Ben Hunt analysis: Five-eighth, hooker, utility - Broncos now own the most valuable insurance plan in NRL
Playing five-eighth isn’t Ben Hunt’s natural habitat - he has started there just 10 times in his club career - but, PETER BADEL and BRENT READ reveal why he can thrive in the No.6 jersey in the absence of Ezra Mam.
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Brisbane’s prodigal son Ben Hunt now looms as the key in their push back to premiership relevancy after the nine-game suspension handed down to star five-eighth Ezra Mam.
Brent Read and Peter Badel analyse what Hunt’s return home to Brisbane means to their title hopes and the ramifications for other Broncos stars.
1. MAM’S INSURANCE PLAN
The NRL dropped a bomb just before Christmas by suspending Mam for nine games for his off-season driving incident.
While the club was already preparing to be without Mam for an extended period of time, it still leaves new coach Michael Maguire without one of his most significant players for a large chunk of the season.
But the Broncos have a player capable of filling the void. Not just any player either - Hunt played well enough this season to be selected in the Australian squad for the Pacific Championships, although he couldn’t force his way into the side.
He fell out of favour at the Dragons towards the end but he never lost the support of Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga.
Playing five-eighth isn’t his natural habitat - he has started there just 10 times in his club career - but Hunt is a wily fox who has been around long enough to adjust his game and work in tandem with No.7 Adam Reynolds.
There isn’t much the pair haven’t seen on a football field. The 34-year-old Hunt - he will turn 35 just weeks into next year’s competition - and the 34-year-old Reynolds will represent one of the oldest halves pairing in rugby league history.
They may have slowed down, but they are still lightning between the ears and the Broncos are counting on their rugby league nous holding the fort until Mam returns.
2. UP AND ADAM
Reynolds managed only 13 games last season and when he was absent, the Broncos were lost. It’s not just what Reynolds brings in terms of his playmaking and kicking game, but also his leadership.
Reynolds is the Broncos talisman. A calming and serene voice amid the mayhem that rugby league often brings.
The concern for the Broncos is that Reynolds’ fragility cost them in 2024 and Hunt’s arrival will give them a high-class insurance policy capable of slipping into the No.7 jersey and controlling a game.
Significantly, when Reynolds played 23 games in 2023, the Broncos made it all the way to the grand final. Last season, they fell flat on their face.
Jock Madden has been a solid deputy and did an admirable job when Reynolds was sidelined, but he may now consider his options given he has two years left on his contract - the same time frame as Hunt has signed for.
Young half Coby Black, who has been earmarked for greatness, could be one of the big beneficiaries of the Hunt signing. He now gets the opportunity to learn what it takes to be an NRL-calibre playmaker off two of the best in the business.
3. PREMIERSHIP PUNCH
The NRL is now on notice. Hunt makes the Broncos a bona fide contender to win next year’s premiership.
Within minutes of Hunt’s signing being announced last month, bookmakers slashed Brisbane’s odds of ending Penrith’s golden dynasty in 2025.
Before the Hunt heist, the Broncos opened premiership betting at $17 with TAB. After Brisbane finalised a two-year deal, the Broncos surged in betting markets at $8, moving into third favouritism behind last year’s grand finalists Melbourne ($3.75) and Penrith ($4.50).
Hunt has never won a premiership ring in his decorated 334-game career but it’s less about his personal playing record and more about his influence on the collective Broncos machine.
Even allowing for last year’s 12th placing, few would question Brisbane have the roster, on paper, to be a top-four team. Make the top four and a title challenge becomes a serious proposition.
Getting an Origin and Test player for $550,000 a season under the salary cap is as shrewd as it gets for any club, particularly at this stage of the pre-season.
Depth is crucial in this competition and Hunt’s arrival gives Brisbane a formidable look in the spine. A Big Four of Reynolds, Mam, Reece Walsh and Hunt gives the Broncos a playmaking spine few clubs in the league can match.
4. FOLLOW THE LEADER
Hunt’s signing bolsters Brisbane’s leadership group.
Prior to Reynolds’ arrival from South Sydney, the Broncos had a fully-fledged captaincy crisis, to the point where the club hired a consultancy firm to help develop the next wave of leaders.
Pat Carrigan is a brilliant deputy and it is only a matter of time before he succeeds Reynolds, but in Hunt, the Broncos have snared a 16-year NRL greenhorn with a remarkable record of durability.
If Reynolds is injured next year, Hunt can step up not only as a playmaker, but a potential captain who can add value to Brisbane’s leadership group alongside Carrigan, Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs.
Hunt has played 20 or more games in 12 of his 16 seasons. Rarely does he suffer a major injury. Off the field, he is a cheeky knockabout who is adored in representative teams because of his competitive fire and team-first ethos to play any role at any time.
There is no hubris or ego with Hunt, who will gladly help mentor Brisbane’s younger players. When he scored the famous series-winning try for Queensland in 2022, Hunt was mobbed by Maroons players because of his popularity.
5. HOOKING GOOD
Hunt’s arrival will have ramifications not only for Brisbane’s halves, but their dummy-half region, and there is every chance heads could roll at hooker.
The Broncos are already overloaded with No.9 options. Billy Walters, the son of former Broncos coach Kevin, inked a two-year extension in April and is contracted to the Broncos until the end of 2026.
Brisbane’s other rakes, Tyson Smoothy, Cory Paix and rising star Blake Mozer, are off-contract at the end of next season.
For 2025 at least, there is now a fifth option in the versatile Hunt, who will most likely move to hooker when five-eighth Ezra Mam returns in Round 10 against South Sydney.
Hunt’s signing means someone must go under the salary cap. Paix is on around $350,000 this season and his price tag puts him in the firing line, particularly if he isn’t playing NRL, while Smoothy could also be squeezed out to allow the progression of Mozer.
If Reynolds retires at the end of next year, Hunt could return to the No.7 starting slot for 2026, when Walters will be off-contract and Mozer should be ready to step up as the chief No.9 at age 22.
6. CENTRES OF ATTENTION
Brisbane’s bean counters will have to work their salary-cap magic to keep backline stars Selwyn Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs.
Hunt’s signing takes another $550,000 chunk out of the salary cap at a time when the Broncos face a potential $1.5 million outlay to keep Cobbo and Staggs, who are both off-contract next year.
Cobbo, a free agent, has already attracted interest from three NRL rivals, while Staggs would have no shortage of suitors if he tested his value on the open market.
Brisbane had around 18 per cent of their salary cap this season invested in their spine and the purchase of Hunt will impose cap pressures that could force Cobbo or Staggs out of the Broncos.
Broncos bosses remain confident Staggs and Cobbo will both stay for 2026 and beyond.
If Hunt achieves his final frontier and brings a premiership back to the Broncos, his purchase will be vindicated, even if there could be collateral damage along the way.
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Originally published as Ben Hunt analysis: Five-eighth, hooker, utility - Broncos now own the most valuable insurance plan in NRL
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