Hunt's special role in Madge's Broncos revolution as all-time ...

The biggest winner out of Ben Hunt’s move back to the Broncos is undoubtedly the club’s new coach Michael Maguire.

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After fighting tooth and nail to earn another shot in the NRL, Maguire got off to a horror start in Brisbane when his star No. 6 Ezra Mam fell foul of the law.

Mam, 21, is facing a lengthy suspension - potentially all of next season - after he allegedly injured several people in a car crash and then failed a roadside drug test.

It was looking almost impossible for Maguire to find a like-for-like replacement but two weeks later, the Dragons released Hunt in a bombshell move.

Maguire sprung into action as the Broncos joined cross-town rivals the Dolphins and the Roosters and Bulldogs in the race for Hunt’s signature.

After three long weeks, Maguire had his man and all of a sudden the coach who’d been stuck in the NRL wilderness just 18 months ago, had his hands on a premiership roster.

Maguire won a drought-breaking title at the Rabbitohs in 2014 but less than three years later he was sacked following a 9-15 season.

He then became New Zealand’s coach before returning to the NRL in 2019 to try and resurrect the Tigers, but it proved a disastrous stint and ended with another axing.

However, Maguire made steady progress with the Kiwis before producing a record 30-0 win over Australia in the 2023 Pacific Championships final, which led him to the NSW job.

Ironically, he then coached against Hunt and several Broncos stars in the Maroons side as the Blues produced a shock series win that ultimately landed Maguire back in the NRL.

Which brings us to the prized signing of Hunt, who rejoins Brisbane after seven years in Wollongong.

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Hunt will now take Mam’s place alongside Adam Reynolds to form the NRL’s most experienced halves pairing as the stars continue to align for Maguire.

To put the signing coup into perspective, after Hunt joined, the Broncos moved onto the third line of betting to win the competition next year - only behind Penrith and Melbourne.

“Ben has been a Bronco since he was 13. Since then, he’s proven himself at every level of the game,” Maguire said.

“He’ll bring us great depth and will be a wonderful fit for what we are building – not just on the field. He’ll play a big part in the culture we want to create together as a group.

“Like all of us, Ben wants to achieve success, and it would be incredibly special if he can do that back here at the Broncos, where it all began – these types of storylines don’t come up all that often in sport.”

But Broncos premiership winner Brent Tate believes Maguire was already putting the pieces in place at Red Hill before signing Hunt.

“Just listening to the players, I’ve been really impressed with hearing what (Reece) Walsh said about growing up and becoming a man and where he wants to take his footy career,” Tate told foxsports.com.au

“Even Reyno, the last couple of days, I think there’s a bit of a different language coming out of there to be honest. I don’t think it’s lip service, I reckon there’s a genuineness that’s been spoken over the last couple of weeks.”

Hunt added to that messaging on Tuesday when he remarkably revealed he’d watched every single Broncos game since leaving the club in 2017.

“This is very special. My heart was really always driving me back. To be able to finish my career at the Broncos is something that I’ll cherish,” he said.

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“It’s definitely a club that has meant a lot to me, I’ve been involved with the Broncos since I was 13.

“I’ve been away for seven years but I’ve watched every single Broncos game since I’ve been gone - I never thought this would happen, so I’m pretty excited.

“The chance now to head back and chase that premiership together, is a dream come true.”

Tate believes Hunt can provide the missing piece to Brisbane’s premiership puzzle and help deliver their first premiership since the one he played in back in 2006.

“It’s all there for them, a couple of clubs in that boat where you get them all rowing in the same direction and they’re certainly a club that can do it,” he said.

“Madge would be sitting back feeling like the luckiest man in the world but he’s also had to earn his way back in.

“He’s a really good story in himself, he was in the coaching wilderness and took a punt on taking on the Blues and did an awesome job there and had to go through the Kiwis before that. Everywhere he’s gone he’s done a really good job.

“As a coach, like footy players, you learn from your mistakes and you mature as the older you get and the more you understand.”

Tate believes Maguire will use his own experience to tap into the psyche of stars Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan, who were part of the lean years when their NRL careers started at the Broncos.

“He’s not unlike some of those Broncos boys in a way, like a Benny Hunt where he’s had to work for everything, it’s not come easy, it’s been a bit of a struggle,” Tate said.

“I think he’d resonate with a lot of those boys there.”

Another Broncos champion, Steve Renouf, believes the club have played a role in trying to build a narrative around Maguire’s arrival being a line in the sand.

After Kevin Walters was axed and Maguire was hired, Broncos’ favourite son Allan Langer was also moved on from his role as a trainer.

“The club are smart about how they do it, they made out that Madge made the call to get rid of Alfie after Kevvie left, but that call was made weeks before Madge got there,” Renouf told foxports.com.au.

“But it’s happened and I want the club to do well and the team to play better and I think it’ll work out well for them. They’ve been under the pump with Ezra so now it’s a great feeling for the club that we’ve got Benny Hunt.

“Keep Reyno out there and Payne Haas and there’s no reason we can’t be in the top four.”