Ben Hunt is coming home to the Brisbane Broncos after inking a two-year deal with the NRL club where he played most of his career.
The 34-year-old made his decision on Tuesday, choosing the club where he played 187 of his 334 career games, instead of the Sydney Roosters or Dolphins.
Hunt will partner with Broncos captain Adam Reynolds in the halves come round one against the Roosters with Ezra Mam’s looming suspension for driving unlicensed and having drugs in his system.
The former St George Illawarra Dragons captain went close to winning the 2015 grand final with the Broncos, a decider that finished in heartbreak in a golden-point loss to North Queensland.
Hunt – who can also play hooker – agonised over the decision with regards to his future. As late as Monday he had not made up his mind.
For Hunt there is also a sense of ‘unfinished business’ at the Broncos.
In the Australian camp earlier this month, Hunt said returning to Brisbane was a romantic notion he would relish.
It was a dream he had not been able to realise, until now.
Ben Hunt is coming home to the Broncos after inking a two-year deal with the NRL club
Hunt was signed as a 12-year-old prodigy and went onto play in the 2015 NRL Grand Final (pictured, after an Origin match for Queensland)
Teammate Adam Reynolds is relishing the prospect of playing alongside Hunt next season (he is pictured, after losing the 2015 decider with Brisbane)
Hunt was first recruited to the Broncos as a 12-year-old by legendary talent scout Cyril Connell and came through the under-20s program before making his first grade debut in 2009.
The Queensland star contacted Roosters coach Trent Robinson and Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf on Tuesday to let them know his decision.
It was his own initiative and in keeping with the decorum and honesty with which has has always conducted himself.
The partnership between Hunt and Reynolds in the halves will give the Broncos creativity and organisation on both sides of the field.
Reynolds said earlier this week he was relishing the prospect of playing alongside Hunt.
‘Ben’s a great player, with what he brings to the football field. He’s a leader off the football field as well, which is super important in any organisation,’ he said.
‘He’s an X-factor and among some of the game’s greats, and obviously it would be a big benefit to get him here to the club.’
That benefit is now a tangible one, and new coach Michael Maguire will be licking his lips about the prospect of Hunt igniting a return to finals.
