Hunt claps back at ex-Broncos teammate over stinging comments
Ben Hunt has clapped back at Corey Parker after his former Broncos teammate argued he should retire at season’s end in a searing assessment of his form at 36 years old.
Hunt has made it clear publicly he wants to play on in 2027 and the veteran playmaker, who turns 37 in March next year, is in negotiations with Brisbane regarding a new one-year deal.
Broncos veteran Ben Hunt. Getty
While Hunt is yet to re-sign, 22-year-old playmaker Tom Duffy inked a fresh two-year deal on Tuesday, securing his future until the end of 2028.
Parker was a teammate of Hunt’s at the Broncos for the best part of a decade and they played together in the 2015 NRL grand final.
Despite that, the champion lock forward said to The Courier Mail this week his former teammate was “playing some average football” and looking “slow”.
“I’m Ben Hunt’s biggest fan. I love him and I love everything about his game,” Parker said.
“... You don’t want people saying, ‘Hunty went one year too long’, or, ‘The game’s gone past him’. I really wouldn’t like that for him.
“I’d be more inclined not to sign him.”
Parker said salary-cap money would be better spent on “topping up” the pay packets of young guns like promising middle forward Xavier Willison and highly rated winger Phillip Coates.
He also noted Brisbane already had four hookers on their books, not including Hunt.
The 36-year-old was asked on 4BC radio on Wednesday if external criticism like Parker’s frustrated him.
“It used to when I was a younger player, but you end up just getting used to it, especially at this club,” he replied.
Corey Parker (left) and Ben Hunt celebrate a Broncos try in 2015. Getty
“In my younger days at the Broncos it was just so consistent, the outside noise, and if you can’t sort of turn your back to it then it’s just going to drag you down, so I’ve just gotten used to it over the years.”
Asked if he had reached out to Parker about his comments, Hunt said: “No, I didn’t.”
He noted Parker now works in radio and acknowledged “he’s got to have his opinions on things”.
“All these ex-players have got their opinions on what should be going on in and out of clubs, and they probably don’t know what actually is going on inside the clubs because they’re not in there,” Hunt added.
“But they’re entitled to their opinions.”
Hunt last month reaffirmed his desire to play on next year – and said his sights were set on the No.7 jersey.
The halfback spot will be vacated by captain Adam Reynolds at season’s end, but the expectation is young gun Jonah Pezet will claim the No.7 jersey when he arrives from his one-year stint at Parramatta, partnering Ezra Mam in the halves.
The reigning premiers are floundering in 14th on the ladder after 15 rounds.
Michael Maguire’s team has a bye this week, before regrouping to face the Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on June 26.
Hunt has played 365 NRL games, the equal-third-most matches in Australian first-grade history alongside Daly Cherry-Evans.
