BRISBANE’S greatest halfback Allan Langer has severed his mentoring role with Ben Hunt, insisting the Dally M contender is now ready to handle a sudden-death finals showdown with Johnathan Thurston.
Thurston shapes as Brisbane’s bogeyman in the Townsville eliminator on Saturday night, but statistics show Hunt has outpointed the Cowboys maestro in several key categories this season.
And such is his maturation, Langer believes Hunt’s call-up for Origin II has equipped him to steer Brisbane through the finals without the help of Brisbane’s most decorated halfback.
Earlier this season, Hunt credited Langer’s tutoring for his metamorphosis from Brisbane bench player to chief shot-caller who has surged into the frame to win the Dally M Medal.
But Langer says Hunt no longer requires a helping hand, saying his week in Camp Maroon watching Thurston at close range has steeled him for the biggest test of his NRL career.
“I don’t work with him any more, he does his own thing now,” said Langer, the Maroons’ assistant coach who won four titles at the Broncos.
“Ben Hunt has had a wonderful year — he doesn’t need me to tell him what to do.
“This is a huge test for Ben but I believe it will bring the best out of him. Some guys don’t handle the finals occasion but I think Ben will.
“Watching him in Origin camp this year was a massive thing for his confidence. He didn’t play but he trained with the side all week and gained confidence being there learning from a guy like Thurston.
“He wasn’t overawed at all ... and he won’t be this time either.”
Hunt’s growth as a playmaker is illustrated by having entered the same statistical stratosphere as Thurston.
Hunt has twice as many line breaks as the Maroons ace (23 to 11) and broken 61 tackles to Thurston’s 36.
The Cowboys halfback has the edge in try assists (33 to 25), but Hunt is superior in errors (26 to 31) and creating second-phase (19 offloads to 15).
Thurston’s lethal show-and-go has made him the code’s No.1 playmaker and he is wary of Hunt’s willingness to test the line.
“He has been outstanding for them,” Thurston said.
“From hearing in the media one of the biggest things about his game was that he didn’t take the line on that much, but this year he has timed it and been picking it well.
“He seems to be running the ball now and testing the line and asking questions.”
Hunt’s rocketing reputation was further enhanced when he was announced as one of 10 finalists for the Provan-Summons Medal voted for by fans.
Hunt was short-listed alongside some of the biggest names in the NRL including Sam Burgess, Daly Cherry-Evans, Cooper Cronk, Jarryd Hayne, Greg Inglis, Shaun Johnson, Cameron Smith, Jamie Soward and Thurston.
“The biggest question of all was who was going to be the main playmaker? Who is the man in charge?” Broncos great Wally Lewis said.
“To be able to restore the confidence in the No.7 jersey, it was something that was an enormous challenge for Brisbane.
“The coach was quite confident he had the man in place Benny Hunt, Benny probably just had to realise how good he was.
“That is not an insult to Ben, he has displayed his quality a number of times and if anything he has probably surprised a lot of people that have watched the game even the Broncos supporters.
“He has opened the door and it’s now up to him to see how far he is going to go.
“It has been an enormous season for him.”
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