OPINION Hypothetical: Reynolds or Hunt?

[theshed]

If you were in charge of broncos recruitment right now, and you had the below options, which would you choose?

1. Reynolds stays on for 2025, retires at the end of the season. No Ben Hunt
Or
2. Hunt signs on to play 7 for 2025 and 2026. Reynolds retires / leaves immediately

Basically, would you rather Reynolds for 1 season or Hunt for 2?

 

[LittleDavey]

 

[BroncsFan]

If you were in charge of broncos recruitment right now, and you had the below options, which would you choose?

1. Reynolds stays on for 2025, retires at the end of the season. No Ben Hunt
Or
2. Hunt signs on to play 7 for 2025 and 2026. Reynolds retires / leaves immediately

Basically, would you rather Reynolds for 1 season or Hunt for 2?

In that specific situation I'm going Reynolds.

Bhunt hasnt really ever been a great game manager, which is what we need at 7.

Also if Reynolds retires or leaves straight away that would suggest there has been some sort of falling out. I want Reynolds to be involved with the club for a long time post footy teaching and mentoring our halves coming through.

I dont think Bhunt would be anywhere near as good in that role.

Bhunt will likely want more money than Reynolds for 2025 and 2026, which we need to find in the cap.

I think Walsh increasing his game is the plan post-Reynolds... kicking, etc.

 

[teampjta]

It all comes down to availability,

Its ARey everyday if he’s fit and able too play 20 plus games a season

 

[Mustafur]

Reynolds when he is playing is a significantly better 7 than Hunt has been for the last few years at Dragons, even if Hunt is a bit stat padded with his TAs.

So even though Hunt's body is more capable of going a year or two longer it feels his ability has dropped off a bit, though I do wonder if the lack of games off over the years and a full rep schedule is catching up to him.

I would Take Reyno tbh, even though it's obvious that there will be no option of us removing him to put Hunt in anyway, it's hard to know how Hunt would make the transition to the team especially given Reyno is the Captain as well, but at the same time I feel Hunt might be even able to do 3 more seasons if he just retired from all Rep games.

 

[Broncapz]

Our footy IQ and kicking game without Reynolds is barely QCup quality.

 

[Battler]

Arey. Hunt isn’t, and has never been, a proper, game managing 7. If a club is signing him to fill that role… oh dear

 

[Mustafur]

Arey. Hunt isn’t, and has never been, a proper, game managing 7. If a club is signing him to fill that role… oh dear

I have to disagree, it's just Hunt needs work on the player side to do the role, at Dragons with a lack of player quality in the spine for basically the entire time he was there(outside the Widdop years) he was in over his head, but I felt he did the role perfectly when he was with us last, we notably lost alot on our end when he left too at the time.

 

[BroncsFan]

I have to disagree, it's just Hunt needs work on the player side to do the role, at Dragons with a lack of player quality in the spine for basically the entire time he was there(outside the Widdop years) he was in over his head, but I felt he did the role perfectly when he was with us last, we notably lost alot on our end when he left too at the time.

One thing I would say is he lacks composure under pressure.

In his career he has kicked 1 field goal and that includes his rep games... in 334 NRL games (254 of them in the halves) and he's only kicked 1 field goal.

His 1 field goal came in 2019 and they lost 22-9 to the sharks.

It's not the be all and end all for a half, but if your game managing halfback isnt able to kick field goals then you are losing tight games.

I only know he's poor with field goals because it's basically a meme to me with how many he's missed over the years... but I thought he mightve kicked more than 1 by now.

 

[Brocko]

Think Reyno is the better 7 personally, and I think he has been unlucky with injuries moreso than his body falling apart that the media wants you to believe.

Hunt would be a valuable asset to the team, but not at 7 over Reyno if both are fit and firing.

 

[Sproj]

Two older heads with maturity, leadership and experience - give me both.

 

[Battler]

I have to disagree, it's just Hunt needs work on the player side to do the role, at Dragons with a lack of player quality in the spine for basically the entire time he was there(outside the Widdop years) he was in over his head, but I felt he did the role perfectly when he was with us last, we notably lost alot on our end when he left too at the time.

His last tackle options haven’t improved since he left us. His long range kicking game is a bomb and his short range kicking game is a bomb to a winger (lucky he had lomax this year). He’s a very threatening runner and has a good passing game, but his boot is terrible and he’s an infamous bottler when the game is on his shoulders.

We’d be a perfect fit for his strengths because Arey and Walsh are both leagues ahead of him with the boot.

 

[YeahNahMate]

Obviously would want both, but if it’s one or the other I would pick Reynolds.

 

[pennywisealfie]

I love Ben Hunt. I never blamed him for anything.

However, Reynolds came to us at our lowest and turned us around. **** all this Tallis bullshit, calling him out and turning the public perception against him. He's still our guy.

Reynolds all day.

 

[McHunt]

The romantically delusional answer is "both."
The brutal, more realistic, answer is "neither."

We've seen both choke grand finals in our jersey, and Adam choke grand finals in different jerseys outplayed by the same opposite number. They're both match winners on their day. But a whole season? I don't know anymore.

Since leaving the Broncos, Hunt has been terrific off the bench (usually) in rep games, but his history at the Dragons is largely forgettable. Would he put in a full season at 7 that would win us that elusive premiership? There's not much evidence of it at club level. And then we have to rebuild. Again.

I would love Reyno to rekindle his youth, and take us one further than 2023, but I'm afraid I've become pessimistic about that. I saw little in 2024 to suggest we can get another full season out him. Not at premiership winning level. His kicking game seems to have gone to shit, and he should never be allowed to take a short kick-off ever again. I can't tell whether he has support of the team, but there has to be a question-mark over that given the series of events that led us to a new coach. Something happened that involved him. I don't know if we'll ever find that out.

So TL;DR: my hard answer is neither. I would rather build the next generation. That would be a spine of Mozer, Black, Mam and Walsh, as soon as Black is deemed "ready enough." Hopefully, sooner than later this season. I would like to see Reynolds transition out of the team over the course of the season, perhaps even coming off the bench rather than a hooker.

 

[Mr Fourex]

The brutal, more realistic, answer is "neither."

 

[Nashy]

Short drop kick..... dropped kick off. I dunno. I'm still upset at both of them.

 

[YeahNahMate]

The romantically delusional answer is "both."
The brutal, more realistic, answer is "neither."

We've seen both choke grand finals in our jersey, and Adam choke grand finals in different jerseys outplayed by the same opposite number. They're both match winners on their day. But a whole season? I don't know anymore.

Since leaving the Broncos, Hunt has been terrific off the bench (usually) in rep games, but his history at the Dragons is largely forgettable. Would he put in a full season at 7 that would win us that elusive premiership? There's not much evidence of it at club level. And then we have to rebuild. Again.

I would love Reyno to rekindle his youth, and take us one further than 2023, but I'm afraid I've become pessimistic about that. I saw little in 2024 to suggest we can get another full season out him. Not at premiership winning level. His kicking game seems to have gone to shit, and he should never be allowed to take a short kick-off ever again. I can't tell whether he has support of the team, but there has to be a question-mark over that given the series of events that led us to a new coach. Something happened that involved him. I don't know if we'll ever find that out.

So TL;DR: my hard answer is neither. I would rather build the next generation. That would be a spine of Mozer, Black, Mam and Walsh, as soon as Black is deemed "ready enough." Hopefully, sooner than later this season. I would like to see Reynolds transition out of the team over the course of the season, perhaps even coming off the bench rather than a hooker.

I think you may be forgetting what life was like without Reynolds and the “build the next generation” shite sounds good in theory but everyone is scarred from 2020. Remember rushing out Macca for Turpin only to try bring in someone like Isaac Luke to fill the void of experience. You’re making it sound like experience isn’t a valuable asset.

No reason to rush someone like Black into first grade when you got someone like Reynolds. Mozer on the other hand has had last year in Cup and most of this year sprinkled with some NRL games so he is more primed to go.

Also I don’t see how it’s delusional to want/get both of them. They are both towards the end of the career & Hunt seems like he’s going to choose a side that is in the best position to win a prem. He’s meeting with Madge and DD over the next 48 hours so it’s definitely on the table at least.