He's been much maligned at different points of his career but few players have ever been more highly regarded by teammates and coaches than Ben Hunt.
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It made the Dragons skipper's heroics in the second half of Queensland's stunning 22-12 win in Wednesday's epic Origin decider a extra sweet for more than just the man himself.
Coach Billy Slater resisted the temptation to shift Hunt to the halves in the absence of Cameron Munster, instead retaining him in the No. 9 jumper and shifting him between dummy-half and lock through his 76 minutes on the park.
It let him slip comfortably into the familiar first receiver role and boot a crucial 40-20 than opened the door for Kayln Ponga's go-ahead try midway through the second half.
He had the second big moment all to himself when he somehow plucked a Nathan Cleary chip out of the air and raced 70 metres for a match-winner that will have a permanent place in Origin highlight reels.
Ever since infamously spilling the golden-point kickoff in the 2015 grand final, a supposed inability to capture the big moments has dogged the 32-year-old play-maker.
It's not a view Slater ever subscribed to, the rookie Origin mentor saying Hunt was the player he most expected to deliver at the death.
"He's just got that in him, hasn't he?," Slater said.
"If someone is going to come up with a play like that, it's going to be Ben Hunt. He just competes. He ended up with the football and had fresh enough legs to out-run Isaah Yeo. It was an incredible moment.
"He's been the Ron McAuliffe medallist twice in the past three series before this one. He really earned that starting spot playing a different position than he does every week for the Dragons.
"He was out on his feet halfway through that second half, he was one of those guys in the middle doing all that work.
"We needed to give him a rest and we feel if we didn't give him a rest, he may not have got there in the end.
"What a performance - he's one of the greatest competitors our game has seen."
It was the keystone moment of an Origin trajectory that's had as many ups and downs as the rest of the 32-year-old's career.
After debuting as a bench utility on debut in 2017, Hunt was given the start in his preferred halfback spot for the opening two games of the 2018 series before being demoted to the bench after going 0-2.
Ironically, it opened the door for Daly Cherry-Evans to return from three years in the Origin wilderness for the dead rubber.
He's since become captain, with Hunt a deputy in a Queensland brain's trust that's come back from game-two pastings to claim a decider in Brisbane in two of the last three seasons.
"He's become a really good friends of mine from playing Queensland footy together and he's someone I really lean on," Cherry-Evans said.
"As a captain you try and have a good relationship between the coach and the playing group and Ben's one of those people I get a gauge on in the playing group of where we're at and what we need.
"I've leant on him a heap of times this series and that probably shows where he's at with his footy.
"He's a big part of the Queensland team at the moment and I'm really proud of the way he's played."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
