Brisbane Broncos recruit Jaiyden Hunt will nervously await scans on an injured ankle to ascertain how long he will be sidelined for.
The forward, who made the switch from the St George Illawarra Dragons during the off-season and would have been in contention for a bench spot at Red Hill given the number of outs the Broncos have experienced since the end of 2023, will now be unlikely to be fit in time for the season opener after being helped from the field by teammates and medical staff during training on Wednesday.
Broncos recruit Jaiyden Hunt injured at training today. Will have scans on suspected ankle problem. pic.twitter.com/n03f9Ax6R7
— Pete Badel (@badel_cmail) January 31, 2024
The Broncos are yet to make comment or provide an update on the 25-year-old, who can play on the edge or in the middle and is set to provide the Broncos with increased versatility following the loss of Keenan Palasia, who could play both roles off Kevin Walters' bench in 2023.
The Broncos have also lost Kurt Capewell to the New Zealand Warriors and Thomas Flegler to the Dolphins out of their forward pack from the team who made the march to the 2023 grand final.
Hunt has played just 14 NRL games to this point, struggling to crack a permanent role in the Dragons' 17 after making his debut for the club off a train and trial contract during the 2021 campaign.
That said, seven of those games came last year in his best season to date and he will be hoping a fresh start can drag him into a prominent NRL role after impressing over his career at reserve grade level.
In better news for the Broncos, Adam Reynolds has returned to full training after going down with an ankle injury of his own last week.
Broncos training notes: Adam Reynolds is fine. Jaiyden Hunt helped off the field injured - not good for the backrow stocks. Staggs and Mariner on right side, and Cobbo and Oates on left. Jesse Arthars rehabbing his ankle. @10NewsFirstQLD @brisbanebroncos pic.twitter.com/JdimKzhFUL
— Ted Roker (@TedRoker) January 31, 2024
The veteran halfback was at one point seemingly in danger of missing the start of the season, but scans revealed only a sprain and after a week on the sidelines, he is now back to building fitness ahead of the season, although is likely to sit out both trials for the Broncos as they clash with the Cowboys and Sea Eagles before making the trip to Las Vegas to open their season against the Sydney Roosters.