McGregor goes into bat for halfback
ST George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has lashed out at critics of his star halfback Ben Hunt, saying the Queensland No.7 wasn’t the only player to blame for their Origin II defeat.
Hunt has been savaged in the aftermath of the Maroons’ series-deciding defeat, particularly during the crucial 10minute period when NSW were down to 12 men and he sent an early-tackle kick dead.
Former Maroons great Justin Hodges has already called for Hunt to be axed for game three, while ex-Queensland coach Mal Meninga is also believed to be in favour of moving Hunt to hooker.
But ahead of tonight’s NRL match against Parramatta, McGregor leapt to Hunt’s defence. He urged Hunt, widely considered one of the best buys of the NRL this season, to quickly respond against lastplaced Parramatta tonight.
“It’s important that Ben plays for his club, and he wants to play for his club,” he said.
“I think things are a little bit heavy-handed on a couple of things that happened on Sunday night.”