They were big shoes to fill but Josh Papalii believes Ben Hunt has finally stepped up in Cameron Smith’s absence to emerge as Queensland’s unsung hero at hooker.
The Maroons have been searching for a new rake following former skipper Smith’s representative retirement after a record 42 Origins in the No.9 jersey in 2018.
And they thought they had found it with Brisbane No.9 Andrew McCullough’s selection last year before he succumbed to a knee injury ahead of the 2019 series.
But Papalii believed Hunt could be Queensland’s long term answer at hooker after turning heads in their 18-14 game one victory.
Queensland raised eyebrows when they thrust pint-sized St George Illawarra halfback Hunt into the No.9 jersey for the series opener.
However, the Dragons playmaker was enormous in Origin I in a 53-tackle display, playing the entire 80 minutes in the middle on Maroons No.9 debut.
While plenty of headlines have been made by the rest of Queensland’s stellar spine, Papalii believed Hunt was the Maroons’ “unsung hero” ahead of Sunday’s game two in Perth.
“Yeah he is. He is where Cameron used to be and Cameron used to hold this team together,” he said.
“Now we’ve got players playing out of position like Benny and he is adjusting to that role well.”
Asked if Hunt can be Queensland’s long term hooker, Papalii said: “If that form stays where it is and he keeps performing for the Dragons I guess so.”
Hunt backed himself to again answer the challenge of premier NSW rake Damien Cook in game two after being buoyed by his stellar series opener.
“It definitely does give me confidence. Coming out of that game I was really exhausted but I also knew I had a bit more to offer to the game,” Hunt told NRL TV.
“I was really happy with the way I played but I have few things to work on as well.”
Hunt is primed to improve in game two after feedback from Queensland coach Kevin Walters.
“Kevvie was really proud of the effort I gave,” he said.
“He thought defensively I was really good but he also thought I could offer a bit more in attack, just offer a bit more running with the ball out of dummy half.”
Walters was convinced Hunt would take it to another level in game two.
“That was his first game at hooker in the toughest game in the world and what a performance he gave,” he said.
“I have a lot of faith and trust in what Ben will bring as a footballer, he is a tough little bugger and he loves the challenge of Origin.
“We saw that in game one and he will be better in game two.”