He's the man placed firmly under the spotlight at the most under-pressure club in the NRL, but Ben Hunt insists he's felt it all before and worse while at Brisbane.
Brought to St George Illawarra on a lengthy $6 million deal at the start of the year, Hunt's form has largely represented that of the Dragons.
He was the NRL's best half while the Dragons were ladder-leaders in the opening half of the season, before he endured a difficult State of Origin campaign for Queensland and his performances have since suffered.
Never has the criticism been more scathing than this week after he failed to make a single run after five-eighth Gareth Widdop was injured in Saturday's 40-4 flogging to last placed Parramatta.
But after having been put through the wringer and battling for his No.7 jersey at the Broncos, Hunt said the pressure now wasn't such a big deal.
"I personally feel like there has been more spotlight when I was in Brisbane," Hunt said.
"Being a one-club town all the media up there is all just focused on the one team. You're sort of in the middle of it.
"Being down here it feels a bit more laid back with the spotlight. You get a little bit, but I feel like Brisbane is a lot more.
"I've always felt like I was pretty good at handling the pressure, and I always felt there was more pressure in Brisbane than down here."
The 28-year-old says he's ready to step up in the absence of Widdop, who is expected to miss at least three weeks with a shoulder injury.
With the lesser experienced Kurt Mann named alongside Hunt for Sunday's clash with the Wests Tigers - he'll haver to.
The pair have mostly only trained in the halves together during the pre-season, but now have just six days to prepare for one of the most important games of the Dragons' season.
"It's a big blow to the side with how good of a player Gareth is," Hunt said.
"But it's a bit of a challenge for myself personally - I've got to lead the team around a bit more now and step my game up a bit."
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