- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Brisbane Broncos are now odds-on to sign Ben Hunt for the remainder of the 2023 season, following the bombshell recent news the St George Illawarra captain wants out of the struggling club.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Broncos, where Hunt played 187 games between 2009 and 2017 including an infamous turn in the 2015 NRL grand final, will have the 33-year-old on their books as soon as Monday, with the Dragons set to release the wantaway halfback.
The report claims the Broncos are yet to make official contact with Hunt’s management, but with the NRL having warned clubs against breaching the league’s strict anti-tampering rules, will come to terms with the Dragons in coming days to finalise an immediate transfer.
However, the Tele also claim Hunt’s new Broncos contract will only be for four months due to salary cap concerns, and at the end of the season he will sign a two-year deal with the Gold Coast Titans.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said on Triple M during the week that they would love to have Hunt back at the club, if he became available.
Ben Hunt last played for the Brisbane Broncos in 2017. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“If he is officially on the open market it would be something we’d certainly look at,” Walters said.
“I know some clubs have pulled the trigger early. The Dragons, to my knowledge, are not interested in releasing Ben.
“He has obviously been a really good player here in the past and I’m sure most clubs would love to have Ben’s calibre of player and personality on their books.
“At this stage, we’ll sit back and see what happens with the process at the Dragons and be respectful of that contract without committing too much.
“I’m sure all the Queensland clubs, maybe with the exception of the Cowboys, would be interested in Ben’s services. You could throw Redcliffe in there as well.”
Hunt is reluctant to play hooker at club level despite excelling in the position for Queensland and the Kangaroos.
Adam Reynolds has the No.7 jersey nailed down at Brisbane but Hunt could be an experienced halves partner for him ahead of young gun Ezra Mam or a top-quality starting hooker if Walters shifts his son Billy to the bench utility role.
“We can’t talk to Ben about his current contract nor should we, nor will we,” CEO Steve Mitchell said on Thursday when he fronted the media to explain Justin Holbrook’s abrupt sacking and Des Hasler coming to the club next year.
“He hasn’t had a call from the club … He hasn’t called anyone at my club.”
Ben Hunt. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Tom Trbojevic’s Origin injury could open the door for the Sea Eagles to swoop on Roger Tuivasa-Sheck before he rejoins the Warriors next year.
Because Trbojevic suffered his season-ending pectoral tear on representative duty, Manly are allowed to claim salary cap dispensation to replace him on their roster for the rest of the year with a like for like replacement and RTS fits that bill.
Tuivasa-Sheck is on the outer in New Zealand rugby circles in the final year of his contract and is considered a rank outsider to make the All Blacks squad for the World Cup.
He has inked a deal to return to the Warriors next season but if New Zealand Rugby release him early, Manly could bring him back to the NRL this year before he again suits up in Auckland for the club where he won the Dally M Medal in 2018.
Manly coach Anthony Seibold said on Friday that RTS was the kind of player that they would be keen to bring in for Trbojevic under the likely scenario that he has played his last game for 2023.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is tackled by Japan’s defence while representing the All Blacks. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)
“Certainly there’s a number of names that we could look at and I’m sure he would be one of them,” he said. “I don’t want to be presumptuous. We will have a look at what we can do.”
Manly are rallying around Trbojevic after scans confirmed the fullback had torn his right pectoral muscle during Wednesday night’s State of Origin II.
If he requires surgery, the Sea Eagles fullback faces a minimum 12 weeks of recovery once the muscle is reattached.
Seibold said Trbojevic has the team’s backing as he faces another tough injury period. “I really feel for him,” Seibold said. “I wasn’t shattered for myself, or the club. I was shattered for him.”
“It’s unfair that he has to go through what he’s going through but I just know that he’ll come out the other side and we’re here to support him.”
Trbojevic’s torn muscle is just the latest in his long history of injuries, ranging from chronic hamstring issues, a 2019 tear in his left pectoral and recurring shoulder problems.
Since his debut in 2015, Trbojevic has spent more than 80 weeks in the casualty ward, attracting intense scrutiny.
Seibold hopes the public treat the 26-year-old with compassion. “Tommy needs a bit of support because there’s constant speculation about his health with regards to his injuries and I don’t think that’s necessarily good for anybody,” he said.
“He’s the highest character, great integrity and work ethic. I’m not over-exaggerating – he prepares like an Olympic athlete.”
Tom Trbojevic. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Trbojevic’s injury has cast a shadow over the remainder of the Sea Eagles’ season.
Sitting 12th on the ladder, Manly’s track record without their star man at the back has been fraught and they face a tough task against the third-placed Storm in Melbourne on Saturday night.
In the lead up to Origin II, Trbojevic and Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans missed last week’s clash against Parramatta in which the Sea Eagles were thrashed 34-4.
“There’s two ways we can think about it,” Seibold said. “(Feel) sorry for ourselves about not having Tom for the rest of the season, or give someone else an opportunity and we go again. We’ve handled (Trbojevic’s absences) well, and at different times not so well, but we feel, as a group, at our very best.”
In better news, Manly are set to get Trbojevic’s brothers Ben and Jake back from injury next week as well as centre Brad Parker and second-rower Kelma Tuilagi.
with AAP
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.