St George Illawarra star Ben Hunt has thick enough skin to handle the spotlight set to descend on him in his first return to Brisbane this week, according to his NRL captain.
Under pressure since signing his $6 million contract to move from the Broncos last year, Hunt will come full circle when he meets his former club in Sunday's elimination final.
The Dragons blew the Broncos out of the water with a deal that rocked the player market, however, skipper Gareth Widdop is adamant his halves partner will prove his worth.
"I think he'll be really excited. He's lived up there, been up there since 16, 17-years-old. It's his own club, back at Suncorp, he'll be excited," Widdop said at the launch of the NRL finals on Monday.
"He'll be good to go."
Hunt has endured a rollercoaster year on the field, having led the Dragons to the top of the table for half the season and earning his first State of Origin start at halfback for Queensland.
However, he was demoted to a bench role after the Maroons lost the series in two games and has been pilloried for the Dragons' dramatic slide down the ladder.
Widdop said recent criticism has been unfair.
"At the beginning of the year, when we were winning, he was the hero. Now he's (not). It's not fair. It's a 17-man game when you go out there," he said.
"The last couple of weeks we haven't been performing.
"He's a great player. He's played at the highest level.
"He knows what it takes to play in these big games, he's been there before.
"He'll be good to go for the weekend."
The Dragons will have to overcome a horror record at Suncorp Stadium, where they've lost their past 10 games dating back to 2009.
"Obviously it is what it is. It's in the past, it's gone," Widdop said.
"Stats don't show that we've had much success there but we've got an opportunity to go up there, put in a good performance to get the win, and go through to another week."
Widdop declared himself a certain starter after missing the Dragons' final three games of the regular season with a shoulder injury.
"I've done everything possible, ticked all the boxes, to get back now. A big week of training this week and I'll be good to go on the weekend," he said.
A win for the Dragons would see them advance to a semi-final against the loser of the qualifying final between Melbourne and South Sydney.
Share
