‘He did the right thing by me’: Ben Hunt thanks Reece Walsh for special GF moment as veteran playmaker exorcises his demons

Broncos superstar Reece Walsh produced countless moments of magic to end his side’s premiership drought on Sunday night, but it was a selfless act without the ball that highlights how he’s grown on the field this year.

With eight minutes to go and the Storm desperately scrambling to score, veteran playmaker Ben Hunt was knocked senseless while attempting a tackle.

Hunt remained on the ground and then got up stumbling towards the sidelines before Walsh and Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen realised something was wrong.

Walsh got to him first and held him up to prevent him falling over and doing more damage, with Hunt eternally grateful for that moment of kindness to go with the dazzling attack and desperate defence from the fullback that won them the game.

“It was one of those strange ones where you get hit flush, but when I was stumbling, I was aware the whole time but I couldn’t get my legs back under me,” Hunt told the NewsWire.

“Walshy came over to me and I was sweet straight away, but it obviously wasn’t a good look.

“He’s a special player, but Reece has also got a big heart for his teammates. He did the right thing by me.

“He’s on another level at the moment. We’re not in the grand final without him and we don’t win it without him.”

It’s a good thing Hunt remembers exactly what happened on Sunday night given he finally completed his redemption arc a decade after his costly error in the 2015 decider which led to a Cowboys field goal in golden point.

Hunt lived with that moment for 10 long years where he had to answer question after question about the knock on from the kick-off.

But he can finally move on, with the 35-year-old emotional that he could live out a childhood dream at the club where he debuted back in 2009.

“It means everything,” he said.

“Your whole career is you playing to win a premiership. It’s taken me 355 games to get one with all the hard yards, the pre-seasons and going home to a sad family after losing big games and grand finals.

“It means the world to me and it’s something they can’t take away from me.”

Winning a comp at the Broncos seemed unlikely once he moved to the Dragons on a lucrative deal in 2018, but he was never truly happy at the Red V which culminated in a messy exit last year that brought him back home.

“Once I got out of the Dragons, there really wasn’t another option of where I was going to go,” he said.

“I love this club. They gave a lot of time to me when I was younger so I wanted to come back and repay them any way that I could.

“It turned out we won a premiership.”