St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt is hoping the same belief shown in him at a young age by Mal Meninga can instil a similar confidence in his Dragons teammates throughout the Prime Minister's XIII campaign in Papua New Guinea.
Travelling to Port Moresby for his fifth PM's XIII game, Hunt is one of the more experienced players set to feature in a strong Australian side, with Meninga also selecting three other Dragons in Tyrell Sloan, Zac Lomax and Michael Molo.
Hunt first worked with Meninga at a representative level in 2014 when he was called in as shadow player for the State of Origin series, and said the experience did wonders in helping his career develop to the next level – something which he hopes to see for his Dragons teammates.
“He's been fantastic for my career," Hunt said. "He was the first one that brought me into an Origin camp when he picked me as 18th man.
"He brought me into a couple of those camps which was very special for someone of Mal’s stature to see the talent in you and want to bring you into those types of things.
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“To have the faith in me to bring me to the Australian sides in 2017 and again in the World Cup last year and play prominent roles, it makes you feel pretty special
"It's extremely exciting for those guys to be here and it’s a confidence booster.
“It's a good opportunity for them to come and learn from some other NRL players and guys that have seen it all and been there and hopefully they just taking it all in
"Getting around representative football is a lot different to your week-to-week at NRL and seeing that and the professionalism of other guys when they come in here and how Mal operates (will be an eye-opener).
“It's just a really good learning curve for them and if they can just take one thing away from it, it'd be a real big help to them.”
For Meninga, the game in PNG was an opportunity to not only help select the Gallagher Kangaroos for the upcoming Pacific Championships, but also to help nurture the next wave of representative talent.
In Hunt’s case, Meninga enjoyed the versatility he could provide to a team, as well as his leadership.
“He's a great seven for the Dragons, but in nine, I see the value there and he's got all the skills for a nine – he tackles well, he runs well, he's got a great pass and he's got a great kicking game. I'm a fan of a kicking number nine as well, so Benny fits that bill,” Meninga said.
“When you have a rep team, you need to pick the best players and fit them in.
"There's great versatility in Ben, which is handy to have somebody who can play nine, in the halves, probably play 13, you say play six and there's no doubt that he can do that. To have that sort of person that can play in your spine, anywhere in the spine really, and still have a positive effect is a real asset to the team.
He's great around the team. He's one of the more senior players and how he moves around the group and how he talks to the group is exceptional.
Australia coach Mal Meninga on Ben Hunt
"He’s a great, great leader too, I feel. I feel he's developed into that over a long period of time – he's a valuable member certainly of the Kangaroos and he's a valuable member of any footy team that you want to put him in.”
While no stranger to visiting PNG and taking on the Kumuls, Hunt said was still a special trip that was about more than just football with the occasion a chance to gain further perspective after a tough individual season with the Dragons.
“It's my third one to PNG and I love coming over here,” Hunt said. “It really is exciting just to get over and see how much they really love the game.
"For myself personally, to get over here and see how happy they are with how they live their life and what they have over here compared to what we've got back home, it just gives you a real sense of gratitude.
We've had a rough year at the Dragons and then you come over and see how they've got it here. I guess that puts the whole thing into perspective.
Dragons captain Ben Hunt
The Australian men’s side headline two big days of rugby league at Santos National Football Stadium, with the men’s and women’s Prime Minister’s XIII games and the women’s ADF match being played on Saturday and the Australian Schoolboys and Junior Kumuls, Australian Schoolgirls and Junior Orchids and men’s ADF games closing out Sunday.
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