Wally Lewis has declared Liam Martin ‘mad’ and Brisbane Broncos veteran Ben Hunt knows the star Panthers second rower is coming for him.
Talking ahead of Sunday’s preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium, Hunt said he was well aware of Martin’s comments about targeting Brisbane’s halves—and not in the slightest bit surprised.
“He didn’t have to say it, I kind of expected that from Marto,” Hunt laughed.
“That’s the way he’s always played his game, he’s one of the toughest players in the competition, he runs hard and he tackles hard, so I need to get the shoulders ready.”
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‘He brings so much energy’
Despite facing Martin and his red-hot Panthers teammates, 35-year-old Hunt remains confident the Broncos have the weapons to get the job done against the four-time reigning premiers and go all the way to the club’s first NRL premiership since 2006.
“I definitely feel like we have the team to do it, but we still have a couple of really big hurdles ahead of us starting this Sunday,“ he said.
Hunt then pointed specifically to the return of dynamic ball runner Ezra Mam, highlighting the 22-year-old has caused the Panthers plenty of problems in the past—something that means Penrith won’t be able to focus solely on closing down star fullback Reece Walsh.
“He brings so much energy, he’s an excellent player Ezra, and if he’s on, his running game and his decision making with the ball is up there with the best, I think he can come out and really help us.”
‘We’ve learned to really dig in and fight’ says Hunt
Asked about Brisbane’s reshuffled halves combination and being moved into the number six jersey to accomodate the return of captain Adam Reynolds, Hunt again expressed the calm of a veteran who’s featured on the game’s biggest stages for more than a decade.
“(The change) is forced in a way, but I think we’ll be fine, we’re bringing in Reyno who’s played 300 games, very experienced, leads us around and does all our kicking, it can only be a good thing for us.”
Further fuelling Hunt’s confidence is the growth he’s seen from many of the younger players in the Broncos squad since the start of the season.
“A lot of the guys have really grown up this year, learning what it is to be a first grader and how to play those long games,” he said.
“When something goes against us we’ve learned to really dig in and fight—as we showed against Canberra one bad half of footy doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad game, you can turn it around.”