Newly minted 350-game NRL player Ben Hunt has revealed there are times he wishes he had never left the Brisbane Broncos.
The 20-time Queensland Maroons State of Origin player commenced his first-grade career with the Broncos in 2009, playing 187 games through to the end of 2017.
The end of his time at Red Hill was anything but pleasant following the 2015 grand final loss, where he dropped the kick-off in golden point, and, speaking on Channel 9’s 100% Footy, he revealed the move to the Dragons on a $1 million per season deal was something he couldn’t knock back.
He went on to spend seven years at the Dragons, playing 147 games for the joint-venture with just a single finals series to his credit, and the halfback admitted it weighed on him to the point he was considering quitting rugby league.
“When you start getting it from everywhere and constantly, you really start looking at yourself and thinking that it is all you,” Hunt said on the show.
“You start trying to take the blame for everything, and it gets tough. I guess I stopped enjoying the game of rugby league.
“The only reason I really started playing, I just loved playing footy and there was definitely times after losses where you’d just get home and you’d sit down and you just couldn’t get out of your own head.
“There was days I woke up and said to my wife, like, ‘I think I’ve had enough.’
“I felt like I wanted to give up the game completely, it wasn’t that I wanted to give up on the Dragons, it was just I wanted to get out of it completely at stages.
“Purely football perspective, there are days there you just wish I shouldn’t have left the Broncos. Yeah, there was definitely times that, yeah, I wish I hadn’t left. There was different times where I’d felt let down, for sure.”
Hunt’s seven years at the Dragons were a rollercoaster at best, and the tumultuous period of Anthony Griffin’s coaching stint – a former mentor to Hunt in Brisbane – was ultimately the catalyst for Hunt to push his way out of the joint-venture.
At one stage, he wanted a contract extension linked directly to Griffin’s role within the club.
Despite it being knocked back by the Red V, Hunt signed on anyway, and then requested a release before his new contract had even commenced.
The halfback would eventually be let go by the Dragons at the end of 2024, well and truly after he had originally requested a release.
Coach Shane Flanagan and the recruitment staff had no issue granting it, with Hunt leaving the club alongside Zac Lomax at the end of 2024.
It would see Hunt return to Brisbane, although he admitted other clubs had shown interest.
“There was definitely some opportunities to go to different clubs, but once Broncos put up their hand, it was pretty obvious to me that that’s where I wanted to be, it’s where I wanted to finish my career,” he said.
“I kind of feel like I need to give back a bit to the Broncos. I’m just grateful that they reached out, really. I love this club and pinching myself that I’m actually back here now, you know, I’m very grateful for that.”
Hunt will now likely return to the finals with the Broncos this year, shuffling back into the number nine jersey once Adam Reynolds returns from injury.
Discussion about this post