‘I have all these new toys to play with’: Star Broncos recruit Ben Hunt on the weapons at his disposal

When prized Broncos recruit Ben Hunt excitedly told his wife he had a new set of toys at Brisbane, he was met with bemusement. Hunt then rattled off every backline weapon at his disposal.

Ben Hunt is loving life back at the Broncos. Picture: John Gass

Ben Hunt says he is driven by a sense of unfinished business with the marquee Brisbane recruit hellbent on exorcising his 2015 grand final demons by leading the Broncos to premiership glory this season.

Hunt has been hailed as the potential buy of the season and the Queensland Origin star will launch his Broncos homecoming in Saturday night’s trial against the Bulldogs at Kayo Stadium.

Hunt’s Red Hill reunion marks the 10th anniversary of the most heartbreaking moment of his career - the crushing extra-time grand final loss to the Cowboys that haunts Brisbane’s class of 2015.

Hunt’s halves partner that night, Anthony Milford, once recalled the pain of the 17-16 defeat and former skipper Corey Parker half-jokes he still has sleepless nights over Brisbane’s big-dance collapse.

Hunt was a central figure in the soul-destroying narrative, with the Broncos No.7 famously dropping the extra-time kick-off which led to Johnathan Thurston’s match-winning field goal.

Now, a decade on, Hunt is back in the Broncos halves and says winning Brisbane’s first premiership since 2006 would be the perfect script to find closure on his grand-final nightmare.

“It would be pretty special to win it,” Hunt said.

“To come back and finish my career here and go out with a premiership, it’s what dreams are made of.

“That (the 2015 grand final) was a tough night for the club and to be honest, it would probably be even more special to win a premiership now that I’ve come back to the Broncos after so many years away.

“I believe we have the roster to win it for sure.

“That’s the ultimate goal and what we are setting out to do this season.”

Ironically, Hunt’s Broncos trial return will be against the Bulldogs, who initially expressed interest in the 34-year-old when he was granted a release by the Dragons last October.

The Roosters also had a crack at Hunt and while Bulldogs football boss Phil Gould ultimately refused to get into a high-stakes bidding war, the 334-game veteran felt the emotional pull to finish at Brisbane on his terms.

As Hunt called the shots at Broncos training alongside Adam Reynolds on Wednesday, he noted there are no other survivors from the 2015 grand final squad. The new era and new feel has reinvigorated him.

“I remember coming home from training a few weeks ago and I said to my wife I feel like I have all these new toys to play with at training,” Hunt said.

“She said, ‘What are you talking about’.

“I said, ‘I get the ball off ‘Reyno’ and give the ball out the back to Reece (Walsh) and I have ‘Tones’ (centre Kotoni Staggs) on one side.

“It’s really exciting to have such high calibre players around me.

“There was a lot of thought with (joining) a few clubs to be honest, but in my heart I always wanted to come back here and finish my career here if I ever got the opportunity.

“The Broncos was where my focus was.”

Hunt and Reynolds, who turns 35 in July, will go into the 2025 season as the oldest halves pairing in the NRL, but the Australian Test utility scoffed at suggestions the pair are too old to engineer a Broncos title triumph.

“Age is just a number,” he said.

“Reyno and myself are feeling great and we can go for another year or two, so we have to enjoy it.

“I just think we bring experience and calmness. There’s a lot of exciting and young electric players in this team.

“If we can come together, bring calmness to the group and really control our footy and get us around the park, that will benefit us most.”

Originally published as ‘I have all these new toys to play with’: Star Broncos recruit Ben Hunt on the weapons at his disposal