Hunt was named in the No. 7 as expected on Tuesday and, with a long turnaround into Sunday's clash in Wollongong, is tipped to take the park against the Raiders.

It may be under some duress after an awkward tackle midway through his side's second-half demolition at the hands of NSW.

There is also some doubt over halves partner Talatau Amone who left the field with 14 minutes to go in Tonga's eventual loss to New Zealand on Saturday.

He'll have to come through concussion protocols to take his place in the side, with Jayden Sullivan looming as cover in an extended squad unchanged from a 32-12 last-start win over the Rabbitohs.

Moses Mbye is also a more than capable halves option should one or both first-choice halves be unavailable.

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Dally M Medal leader Hunt was one of the Dragons best in backing up just 48 hours after Origin I.

He'll have, and likely need, a longer turnaround following Origin II and hooker Andrew McCullough said his side will need to ensure its skipper isn't asked to shoulder too heavy a burden.

"That [heavy] load's coming naturally to him at the moment," McCullough said.

"Being such a key player and in good form it's sort of just happening for him at the moment but everyone's got to play their role.

"He's done a tremendous job to be leading this club through some tough times over the last three or four months, and certainly last year as well, but everyone goes through different stages of Origin tiredness.

"He'll miss one of those games next week [against Brisbane] as well. Whatever Hook does to manage him in regards to playing him, backing up, things like that, he'll do what's best for Ben and what's the best way for our team to be improving towards the back end of the year."

With both sides on seven wins apiece this season, Sunday's clash will be vital for both as the Dragons will head into a subsequent road clash with Brisbane without Hunt next weekend.

"They're all pretty crucial now, regardless of ladder position," McCullough said.

"If you can get on a bit of a roll on, string three, four five games together, it really puts a stamp on the competition and sets you up for a good finish to the year.

"We're in a good position coming from our last [game]. That first 40 minutes was pretty special really. To have that sort of lead against a quality team something we haven't done in my time here.

"You've got to maintain it. Week in, week out, the games are so hard now and everyone's slowly going to get more desperate depending on where they are on the ladder.

"As easily as you can go forward, you can easily go backwards pretty quickly as well. We just need to keep maintaining that performance and not let it slip."

Read more: Dragons braced for Wighton's best as Origin selection plot thickens

The joint-venture will celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Illawarra Steelers' entry in the NSW Rugby League on Sunday, with McCullough one of the few players old enough to remember watching the Steelers go around.

"I remember being a kid, three-four-five, watching the Steelers play with Rod Wishart and all those sort of guys," McCullough said.

"I'm showing my age a bit but it's pretty cool. When you're based in Queensland you obviously know there's two sides to the organisation but it's a bit hard to fathom.

"It's good to realise how much the Steelers mean to this club, what they've done and the amount of juniors they've put in. It's something cool to be a part of."