Fletcher Hunt discussion

Yeah I've never doubted that he had something. I was a big fan when he came on the scene in SG Ball, but that was as a five-eighth, and one that I viewed more as a playmaker than a ball runner. Because of that I had a hard time viewing him as a winger and still do to some extent. Even right now I have an easier time picturing him as a centre, or five-eighth or maybe even lock in a few years than I do a week-to-week winger. Jack Wighton is the comparison I've had for him since back then, and he also had a weird period early in his career where it was clear he was a player, just not clear what role he best suits.

Last year he was playing before he was ready. I think anyone could acknowledge that. He routinely got monstered on yardage runs, and for every highlight reel play he pulled off (which were impressive every time) there were several more where he looked a long way off being NRL ready. He signed a new deal right after debuting which doesn't put him in the top 30 until next year, for reference, so even the Knights knew that.

Yesterday was definitely his best all-around performance so far.
 
I'd say the only guy I can compare his meteoric rise with is Timana Tahu.

Timana was a kid who came to Newcastle for school from, Bourke I think, and he went from a guy who played a bit of bush footy to firstgrade in a few years.

Reading the article about De Courcey in the Herald, he says the rise of Hunt to firstgrade inspired him to keep working hard. He made the point that Hunt wasn't even part of their SG Ball side in the early rounds 2 years ago, but came in and kept rising through the grades, and De Courcey describes Hunt as a regular firstgrader now.

For perspective, De Courcey and Hunt are the same age and we picked up De Courcey as an Australian Schoolboys rep who had done years in the Penrith system, and Hunt as a country kid who was playing juniors in far west NSW.

You can actually see Hunt improving from game to game.

You never know when a young player will reach their peak, but I'd say Hunt is a long way off it. He basically still has red P plates. As he said in a post game interview a few weeks ago, he's just following the guys who know what they are doing.
 
Seriously, this kid is the most over-rated / over-hyped player in the NRL. He makes error after error every week.

We need Best back ASAP...
 
Defender1 said:
Not at all. outside of his first half last week he's been average. He let's us down with dropped ball, bad reads in defense, and errors every week.
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He has also made some great reads in defence over multiple weeks and has been good in attack. He isn't the first player to make mistakes mate and he wont be the last.
 
For god’s sakes he’s a kid on a development contract, not even Top 30, who’s been thrown in to cover KP and Best, when he was probably not expecting to play much first grade at all this year

He was targeted heavily today by the best team ever. He’s not the first to have a game like that against Penrith and certainly won’t be the last. He put 3 tries on SOO centre last week, that’s not nothing

Maybe reserve some criticism for the middles that allowed Edwards to stroll through untouched 3 times in the first 20 mins because that’s where the game was lost
 
Mclovin said:
He has also made some great reads in defence over multiple weeks and has been good in attack. He isn't the first player to make mistakes mate and he wont be the la
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Would agree if it was the odd error, but it's multiple errors every week. Before today he had the 3rd highest rate of errors in the NRL, after today he'll be close to the highest. We can't afford to carry that kind of stat (we're not good enough at absorbing that level of pressure).

He needs to play some Cup and start to understand his game.
 
Newygirl said:
For god’s sakes he’s a kid on a development contract, not even Top 30, who’s been thrown in to cover KP and Best, when he was probably not expecting to play much first grade at all this year

He was targeted heavily today by the best team ever. He’s not the first to have a game like that against Penrith and certainly won’t be the last. He put 3 tries on SOO centre last week, that’s not nothing

Maybe reserve some criticism for the middles that allowed Edwards to stroll through untouched 3 times in the first 20 mins because that’s where the game was lost
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Fletcher Hunt was not the reason we lost today
 
Hopefully we have a few of our injured back this week and next so that players can be allowed to adjust in Cup and regain confidence.
Realistically Hunts best position is ext bench 18-19 or Cup, full squad not sure he is a starter in top 19
 
Newygirl said:
For god’s sakes he’s a kid on a development contract, not even Top 30, who’s been thrown in to cover KP and Best, when he was probably not expecting to play much first grade at all this year

He was targeted heavily today by the best team ever. He’s not the first to have a game like that against Penrith and certainly won’t be the last. He put 3 tries on SOO centre last week, that’s not nothing

Maybe reserve some criticism for the middles that allowed Edwards to stroll through untouched 3 times in the first 20 mins because that’s where the game was lost
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100% correct... You summed up the very reason's why Hunt is over hyped and not ready for NRL.
 
Defender1 said:
Would agree if it was the odd error, but it's multiple errors every week. Before today he had the 3rd highest rate of errors in the NRL, after today he'll be close to the highest. We can't afford to carry that kind of stat (we're not good enough at absorbing that level of pressure).

He needs to play some Cup and start to understand his game.
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Two things can be true at once, yes he is making a lot crucial errors and his net contribution to the outcome of the game is probably in the red, for that reason.

But its also true that he has plenty of footy in him and is likely to learn how to reduce the errors. What we'll have left over is a first grader worthy of the hype they're currently getting
 
I think the issue with Hunt is he doesn’t learn from his mistakes

On numerous occasions he got taken into touch trying to take on the defenders on the outside. He has improved a lot from last season, but still has a lot more improving to do. There is a good first grader there if he matures quickly

On a side note:
He isn’t the only one that isn’t learning either. Almost every bomb that was put up, we dropped. They just don’t seem to understand how to defuse them and with every drop you could see the confidence draining. Poor Schiller couldn’t catch a cold

The big issue for me with the team as a whole is they play like a Toyota cup under 21’s side, trying to score off every play. Not willing to get into the grind of the game and the defence seems optional. Get the defence right and we have enough attack to do the rest or at least defend your errors
 
He was completely shot by the end of the day. Yes we had other bad performers but he played like Paul Carige and Greg Smith’s uncoordinated love child.

He makes errors every week in addition to some good things but he did nothing but make errors yesterday. A stint back in Cup is the best thing for him and the team.
 
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