RUGBY LEAGUE
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Fresh from his first full preseason in four years, trimmed-down Dragons prop Dan Hunt has never been more excited for the start of an NRL season.
Hunt spent the bulk of the 2014 preseason in the rehab group as he recovered from knee and shoulder surgeries. The resulting niggles plagued his season with a back injury suffered in the Dragons round-22 loss to Panthers ending what he admits was the most mentally draining season of his career.
Now injury-free and sporting a noticeably slimmer frame, Hunt is warming to a new role in a beefed-up forward pack.
"It's been tough; it's been long and they don't get any easier as you get older but this time I've done the whole preseason which is something I haven't done for a while," Hunt said.
"That's given me back a bit of confidence in my body and mentally.
"The last three seasons I've had surgery and been on the back foot. You're just always trying to get yourself back playing and sometimes you're not ready and you keep breaking down and you're constantly behind the eight-ball.
"This year I've had a change in attitude and made some changes physically and done everything I can to get ready for the season."
After telling him he was free to look elsewhere at the end of last year, coach Paul McGregor has been impressed enough with Hunt's mental and physical transformation to name him in the Dragons squad for this weekend's Auckland Nines. Hunt said the format is a chance to develop in his new role within the Dragons revamped pack.
"I'm playing a bit of a different role this year, a bit more ball playing and trying to be a bit more mobile around the paddock," Hunt said.
"That's what we're looking to work on in the Nines. The front row's going down the route of 115-125 kilo players and being only 100 kilos you can't compete with that bash and barge anymore. I've got to find that point of difference and I think I've found that. I've really been working on that this preseason, so it'll be interesting to see how it all goes come game time."
Nines is typically seen as a game for the smaller, quicker men but Hunt is confident he and fellow bookend Mike Cooper can play a role for the Dragons in the tournament.
"It's going to be fast and very skilful, so I'm going to have to be on my toes to make sure I don't get burnt too badly," he said.
"I'll just be trying to lay where the halves want us, generate those quick play-the-balls and work really hard in defence to bring as much energy to the team as I can."