After the retirement of Brisbane captain Darren Lockyer, Hunt was nominated alongside teammate Corey Norman to fill the vacant five-eighth position.

In round 7, against the Canberra Raiders, Hunt and Norman both got the chance to showcase their skills on the centre stage with regular halfback Peter Wallace a late withdrawal through injury.

Norman and Hunt didn't disappoint with the pair combining beautifully as the Brisbane side ran out 30-6 winners at Suncorp Stadium.

[16] After the Broncos stumbled at the back end of 2012, losing 7 of 10 games en route to the finals, Hunt found himself in the five-eighth role with Norman dropped to the bench following poor form.

Hunt found himself back on the bench as the Brisbane club were knocked out in the first week of the finals losing 33–16 against the North Queensland Cowboys.

He got his first opportunity in his preferred halfback role in the round 9 clash against Parramatta, as Scott Prince suffered an injury in the opening minutes of the game.

[18] Towards the back end of the season, Hunt secured the halfback position after Peter Wallace was benched and Corey Norman was dumped to the Queensland Cup for the rest of the year, scoring a try in his first game.

[22] Hunt played off the interchange bench and scored a try in the Kangaroos 18-22 Four Nations final loss over New Zealand at Westpac Stadium.

[24] In round 6, against the Sydney Roosters, Hunt scored 2 tries, one of them in golden point extra time, to win the match for Brisbane 22–18.

[26] On 4 October 2015, in the 2015 NRL Grand Final against the North Queensland Cowboys, Hunt played at halfback in the Brisbane's historic golden point 16–17 loss.

[43] On 28 January, reports came out about Hunt and Cameron Munster being involved in a punch-up in a night out in Darwin during the Kangaroos 2017 World Cup campaign after the 46-0 smashing victory over Samoa.

[44] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, Hunt made his club debut for the St. George Illawarra Dragons against his former team the Brisbane Broncos, starting at halfback where he was running riot against his old teammates and scored a try under the posts by intercepting a wayward pass from Brisbane prop Matthew Lodge in the Dragons' 34–12 victory at Jubilee Oval.

[46] Hunt was part of the St. George Illawarra side which qualified for the finals for the first time since 2015 finishing 7th on the table at the end of the regular season.

In week one, St. George Illawarra defeated Brisbane 48–18 in a shock victory at Suncorp Stadium with Hunt starring for the saints.

Parramatta legend Peter Sterling labelled it the "dumbest play of the year" the following day on Nine's Sunday Footy Show.

In the wake of St. George Illawarra's Round 18 loss against Penrith which ended in a 40–18 defeat, coach Paul McGregor came under intense criticism after he elected to rest Hunt from playing citing player welfare.

[49][50][51] In round 25 against the Gold Coast, Hunt scored 2 tries as St. George Illawarra won the match 24–16 in the final game of the season as the club finished a disappointing 15th on the table.

[citation needed] He made a total of 19 appearances for St. George Illawarra in the 2020 NRL season as the side finished a disappointing 13th on the table.

[57] Hunt captained St. George Illawarra for the second year, receiving praise for his consistent performances to start the season.

[61] Hunt placed third in the overall Dally M leaderboard for the year and was selected for the Australia national rugby league team following the end of the regular NRL season.

He also received the Dragons Player of the Year medal for the second consecutive season, acknowledging his stellar 2022 [62] On 6 October, Hunt signed a two-year contract extension to remain at St. George Illawarra until the end of 2025.

[65] In round 11 of the 2023 NRL season, Hunt played his 300th first grade game in St. George Illawarra's 42-22 loss against North Queensland.

St. George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb said in a statement to the media "“This decision was not easy and was not taken lightly, but we need to do what is best for the club at this time, after extensive discussions with Ben and his management, it became clear that this is the best path forward for both parties.