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Message: [QUOTE="Super Freak, post: 2699506, member: 8536"] WAYNE Bennett has challenged Ben Hunt to step up as a dominant playmaker amid concerns the classy halfback lacks the last-play polish to deliver a Broncos premiership. Hunt is under pressure to steer Brisbane to victory against Souths on Thursday night after failing to dismantle a Roosters side last week that lost rival halfback Mitchell Pearce to injury. The Broncos No. 7 has had some outstanding games this season. Hunt is currently the NRL’s most prolific kicker with a whopping 9518 metres, leaving second-placed Daly Cherry-Evans (7002) in the shade with his raking clearing kicks. But Bennett believes there is scope for refinement from Hunt in terms of his game-management and the military-like execution that has made Cooper Cronk an Origin and Test playmaker. Broncos five-eighth legend Darren Lockyer was one of the code’s finest practitioners at closing out games. He believes Hunt’s efforts against the Roosters last week and the Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium will gauge his ability to win sudden-death finals for the Broncos. “This period is a good test for Ben’s self-belief that if the Broncos get into a winning position he can close a game out,” Lockyer said. “If Ben can do that, it would alleviate some doubts just within his own mind. “As good as he’s going, you need to conquer something to get that self-belief that you can do it consistently. “The Broncos have some big games coming up and if he can come out with a strong performance and get his last-tackle plays right, it will set him up for the finals.” On the eve of the Roosters clash, Bennett critiqued Hunt’s development in his second season as Brisbane’s chief shot-caller. When Pearce hobbled off after 16 minutes last Saturday night, Hunt had the chance to put the Roosters to the sword. But the Bondi club repelled Brisbane’s offensive raids, illustrating the challenges Hunt and halves partner Anthony Milford face in the playoffs. “Ben’s much improved but he’s still not where we want him to be,” Bennett said. “He has improved a great deal so hopefully over the next few weeks he can put the finishing touches on. “He has worked hard to finish our sets well but we need him to be as close to 100 per cent as he can be. “We’ve been learning that every day ... game management is what we have been doing for the past (24) weeks.” Hooker Andrew McCullough said it is vital for himself, Hunt and Milford to apply pressure to Souths with clinical execution. “Our last-play stuff is massive,” he said. “When we did it right against the Roosters, we were able to keep them down their end and build some pressure. “It’s something me and Benny will work on during the week, we need to fix that.” [URL="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/broncos-coach-wayne-bennett-wants-ben-hunt-to-step-up-as-a-dominant-playmaker/story-fnp0lyn2-1227498658993"]Bennett turns up the heat on Hunt[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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