Broncos grand final winner Ben Hunt says the hunger remains as strong as ever to win a premiership as he confirmed his move from the halves into the hooking role.
Among the many tales of personal triumph in last year’s title victory, Hunt’s ‘redemption’ deeply resonated with Brisbane fans after his unhappy memories of the 2015 grand final loss to the Cowboys.
Now, after claiming the 2025 title following his return last year from the Dragons to his debut club, Hunt said the drive to win remained as strong as ever and he believed Brisbane had the team to go back-to-back.
“The goal is to go again and show that it's not a fluke,” Hunt said.
“You always want another one, it's what you play the game for.
“I'm over the moon and super proud and just grateful that I got one, but another one would definitely be nice.
“(To do that) there's a lot that's got to go right for you through the year, but not a lot has changed for our team.
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“Obviously, we lost a couple of guys, but we've got some good young kids that are coming through, we signed a couple of guys and I don't see why not.”
Before the NRL season kicks off however, the Broncos are preparing to head to England to take on Hull KR in the World Club Challenge, with the squad undertaking a two-week training camp on the Darling Downs.
Speaking from the grounds of the Toowoomba Grammar School following the club's open training session, Hunt said he was enjoying his permanent shift to hooker, after playing just four games in the position last year.
“It's been a lot different probably I guess for me compared to last pre-season,” Hunt said.
“Obviously, I trained the whole pre-season in the halves and when you're in the middle there, you do a lot more work, a lot more tackling and things like that.
“There's a lot more at play physically, but I'm really enjoying it.
“It's a position that I've always felt pretty comfortable in and it's good to get some reps in there with our team.”
Playing dummy half is not an unfamiliar role for him however, having excelled for Queensland in past State of Origin campaigns.
While injury robbed him of the opportunity to feature in last year’s Maroons series win, Hunt said he would never turn down the opportunity if his form warranted a call-up from coach Billy Slater.
“You're always hopeful to play Origin for sure, I've always said I'll never turn down a jersey if I get the opportunity and there's a lot of things I need to do right to be getting back there.
“I think Harry Grant played one of the best series he's played last year, so, if he's fit, he's probably in there again.
“(But) I think I'll always put my hand up, unless I believe that I'm not up to the standard.
“And I think if I'm not up to the standard, Billy's definitely not calling me, so, as long as I'm playing good footy and Bill's got that belief in me, then I'll always play.”
With a limited time to train before heading boarding the plane for the away game at MKM Stadium in Hull, Hunt the focus would be on building connections and “to get over there in good condition” to maximise their preparations.
“It's a pretty short preparation really for a pre-season,” Hunt said.
“So we're just working hard on getting our bodies right, getting all the little things right and getting over there and probably playing a simple brand of football, but playing one that we know that hold up shorter pre-season.
“(Coach Michael Maguire’s pre-season training regime is) still pretty tough, it really is, but obviously it worked for us last year.
“I don't think we're going to change anything, so, we're just working hard and trying to get better on what we did last year.”
