When Ben Hunt was knocked out in grand final, Reece Walsh was there to save him too

20 hours ago 1

Nothing was going to stop Ben Hunt from trying to earn redemption in the closing minutes of the grand final.

Not even a knee to the head, which knocked him to the ground and left him without much idea of where he was.

The Brisbane veteran was determined to make up for the mistake that proved so costly when the Broncos lost to the Cowboys in the 2015 grand final at the same stadium – and he was prepared to put his body on the line to do it.

With eight minutes to play, and already covering for Adam Reynolds, whose calf had given up on him, Hunt wrapped his arms around the legs of Ativalu Lisati. But Hunt got his head in the wrong spot, and the forward’s knee met the right side of Hunt’s head, knocking him to the ground, where he lay face down.

If anything was going through Hunt’s mind, it was to get up and play on. He stood up and staggered toward his teammates.

It was up to Reece Walsh to catch Hunt before he fell, with the Storm’s Ryan Papenhuyzen close behind. Both players were praised for their quick thinking.

Ben Hunt is assisted from the field after being caught by Reece Walsh.

The 80,000 fans at the stadium and the millions watching at home saw Walsh tell Hunt “stop, stop”, before holding his head to his shoulder.

Although unable to play the final minutes of the game, Hunt was conscious enough to see redemption play out from the sideline, righting the wrong of 2015.

“I’m just on top of the world,” Hunt said after the whistle had blown. “So much hard work for so many years. I never dreamt of coming back to this club and to give back here and to win a comp … it’s an absolute dream come true, it really is.”

For coach Michael Maguire, Hunt’s moment wasn’t dampened by not being on the field at the end, but made all the more special because of it.

“To be able to give him a hug after that – that was a special moment because I know what players go through,” Maguire said. “You know, they get beaten up at times ... But to see the smile on his face, and he’s just sitting in the change room there with the players with just a grin from ear to ear – so bloody unreal.”