NRL 2020: Hunt to remain on the bench for the Dragons

One of the NRL’s highest-paid players, Ben Hunt, will continue his stint off the bench at St George Illawarra for the foreseeable future according to coach Paul McGregor.

Ben Hunt will stay on the bench at the Dragons. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has given his strongest indication that he will keep million-dollar playmaker Ben Hunt on the bench for the foreseeable future, making him the NRL‘s highest-paid interchange player.

After starting the season at halfback, Hunt has spent the past three weeks coming off the bench and playing hooker.

The move has opened the door for Orange-born young gun Adam Clune to play halfback alongside Corey Norman in the halves.

The Dragons have won two of their past three games with Hunt coming on and playing at least 50 minutes at hooker.

At this point, McGregor says he will keep the Queensland Origin representative on the interchange bench.

“The halves combination of (Clune and Norman) is working well and it is building, and Ben is a big part of that,” McGregor said ahead of Friday night’s game against Canberra.

“He plays 50-plus minutes on that rotation.

“In coming weeks, we will leave it until it gets brought up in selection meetings.

“But certainly you can see that the combination is building the more time that young Adam Clune gets on the field around Corey and (Matt) Dufty.

“He starts the game and then the difference that Benny makes when he comes on the field.

“The more time Ben gets at nine, the more hardened he will be for that position going forward.”

Dragons players Euan Aitken, Ben Hunt and Paul Vaughan celebrate a rare win this season. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

McGregor is happy with the Dragons’ improved form despite last week’s loss to back-to-back premiers the Sydney Roosters.

He credits the side’s renewed application to a greater understanding of the new rules, including the “six-again” interpretation.

“We are adapting to the game better with the change of rules, and we have to continue to adapt,” he said.

“The six-again is a big change to the game and how you get the ball to the easy areas of the field and how you defend.

“We just continue to work on the small things in our game, and you can see that in the way we are playing with the footy.

“Defensively we still have some steps to go, but we are in the right direction.

“We want sustained effort over 80 minutes. We don’t want to push teams; we want to beat teams.”