St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt says Jack de Belin is one of the best NRL forwards he has played with as the Dragons lock prepares to make his rugby league return in reserve grade.
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Dragons players and coaching staff will be at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday to watch de Belin play his first game in two-and-a-half years against Western Suburbs.
It will be the first chance Anthony Griffin will get to have a close up look at his $3 million dollar forward, who has been subject to the NRL's no fault standdown since the start of 2019 while he defended himself against rape charges.
After two trials ended in hung juries, the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions formally withdrew charges this week, opting not to push through with a third trial, freeing de Belin to continue his rugby league career.
Should he play well in what is expected to be a 40-minute stint against the Magpies on Saturday, de Belin has a chance of making his NRL return against Brisbane next weekend.
The game has changed a lot while de Belin has been sidelined, but Hunt backs the 30-year-old to adjust quickly.
"It's definitely different," the Dragons skipper said.
"He's been out for a while now and there have been a lot of different changes that have come into the game.
"But Jack's a real professional, he always has been - and he always looks after himself and trains hard.
"He's a fabulous player and I think he'll adapt pretty well to the new way the game is."
De Belin trained with the NRL side in 2019 and 2020 under former coach Paul McGregor.
But once Griffin joined the club at the start of this season, he moved de Belin back to train with the reserve grade team to remove the distraction of his presence.
"I've had a bit of a chat with him and he's excited," Hunt said.
"It's a fair weight off his shoulders and he's excited to get on with his life and playing some footy. He's still been training the whole time he's been out.
"He adds a lot.
"Defensively he's one of the best forwards I've ever played with.
"The way he defends and in attack, he's got some halfback-like traits when he's got the ball in his hands."
Hunt said there's a sense of relief within the team now, knowing that de Belin is available to play whenever Griffin thinks he's ready.
"We've been behind Jack the whole way and everyone's been hanging on every time a bit of news has come, hoping that it's going to be good," Hunt said.
"We're finally there now and everyone's excited to have him back."
Australian Associated Press
