Is Jack Hunter Hartlepool United's most underrated player?

Indeed, such has been Hunter's reliability, assuredness and composure of late that it's possible to make a compelling case that he is now Hartlepool United's most underrated player.

True, the 28-year-old might not be the most spectacular performer to have ever graced Victoria Park - Hunter has scored once in 57 appearances, finding the net on his debut against Yeovil Town in August 2024 - but the midfielder has rarely put a foot wrong since being brought back into the fold by Featherstone.

Hunter signed for Pools in the summer of 2024, becoming part of then-manager Darren Sarll's drive to recruit more players with links to the local area as well as with reputations for reliability and robustness.

Having been born in the North East, Hunter came through the ranks at Newcastle before spending time at the likes of Gateshead, where he helped the Heed win the National League North title in 2022, and Blyth Spartans.

After winning promotion to the National League with Gateshead in his second spell with the Heed, Hunter sealed a move to Halifax Town and it was in West Yorkshire where he would really establish himself as a midfielder renowned for his defensive acumen and ball-playing prowess.

During a successful spell at the Shay, Hunter was part of the Halifax side that won the FA Trophy in 2023, starting in the final at Wembley as they edged out his former team Gateshead, and finished in the National League play-off places the following year. In all, Hunter amassed 77 league appearances in West Yorkshire, scoring once.

Hunter sealed a move back to the North East in July 2024, becoming one of Sarll's first summer signings as Pools set about on an almost complete overhaul of their engine room.

Having allowed the likes of Tom Crawford and Callum Cooke to leave, with Featherstone stepping into a player-coach role, Pools focused on attracting midfielders with reputations as industrious, combative and robust competitors, also completing deals for Oldham Athletic's Nathan Sheron, Irishman Greg Sloggett as well as a loan move for Derby County's Darren Robinson.

Hunter made the perfect start to his Pools career, lashing home the winning goal on the opening day of the 2024/25 season and impressing in the early weeks of the campaign, producing a superb performance filling in at centre-half against Southend United after skipper Luke Waterfall was sent off.

Having started so well, however, things started to go wrong for Hunter and he was sent off following two quickfire yellow cards against Woking towards the end of August; Pools, who were two goals to the good, would go on to lose the game 3-2, their first defeat of what was to be a tumultuous campaign.

From then, Hunter found it difficult to rediscover his best form throughout large parts of an up-and-down first season at Victoria Park, struggling with an injury that saw him miss around two months of the campaign and finding himself in and out of the side.

Despite an indifferent debut season, Hunter did enough to secure a contract extension and there were high hopes that he might be able to emulate the form that made him so influential at Halifax ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Yet Hunter could hardly have endured a more challenging start to the season, falling from favour under new manager Simon Grayson.

With Grayson preferring the likes of Sheron, Jamie Miley and Bard Walker in the engine room, Hunter found himself well down the pecking order and was reduced to just one start and a handful of substitute appearances, even missing out on matchday squads altogether on several occasions.

Having featured just four times under Grayson, totalling a mere 88 minutes, Hunter was brought straight back into the fold after Featherstone, himself a former midfielder with a not altogether dissimilar style, took charge.

Since then, Hunter has been almost ever-present in the Pools side, with Featherstone full of praise for his recent performances.

It is perhaps in recent weeks that Pools fans have seen the best of Hunter, who has excelled while filling in at centre-back.

Despite having spent the lion's share of his career operating in a more advanced midfield role, Hunter looks especially comfortable at centre-back; although not the most dynamic, Hunter has the size and athleticism to thrive in the heart of defence while the deeper role allows him to see the whole game and dominate proceedings.

Indeed, Hunter's recent resurgence stands Pools in good stead for the future; already, Pools appear to have a strong core from which to develop their squad as Featherstone's side look ahead to what many fans hope will be an exciting new era. The future at Pools looks bright and Hunter, perhaps the club's most underrated player, looks to be at the heart of it.

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