Admitting he needs to step up as St George Illawarra prepare for life after Gareth Widdop, Ben Hunt has pinpointed defence as the area the besieged Dragons most need to improve in the off-season.
Dragons skipper Widdop was farewelled from a decade in the NRL a winner after leading his side to a 24-16 victory over last-placed Gold Coast on Saturday night at Cbus Super Stadium.
The result was not enough to move the Dragons out of 15th place but it may provide a mini-springboard into an off-season where no stone is expected to be left unturned.
While coach Paul McGregor’s future is under a cloud amid a Phil Gould-led review, one of the key questions will be how the club replaces Widdop.
Hunt said it was up to him and fellow playmaker Corey Norman to own the team moving forward.
“It’s a fresh start next year and we need to get into pre-season and work hard and obviously try to fix a few things that have gone wrong this year,” said Hunt, who scored two tries.
He praised fellow playmaker Widdop as a class act.
“There’s going to be more pressure on our shoulders and I need to step up,” saif Hunt
McGregor, however, downplayed the notion of added responsibility being thrust upon Hunt.
“It’s not on any one player. It’s a team game and Ben plays an important position,” he said.
“We’ll have a really good review around the season of each player and each staff member with where we need to improve.
“(But) certainly with Gareth not here and Jack (De Belin) we’re not sure of at the moment, our game strategy will change and Ben will be a big part of it.”
Either way, Hunt identified defence as a key area for the team to focus on for 2020.
“We have just been a bit loose pretty much all year,” said the Queensland State of Origin representative.
“If you want to be successful in this competition, you have got to defend really well.
“Most teams can score some points but if you can defend and keep teams to 12 or 14 points, something like that, then you are going to be in a position to win some games.
“We just can’t do that at the moment.”