Eight months may have passed but Ben Hunt is still haunted by his 2015 NRL grand final gaffe, Brisbane great Justin Hodges says.
Hunt has insisted time and again that he is "over" his now infamous knock-on before North Queensland's Johnathan Thurston kicked the winning golden point field goal.
Former captain Hodges knows Hunt well and was the first person to comfort the distraught playmaker on-field after their epic 2015 grand final loss.
And Hodges believes Hunt's error-riddled recent run for the Broncos indicates the halfback has not moved on.
"I think just to touch on last years grand final, I think that was a big part of his performance this year so far," Hodges told Fox Sports TV.
"I think he hasn't maybe dealt with it properly.
"In saying that, Hunty is a great player, everyone knows what he can do."
Hunt is under pressure to spark a slumping Brisbane in Thursday night's Suncorp Stadium clash with an in-form Canberra.
That may be easier said than done looking at his recent stats.
He has made 20 errors in 13 games - almost as many as the 24 he committed in the entire 2015 season.
He has also missed 44 tackles, the third-worst in the league.
In his defence he does have a league leading 19 try assists and a healthy 13 line break assists this year.
Still Hunt has failed to click with pivot Anthony Milford recently, with Brisbane losing four of their last five games.
"My advice is just to stay out of the papers, stay out of the social media stuff and just each week concentrate on playing some great football," Hodges said of Hunt.
"Just go back to playing basic footy.
"For him it's just simple. Passing the ball, kick chasing and trying to ease his way back into some good form."
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