AN incumbent State of Origin hooker playing 80 minutes in the No. 9 wouldn't normally be a story, but most Origin No. 9s aren't Dragons enigma Ben Hunt.
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He played all three games for Queensland last year at hooker, but Sunday's 34-4 victory over the Sea Eagles was his first outing in the red v No. 9 after Paul McGregor finally bit the bullet and started his million-dollar halfback at dummy-half.
Manly were depleted but, on a wet night at Kogarah, the Dragons certainly looked more dangerous around the ruck, and across the park, than they have any other time this season.
Hunt laid on his side's first four-pointer for Josh Kerr 13 minutes before the break and added a new dimension to his side's kicking game. Throw in his 53 tackles without a miss, and the fact Cam McInnes made 57 and ran for 144 metres from 14 carries in the No. 13, it's hard to see it changing any time soon.
McGregor only went so far as saying it will be the case next week, but said it was something he'd been edging towards since shifting Hunt to the bench a month ago.
"It was coming, I thought it could've come a bit earlier but tonight it was good timing for it," McGregor said.
"Ben's played Origin and for Australia at nine but not club football week to week. He got through the whole 80 really easily, with him at nine we get a kicking option out of there, which was on show, and he gets us coming onto the football.
"Cam hasn't played a lot 13 but I think he's expanding his game, he's getting in behind the ruck, he can ball play and defensively he's as good as any out there.
"We need a long-minute player in the middle of the field, we haven't had that for a long period of time because Jack [deBelin] hasn't been here. You lose a fair bit in James Graham as well.
"If they can play the 80 minutes at the speed they are and do what they did tonight it's looking good for the team. A week's a long time in footy and anything can happen but at the moment it's working for what we need."
If Hunt wasn't best on ground it could've been Zac Lomax, who scored a runaway try and had a hand in two others, including the intercept that put Matt Dufty away for a 10-4 lead nine minutes before halftime.
He produced a deft flick for Mikaele Ravalawa's 59th minute try, which came with Jorge Taufua in the sin-bin for clipping a flying Matt Dufty in pursuit of a kick, and sealed the deal with another intercept and 50-metre dash to the corner.
Corey Norman's 76th minute try, off an inch-perfect banana kick from halves partner Adam Clune, iced the game and what probably his personal best performance of the season.
Euan Aitken added a cherry on top with a minute to go in what was as close to a complete 80 minutes they've put together this season after falling short of that feat in losses to the Roosters and Raiders the previous two weeks.
It leaves them just one win outside the eight ahead of next week's clash with last-placed Canterbury but McGregor said he's not thinking about a finals run just yet.
"We played well for 65 minutes against the Roosters but we didn't finish the game off and we responded well to being behind by a score against Canberra," he said.
"Tonight, against a good football team in Manly, we played for the 80 minutes so that's the most pleasing thing. They'll get confidence out of that but it's about doing it consistently before you're talking about the eight.
"We want to play for 80 minutes and play the right way. Tonight we did that and we got the result, if we keep doing that we'll keep getting results. If we don't do that consistently tonight won't mean too much."