Brisbane Broncos halfback Ben Hunt has taken responsibility for his side's scoring woes, saying that as a half he needs to be better in attacking situations.
The Broncos are ranked 14th in attack in the NRL this season, with only the Wests Tigers and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs having scored fewer points.
Brisbane's 10-7 loss to the Bulldogs in Round 5 was a low point for the side, taking their season total of points scored to just 78.
This means Wayne Bennett's men currently only average just over 15 points per game in 2017, a far cry from the 23 points per game that saw Brisbane finish in fifth position in 2016.
"It's on me. I need to be better."
Ben Hunt.
The Broncos' lack of point scoring is clearly impacting the team's confidence, and Hunt says he who feeling the pressure the most.
"I definitely take responsibility for our inability to score points," Hunt said.
"I had been feeling pretty good about my footy but the game on the weekend filled me with disappointment.
"Only scoring seven points in a game isn't good enough against any team, let alone a side as hungry as the Bulldogs.
"I know it was wet and people say that slows the game down but that's not an excuse. It's on me. I need to be better."
It's not the first slump a Bennett-coached team has suffered and it won't be the last, but the positive for the master coach this time around is that he has plenty of time to turn his side's fortunes around.
Hunt told NRL.com that Bennett has been a calming influence during the slump, reassuring the team that as long as the effort was there things will eventually turn for the better.
"Wayne's just a bit disappointed in our silly errors and mental lapses," Hunt said.
"He said he was really happy with our effort and we are trying hard.
"The silly mistakes we are making are almost from trying too hard. They are really costing us at the moment."
The Broncos will be hoping centre James Roberts is cleared to play this week after he hurt his hamstring during their Round 5 loss.
Roberts played out the whole game against the Bulldogs after being injured in the warm-up, but he was visibly struggling with the injury throughout the match.
The 24-year-old failed to train on Monday, but Hunt said Roberts was still a good chance to run out against the Sydney Roosters on Thursday night.
"James is a decent chance to play," he said.
"They are saying he's about a 50/50 chance of playing at the moment.
"I hope he can play because we definitely need him out there."
