Return of Gareth Widdop a boost for Ben Hunt and Dragons

BE careful what you wish for, Brisbane fans. The side the Broncos will face this weekend won’t be the same Dragons who have been spluttering their way through the last few rounds of the NRL.

THE good news is that the Broncos get to face Ben Hunt in a home final. The bad news is that Hunt will have his better half alongside him.

And I’m not talking about his missus here. I’m referring to Gareth Widdop.

When the Broncos were counting down the clock against the Sea Eagles on Sunday afternoon nobody seemed too concerned that they would fall just one point short of pipping the Panthers for fifth spot. In fact, if Anthony Milford had shaped for a field goal in the last minute, Suncorp Stadium would no doubt have reverberated to the sound of 40,000 voices screaming, “Noooooo …”

Why risk playing the unpredictable Warriors when you can play the misfiring Dragons, right?

Well, yes and no.

It’s true the Warriors are, as Forrest Gump would say, like a box of chocolates, but it’s also true that the Dragons the Broncos will face on the weekend won’t be the same Dragons who have been spluttering their way through the last few rounds of the competition.

Ben Hunt and the Dragons will be a different proposition this weekend. Picture: Brett Costello

Without the injured Widdop, they’ve been running around without their eyes, ears and brain.

Hunt in particular has looked like a deer in the headlights of a car without the Englishman on the field directing traffic.

There was that 2015 Grand Final déjà vu moment when he dropped a kick-off cold as a spud — then laughed; the astonishing sight of a million dollar a season Origin halfback going to kick the ball and connecting with his knee instead of his boot, and any number of defensive lapses.

To say his confidence was in the gutter would be praising it up.

It got so bad that Hunt’s wife had to tell people to stop picking on him.

You can’t blame her. She was probably worried that they’d have to give some of the money back.

But Sunday that all changes. With Widdop said to be a certain starter, the Dragons don’t get just one playmaker back, they get two.

Gareth Widdop’s return will boost the Dragons. Picture: Getty Images

Widdop is one of the best on-field generals in the game. His vision, direction and kick accuracy are the equal of any player in the competition.

He is to the Dragons what Cameron Smith is to the Storm, Cooper Cronk to the Roosters and James Maloney to the Panthers.

But it is not just his individual brilliance that will test the Broncos on Sunday, it is the influence he has on the players around him — particularly Hunt.

The Dragons million dollar man has been woeful the last month (please don’t write in Mrs Hunt, it’s an indisputable fact) but I’m tipping him to be a different man with Widdop back in action on Sunday.

Confidence is an enormous factor in any sport. Widdop will give Hunt a huge dose of it just by running onto the field.

With home ground advantage and the momentum of three outstanding wins behind them the Broncos will rightly be favourites but you can rest assured that two key people will have taken note of how easily the lowly Sea Eagles scored their three tries on Sunday.

Wayne Bennett is one. Gareth Widdop the other.