Billy Walters could be following his old man Kevin out the Brisbane exit door after the man who replaced his dad as coach, Michael Maguire, put the under-performing roster on notice.
Ben Hunt’s arrival from St George Illawarra means the Broncos have an armada of dummy-half options at their disposal and Maguire is adamant form will dictate who gets the No.9 jersey.
The team’s spine for Round 1 will be without Ezra Mam, who is likely to be banned for several weeks next season due to his recent off-field incident in which he tested positive for cocaine after he was involved in a crash in Brisbane.
That is likely to mean Hunt will slot in alongside Adam Reynolds in the halves but he could end up at hooker when Mam returns.
Maguire has Walters, rising star Blake Mozer, Tyson Smoothy and Cory Paix in his squad who are all gunning to start at hooker and the club is understood to be open to moving one or two of them on if they secure deals elsewhere.
When asked in a Courier-Mail interview about Walters’ position as the incumbent hooker being under threat, Maguire replied: “It’s competition. Billy Walters is a good player, but having Hunty gives me flexibility and some good thoughts on how we do things.
“It’s great because so much talent brings competition. It makes everyone better having competition around.
“Billy has done a great job for the club, but I will use that competition to get the best out of training days because the game is a reflection of what you do at training.”
Hunt has been a standout performer at Origin level for Queensland at hooker but resisted any attempts to switch to the position at club level during his stint with the Dragons.
Ben Hunt last played for the Brisbane Broncos in 2017. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
He rejoined the Broncos earlier this week where he played 187 games from 2009-17 before taking up a lucrative Dragons offer.
“To be able to finish my career at the Broncos is something that I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do and I’ll cherish it,” Hunt said.
“I’ve been away for seven years but I’ve watched every single Broncos game since.
“I never thought this would happen. The chance now to head back and chase that premiership together is a dream come true.”
Maguire has been handed a tough assignment to restore pride in the Broncos after they plummeted from runners-up to a lowly 12th last season with a 10-14 record, which led to Kevin Walters being given his marching orders.
He rejected claims that he had been training the team too hard despite vomit buckets being spotted at their gruelling off-season sessions as players push themselves to the limit.
Mam has been issued with a notice to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 16 and the NRL will determine the length of his playing ban after the five-eighth has appeared in court.
with AAP