A Dragons discard – and the club’s next great hope – form the Broncos brains trust to bring down the relentless Melbourne machine.
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It’s a remarkable scenario which brings about the Dragons next long-term halfback playing hooker, while Benji Marshall provides an experienced halves option, after being named on the bench for Friday night’s preliminary final.
But here we are.
Marshall was benched, with 2010 St George Illawarra coach Wayne Bennett shifting Kodi Nikorima back to the halves to allow for the return of Clive Churchill Medal winner Darius Boyd.
The Dragons connection continues. And Marshall this week admitted he had grown as a player by working with Bennett since leaving Wollongong.
It was just 18 months ago Marshall knocked back a contract extension worth about $300,000, which would have meant he would still be with the Dragons.
Instead, he’s 80 minutes from another grand final, 12 years after the magic Wests Tigers flick-pass which earned him a place in NRL folklore. "There was a stage a couple of years ago where I thought I knew it all to be honest," Marshall told AAP. "But you learn every day (under Bennett). And if you come in thinking you know it all it can go pretty pear shaped. But I think the big fella (Bennett) is still learning every day too – it keeps him young.”
Hunt has been an unlikely success since his switch to hooker, playing 44 minutes in the 13-6 win over the Panthers, to ease his defensive workload.
It has offered the Broncos variety and potency in attack, only more so now Boyd is back in action.
But it would be one of Bennett’s greatest coaching masterstrokes, the most impressive since breaking the Dragons title drought, if he can stop the Storm, given he’s had to shuffle the deck ever since hooker Andrew McCullough was injured.
And in a way, you’d expect Dragons fans to be cheering for Hunt, as he chases a shot at redemption for the 2015 grand final heartbreak against the Cowboys.
A Brisbane premiership would be a glowing endorsement of the Dragons decision to make him their $6 million marquee man.
"I wanted to play my best. I didn't want to leave here a loser,” Hunt said after beating the Panthers.
With Friday night’s played game in Melbourne and the grand final at ANZ Stadium, Hunt’s next ‘home’ game will be when he’s wearing Dragons colours.