Ben Hunt reveals what happened at Brisbane’s pre-season camp, why he snubbed the Dolphins and how the Broncos have changed
It has been eight long years since Ben Hunt was last at the Broncos and the marquee recruit has revealed how the club has changed, and opened up on why he rejected the Dolphins.
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Ben Hunt has lifted the lid on Michael Maguire’s Red Hill revolution and revealed why he snubbed the Dolphins for a Broncos reunion.
Hunt has hit the ground running after officially joining the Broncos last week following seven seasons at St George Illawarra.
Now 34 and with 334 NRL games next to his name, Hunt returns to the Brisbane club he debuted for in 2009 a different player.
There is not one player remaining at the Broncos since Hunt’s last appearance for Brisbane in 2017, with retiring winger Corey Oates the last of Hunt’s generation to depart at the end of last season.
The Broncos now train out of a $27 million headquarters, a far cry from the tin shed on the other side of Fulcher Road that the club used during its six premiership campaigns under Wayne Bennett.
It may seem like a different world but Hunt’s love for the Broncos’ jersey he’s worn 187 times hasn’t waned.
That’s what played the decisive factor when he weighed up a rich offer from Brisbane rivals the Dolphins or a romantic reunion at Red Hill.
“A lot has changed,” Hunt said of the Broncos.
“I was never in the new facility we’re in now.
“Corey Oates was the last player there that I played with, so there’s a whole new playing roster and staff.
“It’s still a great club. There’s still a lot of people and staff that were there when I was there and they know how to run a club.
“It was always in my heart that if I ever had an opportunity to finish my career (at the Broncos) or ever get back it was something I really wanted to do.
“They put a lot of time into me as a young guy. I played a lot of great footy there and have a lot of great memories and some of my best friends.
“If the opportunity ever arose, deep down it was always going to be hard to pass up.”
Hunt was crowned the National Youth Competition’s player of the year in the 2008 Broncos team that lost a tight grand final to Canberra.
He made his NRL debut the following year, graduating alongside the likes of future Maroons Origin players Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough and Jharal Yow Yeh.
The Broncos were home for Hunt and he went within whiskers of tasting NRL premiership glory in the famous 2015 grand final loss to North Queensland.
But a rich offer from the Dragons tempted him south in 2018, the year after he played the first of 20 Origin matches for Queensland, and he registered 147 games for the Red V before the relationship broke down in recent years.
Hunt returns to Brisbane a decade on from the 2015 grand final loss and has walked into a stacked squad.
The Broncos boast some of the NRL’s hottest players in Reece Walsh, Pat Carrigan, Payne Haas, Selwyn Cobbo and Ezra Mam to name a few.
But talent only talks you so far and Hunt said new coach Maguire has been emphasising other parts of the game during his first pre-season, which were drilled into the team during this week’s leadership camp.
“There’s no doubting the talent that’s there. There’s some superb football players at the club,” Hunt told SEN.
“The big drivers ‘Madge’ is bringing in is working hard, competing and never giving up on your mate.
“That’s the real big focus he’s had – getting everyone fit, able to work hard and out-compete teams.
“We know there’s plenty of talent there, we just need to bring it all together and learn how to compete for 80 minutes.
“It was a really good camp. It wasn’t all smash us and bugger us. There were some tough things but it was a lot about leadership and culture and what the club means to us. We really honed in on that.
“There’s a lot of young guys at the club now that don’t know the culture and history of the Broncos. We did a lot of stuff on that.”
Hunt will start the season at five-eighth in place of the suspended Mam and could find himself at hooker at times.
What is certain is he will be in Brisbane’s best 17 every week and if he avoids injury will crack the 200-game Broncos milestone this season.
Premiership redemption in the next two years is Hunt’s ultimate goal, but he won’t be lost to the Broncos when he finally hangs up the boots and retires to northern NSW.
“That’s where we’re going to settle. We’d like to live down there,” Hunt said of the sprawling property he owns with wife Bridget.
“I’d still like to be involved in rugby league in some capacity and the Broncos have offered me some opportunities in that area.
“It’s something I’ve really got to start looking into, but right now I’m just trying to survive Madge’s pre-season.”
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