very patient with him. He reminds me a lot of Costigan to an extent. There are games where he's going to drop two or three balls and give away a penalty when it's unwarranted. Then there are bigger occasions, where he'll lay on a big hit at a crucial juncture and do his best to lift his team mates.
While we're pointing fingers, I find the implication that Sims only became a good player when he stepped on the hallowed turf of 1300SMILES. He actually had a rich vain of form in 2009 that coincided with the Broncos run. Unfortunately for him, it was lost behind the form of Dave Taylor, Karmichael Hunt and Jharal Yow Yeh.
Unfortunately for him, he never had that moment of redemption. Whenever players like Hodges, Lockyer, Hayne to an extent had shockers on the big stage, they usually found a way to redeem themselves. Sims never got that taste in the rep arena or achieved premiership glory to really win the Rugby League public over.
Melbourne had the overlap and were rolling through the middle with ease. To blame Locky is plain wrong.
