Pint sized playmaker Ben Hunt admits he will have to stand tall at Queensland's Gold Coast training camp to ensure he is not caught short in defence on debut in State of Origin III.
At 178cm, Hunt will be the shortest on the field along with Queensland teammates Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater at Suncorp Stadium and did not have to be told where NSW would target their attack.
Especially after the Brisbane halfback's last defensive effort at the ground.
Hunt made three errors as Melbourne ran in eight tries to romp to a 42-12 NRL win over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium last week.
"There were a few times in that Storm game that we didn't get it right and as Broncos we have to be better than that," Hunt said of his last round defensive display.
"My right edge I was pretty disappointed with. This week defence will be one of the big things that I really want to get right."
Queensland raised eyebrows when they opted for Hunt as their bench utility over form Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans for Origin III.
Only a month ago Hunt had been banished to reserve grade by Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.
And in only his second NRL game back, Hunt produced his error-marred last round display against Melbourne.
But Hunt was confident he could step up in the bench utility role that he once held in his early Broncos years and again for three Tests during the Kangaroos' 2014 Four Nations campaign.
If he got his defence right, that is.
"The biggest thing about my role will be defence," Hunt said.
"It will be a bit of a change going back to defending in the middle and obviously NSW have got a pretty big forward pack so that is something I have to get right this week at camp.
"I played a fair bit of footy in my early days at the Broncos like that (bench utility) and was lucky enough to play for Australia off the bench in that role.
"But I will learn this week from the key players like Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk on what I need to do."
Hunt hopes to have fast-tracked his Origin utility crash course after keeping a close eye on the man who once owned the interchange role - Michael Morgan.
"I definitely watched a bit of Morgo over the years. What he brings is a lot of energy. He's a quick player and strong for a small bloke - it's what I have to bring," Hunt said.
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