Brisbane Broncos, veteran Ben Hunt can finally sleep soundly. After years of carrying the weight of a past mistake, the ultimate redemption story culminated in a premiership ring on Sunday.
Following the thrilling 26-22 Grand Final victory over the Melbourne Storm, the 35-year-old looked like a man who had shed a giant burden forever.
Many PNG fans remember the heartbreak of the 2015 Grand Final.
In that devastating 17-16 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys, it was Hunt who dropped the crucial kick-off in golden-point extra-time. For a decade, he wondered if he would ever make it back to the big stage to make amends.
He did get back, and he got the job done.
So, how many sleepless nights did he endure in the interim?
“I can’t count them. There were plenty,” Hunt said in the jubilant Broncos dressing room.
“I’ve dreamt of this moment for the last 10 years. I really have. It’s taken 350-plus games but it is all worth it. It really is. All the hard yards … the family, friends and coaches that have put time into me over the years, it’s a little bit of repayment for them.”
Hunt admitted he tried to keep his focus only on the game, but the emotional floodgates opened at the siren.
“I hadn’t thought too much about the redemption side of it. I just tried to focus on this game really but now that’s it is done and has sunk in, it is a weight off the shoulders,” he said.
“It’s okay for me to talk about the 2015 grand final now because we have moved on and got another one.”
“When the siren went, it instantly hit me like a ton of bricks.”
Broncos coach Michael Maguire summed up the sentiments of the entire rugby league world about five-eighth Hunt’s title dream finally being realised.
“Benny Hunt in 2015 … he had a tough moment in the grand final. To be able to give him a hug after that was a special moment because I know what players go through,” Maguire said.
“They get beaten up at times and the critics don’t miss them.”
“To see a smile on his face and just sitting in the changing room with the players with just a grin from ear to ear, it’s bloody unreal.”
Hunt said his move to rejoin the Broncos where he made his debut, after linking with St George Illawarra for seven turbulent seasons, was “probably the best decision I ever made.”
The veteran had to watch the final tense moments from the sidelines after being concussed with eight minutes to go. His halves partner, fellow 35-year-old Adam Reynolds, was right there with him after he was replaced with a calf injury in the 49th minute.
“It was one of those head knocks where it hits you flush. I knew I was stumbling,” Hunt said.
“I couldn’t get my legs under me but I had my wits about me. I definitely didn’t have on my bingo card that me and Reyno would be on the sideline with a couple of minutes to go, that’s for sure.”
“I went back out with about three minutes to go and it was a long bloody three minutes.”
Reynolds and Hunt embraced immediately after full-time. The two old mates came together in what Reynolds jokingly called “a nursing home” moment full of emotion.
“Ben deserves it probably more than anyone. He has been through his ups and downs,” Reynolds said.
“To see him get this moment at full-time and embrace him was certainly a career highlight.”
“We have both been through a lot over the last couple of years and when he came back to the club it was all about trying to achieve this dream.”
Source: Australian Associated Press