$5m secret that delivered Ben Hunt to the Brisbane Broncos

The Broncos always has a $5m ace up their sleeve when it came to chasing the prized signature of Ben Hunt and it traces all the way back to his first stint at Brisbane.

James MacSmith

3 min read

November 26, 2024 - 1:54PM

The Brisbane Broncos always has a $6m ace up their sleeve when it came to chasing the prized signature of Ben Hunt.

The Broncos always has a $5m ace up their sleeve when it came to chasing the prized signature of Ben Hunt.

In the end it paid off and traces all the way back to his first stint at Brisbane.

In the twilight of a celebrated career, the 34-year-old Australia and Queensland representative is obviously chasing one of the few things that has eluded him – an NRL premiership.

And that is now a bigger possibility for the Broncos than it was before Hunt signed a two-year deal with them earlier Tuesday, starting in 2025.

Ben Hunt during his first stint with the Broncos. Picture: Darren England.

But it was also probably another factor that helped finally tip Hunt into the Broncos’ arms, and away from the Roosters and the Bulldogs – a home set up in Queensland and south of the Border worth around $5m

HOUSE HUNTING IN BRISBANE

Showing great foresight, Hunt during his first stint at the Broncos, built a new two-storey, four-bedroom home in Bridgeman Downs in 2014, in Brisbane’s north after paying $375,000 for 502 sqm block in September 2013.

The home sits in a quiet residential street with ample space inside and out and offers a great indoor/outdoor flow.

A modern design it features four generously size bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two-car garage, spacious kitchen with stainless steel appliances and an upstairs retreat, great for families needing extra space.

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Hunt’s home in Brisbane’s north.

One of the four bedrooms.

The home is currently rented for $875 a week.

It was listed for sale for offers over $729,000 in January 2016 before Hunt moved to play with St George Illawarra for the 2017 NRL season.

Given prices in Bridgeman Downs have doubled since 2016, the house would likely be worth around $1.5m if not more now.

The median house price in Bridgeman Downs is $1.3175m, according to PropTrack.

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Plenty of room for the kids.

The kitchen.

The backyard.

BYRON BAY WEEKENDER

Hunt made something of a splash earlier this year when he bought in Newrybar, near Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland.

The star playmaker and his nutritionist wife Bridget bought a holiday letting home on acerage for $2.7m in May.

The finalised sale was belatedly thrust into the heart of NRL salary cap claims.

The 20ha property had been a luxury farm stay in the portfolio of local entrepreneur Norm Black, the then co-owner of Dragons sponsor TripADeal, and his accommodation superhost wife Fiona.

Hunt spend seven seasons at the Dragons. Picture: Getty

It had been initially listed at $2,950,000 after the Blacks had renovated the three-bedroom homestead following its $1.9m purchase in 2021 from Transport NSW.

It became part of their Black Cockatoo Retreats portfolio that includes farmstays in Coorabell and Bangalow. Rented at just shy of $1500 a night, the house has four bedrooms with two living areas, with views to Mount Warning

The Blacks added a hot tub next to the swimming pool. There is a four-bay machinery shed with a self-contained studio.

The are 3000 macadamia trees on the block.

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Ben Hunt and his nutritionist wife Bridget have bought acreage in Newrybar. Source: Instagram

The home has been rented out as a short stay. Source: Instagram

According to The Daily Telegraph: The Dragons insisted there were no salary-cap issues following revelations Queensland Origin star Ben Hunt purchased the multimillion-dollar property from a club sponsor.

St George Illawarra sponsor Black declared the club had nothing to hide over his sale of a $2.7 million home to Dragons skipper Hunt.

“There’s no cap issues at all – any suggestion of that is nonsense,” Black told the publication.

The Daily Telegraph reported the NRL had no plans to investigate the matter.

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Country vibes. Source: Instagram

They bought the home earlier this year. Source: Instagram

That Bangalow home would be out of touch as a weekend if Hunt signed with a Sydney club. But in joining the Broncos and the Hunt family can use it as a weekend getaway.

SYDNEY FOR SALE

The Hunts have called Caringbah South home since 2019, when they paid $1.61m for a 2010 architect-built Queenslander-style four-bedroom home there in Sydney’s south, during his first season with the Dragons.

Given home prices across the country have risen 40 per cent since 2000, that home would likely be worth around $2.3m now.

That house might not be put up for sale.

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