A lot has gone wrong at the Broncos this year.

And if you listen to some people, that includes the decision to extend Ben Hunt another year.

But not me.

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I think keeping Ben around in the halves makes sense, especially when you consider the reported $275,000 price tag and $200,000 pay cut he is said to have taken.

You don’t want to lose Adam Reynolds and Hunt in the same year.

Hunt is a good leader within that group and can help them prepare for the future because at the end of the day there are two young halves there that they are trying to transition in Jonah Pezet and Tom Dufty.

I think it would be taking too much experience out of that room if you got rid of both of them.

Sure, some people will look at those two along with Ezra Mam and the string of options Brisbane have at hooker, from Billy Walters and Cory Paix to young Blake Mozer, and question how Hunt is even going to consistently get on the field enough to justify it.

But you can’t look at it in isolation of who’s starting and how it’s going to work.

You need to look at it as a halves or hooker room. You need to have multiple halves and hookers that can contribute and you’re going to be lucky to be able to get through the year with your starters healthy.

To be able to have someone Ben Hunt’s experience, I think it’s a smart decision.

As for the money? It’s absolutely nothing.

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 09: Ben Hunt’s extension raised some eyebrow.sSource: Getty Images

In fact, the Broncos should be happy that he’s taking it. They should consider themselves lucky that Ben Hunt wants to continually show up, set a standard for these young guys and play on that much.

Having him return and signing Dane Gagai is absolutely ideal for them.

Dane’s a mature, competitive person that has a high training standard and has played at a high level.

He’s hungry for success. He’s perfect.

I think it’d be really nice for some of these guys that haven’t had success to see the way that Dane Gagai competes and the professionalism he presents every single day.

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WHY WALSH IS READY FOR HIS MOMENT

On a sad note, it was tough to see this be the way Luke Brooks’ 2026 season ended.

He was playing the best rugby league of his career and thriving under Kieran Foran and alongside Jamal Fogarty, who was doing the bulk of the organising and freeing Brooks up to play a simple game that suited his strengths.

But for similar reasons, I think this now presents a perfect opportunity for Joey Walsh to kickstart his NRL career without as much pressure.

One strong attribute in his game is his game management, his kicking and his ability to get the teams around the half. I think it’s actually good that the onus and full responsibility is not on him to have to do that with Fogarty alongside him.

It allows him to start his career by defending well, looking after one edge attacking wise and supporting — which are all things that Foran mastered in his career.

It’s a very similar role to the one Kieran played with Daly Cherry Evans too. Cherry-Evans kicked the team around and Kieran really had some limited responsibilities and he was able to execute at a really high level.

Add in the fact Foran only started his NRL career young and it’s invaluable to have that reminder of where the compass needs to be directed from a coach who has been there before. There is no better mentor for Walsh than Foran right now.

It’s now the perfect opportunity for Joey Walsh to kickstart his NRL career.Source: Getty Images

WHY YOUNG IS THE MAN FOR DRAGONS

Moving on to a few coaching situations, let’s start at the Dragons.

They don’t sound like they are any closer to settling on a long-term replacement for Kyle Flanagan.

Results under Dean Young haven’t been great on the surface either.

But you’ve got to look beyond simple wins and losses.

For example, one thing as a coach that’s really important is being able to attract talent, right? I feel like that in itself, as much as it’s important for Young to get results from the board, the ability to attract players it is a massive box kick.

That should be taken into consideration when trying to appoint the next coach.

Scott Drinkwater, Phillip Sami, Luke Metcalf and Connor Watson. It’s quite the impressive list of players who have signed while Young has been interim coach.

Keaon Koloamatangi is on his way to the Dragons too after signing in January, but there’s been no talk of him backing out of that deal.

Young has been able to get these players to sign and that’s already one tick that other potential coaches can’t get because they’re not doing the job right now.

A second string to his bow is the fact that he’s been able to experience different phases at a club.

Sometimes players move clubs and don’t get to experience different periods within their career.

They may only experience rebuilds. They may only experience success.

For those who are lucky enough to only know wins, they may not realise what came beforehand to set up all that success.

After all, it’s a very different style of play.

It’s a lot more structured.

It’s a lot more reliant upon existing leaders and their style of play.

I feel that, as a player, he’s been through those different phases and I think that will then help him as a coach.

Dean Young has done enough to earn the Dragons’ full-time head coaching role.Source: Instagram

He learned plenty during his playing days too under Nathan Brown.

That started with the ability to bring emerging young talent through.

Remember Luke Bailey, Matt Cooper, Mark Gasnier, Ben Creagh, Beau Scott and Ben Hornby among others.

He understands the different phases a club can go through. Where things are at now and how they need to be coached.

He also appreciates the need to focus on the skill element of the game. Putting young players in multiple positions to give a well-rounded understanding of the game.

He knows what these young players need now, and then into the future.

All in all, I think he’s doing a great job with what he’s got.

A lot of the changes that he’s been able to implement culturally, such as the different scheduling, have been really important changes.

I only had dinner with the playing group a few weeks ago before the Knights game.

They seem really connected. There is a real focus on tradition.

The club has its own feeling about it. A very Dragons feel. It’s no surprise considering the interim coach.

But maybe at some point it’ll be time to shed that interim tag.

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THE TOUGH ROSTER REALITY FOR RYLES

Finally, what do you make of the Eels and Jason Ryles?

It’s a hard one.

I can’t help but wonder whether Ryles would have been the next head coach at the Melbourne Storm.

He has presented and conducted himself as a coach where there’s a lot of potential there.

He’s been able to show that he can bring a different edge and style to his game plan.

When it’s working, it is a perfect combination of both focus on your defence and effort areas, but paired with a real explosive style of attack.

I’ve been lucky enough to work at the Knights when Nathan Brown was the coach.

It’s close to the style he liked to play, particularly in attack.

It’s different layers of attacking shape, it’s promoting that ball movement. It’s high risk with your attack, but when you’re able to piece the two together with really disciplined and aggressive defence and a high octane style of attack, it’s really exciting to watch.

It’s even a style of footy that matches how the Roosters played under Brian Smith around 2010 during Ryles’ time at the club.

You can see what he’s trying to do but unfortunately due to injuries and just depth of squad he just hasn’t been able to build any consistency with what he’s trying to do.

That is only going to be harder to change too with Perth and PNG coming into the league.

If you haven’t got that good foundation of players or enough quality depth, it’s hard to just create that out of nowhere.

At least Mitch Moses is there. Isaiah Iongi is a gun too. It is about getting the experience and depth around them.