Ben Hunt

Benjamin Hunt (born 27 March 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL) and hooker for Australia at international level.

He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL, and at representative level for the Prime Minister's XIII and Queensland in the State of Origin series.

Hunt was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

He grew up in Dingo, playing junior rugby league with the Blackwater Crushers, in Blackwater before attending St. Brendan's College in Yeppoon.

Hunt signed with the Brisbane Broncos as a youth player as a Hooker.

In 2008 Hunt won the inaugural 2008 Toyota Cup (Under-20s) player of the year award and was also named in the team of the year, on the interchange bench.

Hunt played halfback in the 2008 Toyota Cup Grand Final.

Hunt played 45 games, scored 27 tries and kicked 93 goals for 294 points in his U20s career from 2008 to 2009.

In round 15 of the 2009 NRL season, Hunt made his NRL debut with the Brisbane Broncos at in a 12–46 loss to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Remondis Stadium.

Hunt went on to play one more match that season, in round 20 against the Gold Coast Titans in a 14–34 loss at Robina Stadium.

In round 8, against the Newcastle Knights, Hunt scored his first NRL career try in Brisbane's 22–30 loss at Suncorp Stadium.

The 2010 NRL season was seen as a breakthrough season for Hunt, as he played in 20 matches.

After some impressive performances, that included scoring two tries, many were calling for Hunt to get a run as a starting.

Although Hunt stayed as a bench player, he demonstrated that he could be Brisbane's future.

After a shaky start to 2011, Hunt regained his form with an impressive performance against the Canberra Raiders in the Brisbane clubs 20–4 win at Canberra Stadium in round 2.

After showing solid form off the bench, Hunt broke his finger in a round 9 clash against the Melbourne Storm, Hunt made his return in round 17 against the Parramatta Eels but was then stood down for a week with teammate Andrew McCullough after being charged with public nuisance following a night of drinking in the Brisbane CBD.

Hunt later returned in round 19 in the Brisbane sides 30–10 win against the Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.

Hunt went on to play in 19 matches and score a try for the Brisbane club in the 2011 NRL season.

After the retirement of Brisbane captain Darren Lockyer, Hunt was nominated alongside teammate Corey Norman to fill the vacant position.

The pair battled out in the trials but Hunt eventually lost out to Norman, leaving Hunt on the bench for round 1.

In round 7, against the Canberra Raiders, Hunt and Norman both got the chance to showcase their skills on the centre stage with regular halfback Peter Wallace a late withdrawal through injury.

Norman and Hunt didn't disappoint with the pair combining beautifully as the Brisbane side ran out 30-6 winners at Suncorp Stadium.

After the Broncos stumbled at the back end of 2012, losing 7 of 10 games en route to the finals, Hunt found himself in the five-eighth role with Norman dropped to the bench following poor form.

Hunt found himself back on the bench as the Brisbane club were knocked out in the first week of the finals losing 33–16 against the North Queensland Cowboys.

Over the course of the season, Hunt played in all 25 matches and scored a try.

Hunt continued his bench role for the start of the 2013 NRL season as Brisbane made a shaky start.

He got his first opportunity in his preferred halfback role in the round 9 clash against Parramatta, as Scott Prince suffered an injury in the opening minutes of the game.

On 14 May, Hunt signed a new two-year deal with the Brisbane side.

Towards the back end of the season, Hunt secured the halfback position after Peter Wallace was benched and Corey Norman was dumped to the Queensland Cup for the rest of the year, scoring a try in his first game.

He played in 23 matches and scored two tries in 2013.

In February 2014, Hunt was selected in the Broncos runners-up 2014 Auckland Nines squad.

In June 2014, Hunt was named in the Queensland Maroons 22-man squad for game 2 as cover for halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, but Cherry-Evans recovered in time for the game, sending Hunt back to Brisbane.

Hunt had an excellent season for the club, being one of the top contenders for the Dally M, finishing fourth in the votes and getting a pay rise to $450,000 a season.

Hunt finished off the 2014 NRL season with playing in all of Brisbane's 25 matches, scoring 13 tries and kicking 21 goals.

On 14 October 2014, Hunt was selected for the Australia 2014 Four Nations 24-man squad.

Hunt made his international debut for Australia against England at AAMI Park, coming off the interchange bench and scoring a try just after a couple of minutes of coming onto the field in Australia's 16–12 win.

Hunt played off the interchange bench and scored a try in the Kangaroos 18-22 Four Nations final loss over New Zealand at Westpac Stadium.

On 1 October 2014, Hunt re-signed with the Broncos until the end of the 2017 season.

In round 6, against the Sydney Roosters, Hunt scored 2 tries, one of them in golden point extra time, to win the match for Brisbane 22–18.

In round 25, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Hunt scored his first NRL hat trick of tries in the 47–12 win at the Sydney Football Stadium.