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St George Illawarra star Ben Hunt says he feels for his former teammates at Brisbane but hopes they don't turn around their NRL form this week.
The backlash is as bad as it's ever been in Brisbane and few understand the pain of it better than their former NRL halfback Ben Hunt.
The St George Illawarra star played nine seasons with the Broncos and only missed the finals twice, but says the one-town, one-team mentality is brutal when success dries up.
But it's hardly been a carnival cruise at the Dragons this season either.
Just days after they parted ways with coach Paul McGregor, Hunt spoke of how much he feels for his former Broncos teammates but can't afford for them to turn thier wretched form around on Friday night.
Brisbane may be desperate to avoid unwanted first wooden spoon but the Dragons are doggedly holding onto their finals hopes.
"If things go bad up there everyone is coming off the back fence at you and having their say," Hunt said before their clash at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
"It's definitely a tough place to be when you're not going so well and I really feel for the guys with what's going on up there at the moment.
"I've still got a few good mates up there and they just can't seem to do anything right at the moment, if it's things off the field or injuries or blokes getting suspended.
"Hopefully they're not too good this week, but I hope it turns around for them."
The Dragons snapped a three-game losing streak with a tight win over premiership contenders Parramatta last weekend.
However, they are six points out of the top eight with six rounds to play.
In a boost, State of Origin prop Paul Vaughan will be free to join the Dragons from Wednesday after 14 days in isolation due to an NRL biosecurity breach.
It's expected he will be named in Dean Young's 21-man squad on Tuesday, but Vaughan will have just one session with his teammates should he be picked to play on Friday night.
"It's a bit tough for him at the moment, he knows he did the wrong thing and I'm sure this weekend he'll be able to make up for his mistakes for the team and the boys," Vaughan's fellow prop Korbin Sims said.
