'We're turning the corner': Hunt on Dragons after his masterclass against Tigers

Hunt himself has played a big part in this turnaround, especially in the Dragons 56-14 hammering of Wests Tigers at WIN Stadium on Friday night.

The experienced halfback set up four tries and scored one himself in Wollongong, just 48 hours after scoring two tries in Queensland's 38-10 victory over NSW in the State of Origin series opener last Wednesday night.

Hunt was in a good mood following Friday's win, which saw the Dragons post more than 50 points for the first time since 2017.

"It's been a long time since we've had a score line like that. It's pretty enjoyable to get a game like that, especially at home in front of our fans," he said.

"They've been turning up for us through the hard times and to come home and get a good win like that, it's good to give back to them."

Hunt said the win was the latest sign that things were starting to turn the Dragons way.

"Not just now, I felt like it was starting to turn weeks ago," he said.

"There's a real change in the change room. There's a real good vibe, good energy around the place, everyone is really enjoying themselves. It's nice to be a part of."

Hunt conceded his views of the Dragons had changed dramatically in the months since he requested to leave the club.

"A lot's changed definitely. And that's just not on the football field," he said.

"There's a lot of things that have changed. Flanno has changed a lot of things off the field.

"It's a very positive environment, everyone's enjoying their footy, the staff are doing an excellent job and it's just a very good environment to be in.

"It has been a tough couple of years. I can't pinpoint exactly when we started to turn the corner, it's awhile ago .

"I'm just happy that the club can finally enjoy some good times and there's a lot of players there that have worked really hard for a long period of time and I'm happy that they're getting the joys as well."

St George Illawarra starting to expose their DNA:

Hunt and fellow Origin players Jaydn Su'A and Zac Lomax backed up and played brilliantly for the Dragons much to the pleasure of their coach Shane Flanagan.

Flanagan said almost immediately after Wednesday night's State of Origin game the trio contacted him to say they were desperate to play for the Dragons on Friday night.

And they all contributed greatly to the big win.

Hunt's contribution has already been mentioned while his Queensland team-mate Su'A got through a powerhouse of work for the Dragons against the Tigers.

But it was Lomax who truly excelled.

Just 48-hours after scoring a try on debut for NSW, Lomax broke St George Illawarra's long-standing points-record after the winger crossed for three tries and kicked 10 goals from as many attempts to finish with a personal tally of 32 points against the Tigers.

"It gives everyone else a boost when those players come back, especially our captain," Flanagan said.

"Also it just shows a little bit of respect we had for the opposition as well, that we weren't going to take it lightly, we needed those players to come back.

"I'd like to think that [the performance] is the club, where we are heading, and that's the standards we are starting to set. We started to expose our DNA and what we want to be and where we want to go.

"There's some steps, and we've taken some forward and we've gone backwards at a few different stages during the year, but we took another one forward today.

"That's the challenge going forward. Big one against Manly next week at Brookvale.

"I look at that as something that is exciting for us and we got to accept the challenge. It's a tough place to play but an enjoyable place to play."