Hunt reveals key to solving Dragons halves issue

St George Illawarra Dragons halfback Ben Hunt has revealed the adjustments he has to make if his partnership with five-eighth Kyle Flanagan is going to work.

Hunt featured against the Rabbitohs for 40 minutes in a dire opening half of the Charity Shield with the score 6-6 at the break thanks to late tries from Jacob Host and Mikaele Ravalawa.

The opening stanza was the first chance Dragons fans had to see the new-look combination for the club, after former five-eighth Junior Amone was deregistered over an off-field incident.

Without setting the world on fire, the Dragons showed promise in the first half and Hunt believes it’s on him to ensure his new partnership grows.

Ben Hunt and Kyle Flanagan featured in the halves together for the first time.

“I think for me, I’ve probably got to learn to trust him a bit more to get us around, he’s a bit more of a halfback, Kyle, and he can call direction and get us around,” he told Fox League.

“So I’ve got to, not take a back seat, but have faith he can do that as well and I can play off that.”

After the first half, and the interchange of a number of players, the Rabbitohs managed to take control over the Dragons with Braidon Burns scoring a second-half double.

Davvy Moale and Richard Kennar also earned themselves four-pointers to deliver the Rabbitohs a 28-6 victory.

The win makes it two Charity Shield victories in a row for Souths, having defeated the Dragons 42-24 last year.