Before that Hunt had a serious knee injury. So nut sure the would mean BHU gets a start over him. Hunt was turning into an excellent impact prop late in the year. I think they are both crucial if we are to be successful this year. But I still think Hunt will start.
Obviously the injury is a factor. Here's how the season went though...
- Rounds 1-6 Williams and BHU were picked ahead of Hunt and both played more minutes than him.
- Finucane and BHU were both injured in round 6.
- Round 7 both Tolman and Williams played more minutes than Hunt
- Round 8 Williams got hurt, and Tolman played more minutes than Hunt
- Round 9 Finucane returned. Hunt didn't play
- Round 10 Williams returned, but got injured again. Hunt played from the bench and got similar minutes to Tolman. Fifita didn't play.
- Rounds 11- 14 with the team missing all 3 of BHU, Williams and Finucane, Hunt became the starting prop, playing a little more than Fifita but always less than Tolman.
- Round 15-17 Finucane retuned. Hunt's minutes stayed consistent
- Round 18-19 BHU returned (from the bench). Hunt's minutes stayed consistent
- Round 20 Hunt started but got injured early and missed the following week
- Round 22 he returned and started. Played less minutes than everyone except Colquhoun
- Rounds 23-25 Toby was out. Hunt started and played his highest minutes ever
- Finals #1 he started and played his usual minutes (less than 30), but got another short stint when the game went to extra time
- He missed finals #2 injured.
What all of this tells me is that as the season went on, Hunt played his way ahead of Tolman and Fifita - but not anyone else. He wasn't a regular in the team until 3 middle forwards all got injured, and the only time his minutes went up was when Rudolf was out injured. In those same games BHU still played more than him.
Fitz wants to play a certain way, which dictates that a genuine prop is on the field for the opening 20. There were times in 2022 when Royce Hunt was the best choice to play that opening 20, but on average he played less than 6-7 minutes/game after the 20-minute mark. When everyone is healthy, he may still end up being the guy who wears the #10, but a healthy BHU is playing more minutes than him every time.