Ben Hunt

And by avoiding surgery, Hunt said he was an outside chance of making a remarkable return in time for the Anzac Day blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters.

The star No 7 has always been respected for answering tough questions after losses, and the Dragons faithful no doubt admired the courage he showed last Friday night in the middle of WIN Stadium when clearly in pain.

Hunt told the Sydney Morning Herald he would remain in a moonboot for the next few weeks, and medicos were backing him to pull on the Red V again in four to six weeks.

The Australian playmaker had a promising outing in St George Illawarra’s 24-18 win over English Super League side Hull FC in a pre-season friendly at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

In his 70 minutes on the field, Hunt kicked well and went within centimetres of setting up tries for Tim Lafai and Jeremy Latimore with his boot.

The Brisbane utility will link with Paul McGregor's men in 2018 after signing with the Red V in January but for now he has unfinished business with the Broncos – starting with Friday's clash against the desperate Dragons. 

It is a strange scenario for Hunt, with a loss for the ninth-placed St George-Illawarra set to all but end their top-eight hopes. 

But the 27-year-old is firmly focused on securing a Broncos victory that would almost guarantee Brisbane a top-four finish. 

Hunt, who was meant to start the game at hooker, was switched to the bench an hour before kick-off, with Bennett wanting to field the strongest defensive line-up possible during the first 20 minutes of the match.

It meant Sam Thaiday played majority of the first quarter of the clash in the hooking position, shoring up Brisbane's defence as the Titans put together set after set on the Broncos' line.

Hunt suffered the injury in the 49th minute, limping off the field after crashing over for a controversially disallowed try. 

If the pain of having a four-pointer denied wasn't enough, Hunt soon realised something wasn't right with his body. 

Hunt's heroics were not enough, with the Broncos falling 21-20 to the Cowboys in another exhilarating golden point contest at Suncorp Stadium. 

Despite the loss, there are positive signs for Brisbane and their fans, with Hunt putting in an inspiring 80-minute performance. 

After receiving a lot of criticism during the week about his poor kicking performance in Round 1, Hunt bounced back in a big way and sent a message to his critics. 

Hunt will leave Red Hill at the end of the 2017 NRL season after signing a five-year deal with the St. George Illawarra Dragons. 

Some have questioned the motives surrounding the halfback's move, but Parker moved quickly to support his ex-teammate.