Twelve months in the past Ben Hunt was doing his degree finest to get straight outta Wollongong.
However he’s no longer solely a cheerful Dragon however firing on all cylinders, backing up lower than 48 hours from his star flip for Queensland in State of Origin to steer his membership aspect to a cushty 56-14 win over an ill-disciplined Wests Tigers outfit at WIN Stadium.
Hunt, who scored two tries at hooker for the Maroons of their Origin I win over NSW, touched down in his customary halfback place for St George Illawarra and produced 4 strive assists as he saved them in finals competition, lifting their report to 7-6.
Zac Lomax flew over subsequent to the cornerpost twice within the closing levels to finish a hat-trick on the again of his spectacular Blues debut to register 32 factors after booting 10 objectives from as many makes an attempt.
The finals are a great distance away however new coach Shane Flanagan has reinvigorated the aspect after the Anthony Griffin three-year reign of error.
Wests Tigers followers can neglect about playoffs and even going shut – they’ve now misplaced 9 straight are on a collision course for a 3rd straight wood spoon.
Benji labels self-discipline ‘unacceptable’
Marshall was criticised for taking a vacation through the bye spherical however his gamers are those who ought to cop it for happening trip for a 40-minute stint in Wollongong when the sport was there to be gained.
“We had per week off, freshend up, began with plenty of power, 14-12 at half-time. To have 20% of the ball and have as many errors as what we did, schoolboy errors, it’s unacceptable,” he stated.
“Self-discipline is hurting us. We get somebody sin-binned each week, give away foolish penalties, lose our heads. Sadly we’re in a postiion the place we will’t try this to ourselves then we do. If the actions don’t change then the gamers must change.
“As a lot as they (St George Illawarra) had an excellent second half, we did it to ourselves once more.
“Among the issues tonight, there’s no excuse.”
He stated he had spent the entire week preaching the significance of self-discipline to his gamers however his phrases fell on deaf ears.
It wasn’t simply the penalties, it was an absence of consideration to element from Wests, who had been usually a step behind the place they need to have been in defence as a result of they actually hadn’t gone the additional yard with their effort.
Ben retains Dragons in finals Hunt
Hunt doesn’t have the fame for being essentially the most artistic halfback within the NRL, he’s identified extra as a tricky nut, as evidenced by the Maroons efficiently utilizing him at hooker in recent times.
However he leads the NRL for whole strive involvements with 31, together with 22 strive assists on the midway level of the season.
He’s not as aesthetically pleasing as an out and out playmaker like Nathan Cleary however he’s extraordinarily efficient.
Luciano Leilua celebrates with teammates after scoring. (Picture by Jason McCawley/Getty Photos)
“It has been a very long time since we’ve had a scoreline like that,” Hunt stated. “It’s fairly pleasing to get a sport like that, particularly at dwelling, in entrance of our followers – they’ve been turning up for us by the exhausting instances, it’s good to offer again to them.
“There’s an actual good vibe, an excellent power across the place and everybody’s having fun with themselves. It’s good to be a part of it.”
The Tigers received the bounce on the Dragons on Friday night time, opening the scoring within the fourth minute through winger Alex Lobb and so they went 10-0 up when Bud Sullivan backed up a bust from damaged play by fullback Jahream Bula.
However the Dragons fired up halfway by the primary half with Kyle Flanagan worming his approach over after Tyrell Sloan batted again a Hunt bomb.
They edged forward when Moses Suli break up the Tigers up the center for Zac Lomax to step his approach over.
The Dragons ought to have been up 18-10 on the break however Flanagan was denied a deserved second strive when the Bunker dominated a double motion though his ball-carrying arm stayed above the bottom within the cowl sort out and his momentum in getting the ball down was solely halted by the slow-motion replay.
“That’s a strive,” his outdated man stated after the sport. “I do know it’s Kyle however that’s a strive with none doubt. I simply can’t perceive. The referee requested to see if he put it on the tryline, they determined that he did. He thought within the movement he was held within the sort out. He continued to maneuver. It was only a loopy determination. If we will’t get these proper in a sport like right this moment after we’re actually beneath the pump, we’ve received to get them proper. The referee did an excellent job, the Bunker let him down.”
It grew to become a 12-point turnaround when Alex Seyfarth barged over simply earlier than the break after a second piggyback penalty after the double motion name.
“Typically you’ve received to have first halves like that to put on the opposition down after which we had been scientific within the second half,” Flanagan stated.
“We received some subject place, dominated possession and we had been too huge and too robust in the long run.
“We’re beginning to expose our DNA, what we wish to be, the place we wish to go. There’s some steps and we’ve taken some ahead, we’ve gone backwards just a few levels through the yr however it’s one other one ahead right this moment.”
A attempt to Mat Feagai off one other robust Suli cost put the Dragons forward earlier than Sullivan got here up with one of many dopiest penalties of the season when he took out Luciano Leilua on a kick-chase near the road though the ahead was little likelihood of attending to the ball.
The Dragons added 14 factors within the 10 minutes he was cooling his heels with Leilua latching onto a Hunt cash ball earlier than the halfback managed to bulldoze his approach over, this time with out Cameron Smith cheering him on from the commentary field not like in Origin.
Leilua bagged a second off a Hunt kick this time earlier than Flanagan’s help led to Feagai scoring once more earlier than Lomax accomplished the rout with two extra strikes out vast.
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Tigers in turmoil
It was at all times going to be robust for Benji Marshall in his first yr as an NRL coach after inheriting the mess that’s the membership the place he gained the 2005 premiership.
The joint-venture membership is beneath new administration however nonetheless paying the worth for the years of incompetence from the earlier administration.
All of it appeared so constructive early within the season. Bear in mind after they flogged the Sharks at Leichhardt in Spherical 2 after which upset the Eels with a late subject objective.
That was 9 lengthy rounds in the past and so they haven’t gained since.
The Tigers have the excuse that they’ve loads of inexperienced gamers and that’s true – however a few of their present line-up have been within the NRL for just a few years and are making the identical errors they made as rookies.
Sullivan must be cautious in any other case he won’t be within the NRL for much longer. He signed a five-year deal on the Dragons a few seasons in the past, touted as their long-term halfback of the longer term.
However since then he has switched to the Tigers after an early launch and has fallen down the pecking order behind Aiden Sezer and rookie Lachie Galvin. And with Jarome Luai coming to the membership subsequent yr, he’s unlikely to see a lot first-grade motion primarily based on his 2024 type.
His sin-binning was inexcusable, significantly on condition that he had conceded the same penalty within the first half however clearly didn’t be taught.
