Round 17 Talking Points: NRL needs to take a stance - Hunt drama shows 'very soft' contract system has to be fixed

The Ben Hunt standoff with St George Illawarra shows the NRL’s contract system and lack of a designated transfer window is not working and it’s all a bit of a shemozzle. 

I think that’s the issue for the game that needs to be sorted out amid all this drama. 

Fans are annoyed that we’re still having these conversations and contracts are been talked about and terminated or changed midstream. 

The game should be saying, listen, Ben, you’ve got a contract and you’ve got to that out for the remainder of this year and then you can renegotiate with the Dragons and you’re free to go if they release you.

I think there’s got to be some stance by the game otherwise anyone can do this kind of thing whenever they want. So what’s the point of that? That’s not good.

Ben Hunt. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The system needs to be fixed. Sending an email to three clubs who may have talked to Hunt about not inducing him to breach his contract, that’s not going to change anything. 

As a game, I think we’re pretty soft.

Teams are allowed to contact other players but can’t table an offer but that doesn’t stop them from doing that verbally and unless every conversation gets taped, they’re none the wiser as to what the deal would be or how it looks or how it gets done. 

The league is a bit scared of the powerful clubs and the managers and they’re not prepared to hammer them on this either. 

It’s a hard situation to understand with the St George Illawarra CEO saying they’re not going to give him a release and it looks like the following week they’ll let him go.

I don’t see how the Dragons come out of this any better even if they have a few salary cap dollars to spend the next couple of years. Players like Hunt aren’t just out there waiting to be picked up. 

People can argue that Hunt’s got a contract that he should honour and the club sacked Griffin when he was under contract and that’s all part of it. 

But Hunt looks like he’d made his mind up before Shane Flanagan was appointed as the next coach and his issue is more with the way the club has been run, especially Anthony Griffin getting sacked after he had re-signed.

Certain things have happened over the past few weeks that have led him to arrive at this point where he doesn’t want to be there anymore. So I don’t know if you can force someone to stay if they don’t want to be there. 

It’s not going to be a mutual agreement for them to part company. It’s a bit like a divorce where one partner wants out. It’ll just get messier the longer it drags on. 

If he ends up at the Broncos for the rest of this year that will be a huge bonus for them and if he signs with the Titans, that’s going to fit in nicely with Des Hasler coming on board so it wouldn’t surprise me if there have been discussions around that for a few weeks behind the scenes.

Titans sacking Holbrook a shock

The Gold Coast have not performed well in quite a few games this year when they’ve had big leads and collapsed in the second half and there were enough indicators there that something needed to change.

But I was shocked like everyone when the news came through on Thursday that Justin Holbrook had been sacked and Des Hasler was coming on board next year. 

It’s a ruthless profession and Holbrook losing his job again highlights the fact that it’s a sad indictment on the lack of support for coaches. A club can just punt someone mid-season and they’re out the door. 

Moeaki Fotuaika. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

There’s never a good way of doing it and the timing’s a bit odd. They’re on the fringe of the top eight and players in this situation can quickly become disillusioned with what’s going on because Holbrook was very close to them. 

They regrouped very well after all the turmoil on Sunday by upsetting the Broncos in Brisbane 18-12 and they’ve still got three or four Origin players so if interim coach Jim Lenihan can keep that intensity up, they could still possibly scrape into the playoffs.

Origin III a danger game for Blues and Maroons

The main factor I saw with Queensland’s dominance over NSW in Origin this series has been the confidence and the belief that Billy Slater has instilled in that Maroons team. 

Their preparation was spot on, they had the right people in the right roles and Billy has been really strong on what it means to represent Queensland. 

All the messaging coming out of their camp was really positive. Billy said he thought pre-game they could improve on Adelaide and that certainly be the case.

Previous successful Maroons teams would have a mantra of it doesn’t matter what the game plan is, what’s important is that we all believe in whatever it is. 

Origin is a different occasion to the NRL – that atmosphere in the ground and the support of the state, it’s almost a tangible thing if you’ve been in and around it and it makes people perform to their very best. 

The match itself, even as a Queenslander I thought NSW were unlucky in that first half – firstly with Tom Trbojevic tearing his pec and Damien Cook having to fill in for the rest of the game at left centre but the two Maroons tries were questionable at best.

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Valentine Holmes’ putdown was iffy and even the most one-eyed Queensland would admit David Fifita’s pass was forward in the lead-up to Murray Taulagi’s try. Cameron Smith thought it was line-ball on Nine’s commentary but I think he was the only one saw it that way. 

Queensland’s physicality across the board was stronger, particularly the back five. The way they brought the ball back into heavy contact was better and the Blues need to look at the likes of Dylan Edwards, Campbell Graham and Clint Gutherson for game three because of the way they always carry it up with intent. 

It’s a tricky situation for the Blues in that there’s a lot of talk about whether Origin III in Sydney will be Brad Fittler’s last game as coach. 

They need to select a team with one eye on the future but they still have to go with the 17 that they think will get the job done otherwise we’ve seen in the past these games can get ugly really quickly for the team facing a clean sweep. 

Whether it’s Fittler’s last game or not, they’ve got to have a bit of a plan around game three and what it means for next year, it’s more important than I think a lot of people realise.

In 2003, Cameron Smith came in for game three which was a dead rubber and it was a chance to build on what Queensland were putting in place for the next year.

I’m not saying Reece Robson is going to be the next Cameron Smith but I thought he handled his debut well and he looks like an Origin player so the Blues should stick with players like him who will be part of the future.

For the Maroons, they may not be quite as intense with their preparation, which is only natural, because the series result is no longer on the line.

In 2009, Queensland had won the series in two games and they relaxed a little bit and got beaten in the last one. 

I remember Mal Meninga the following year used that as motivation to make sure the preparation and the standards were just as high even though they were lucky enough to have another dead rubber in game three and they went on to sweep that series.

(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Panthers machine a sight to behold

The Penrith machine keeps on keeping on and the fact that they were able to take down Newcastle 20-12 on Saturday night even though they gave all five of their Origin stars a breather deserves plenty of praise.

They played the near perfect game, completing at 100% in the first half and only failing to get through four sets in the second half. 

In the end the eight-point scoreline probably flattered Newcastle and it was a worrying sign for them that they’ve lost to a depleted Roosters side and now the Panthers without their rep players in the space of a fortnight. 

It didn’t matter that Nathan Cleary was out injured and Penrith’s other NSW reps were sitting this one out. Whether it was Jack Cogger and Jaeman Salmon in the halves, Tyrone Peachey slotting into the centres or the forwards they brought in like Matt Eisenhuth, Luke Garner and Zac Hosking, they all did their job in the Panthers’ relentless style.

It’s a luxury for Ivan Cleary to have Dylan Edwards fresh at fullback through this time of year and then they’ve got probably the three most damaging middle forwards in the NRL this season in James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Spencer Leniu carving up teams through the middle.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Finals picture starting to take shape

It’s that time of year where the combined effect of injuries, rep footy and the grind is taking effect and a few teams are going backwards at a rapid rate of knots.

The Knights, Manly (especially now without Tommy Turbo for the rest of the year) and the Dolphins are starting to show plenty of wear and tear.

It’s hard to see too many of the teams outside the top eight at the moment challenging for a spot in the finals outside of the Roosters and Cowboys. 

On the flip side, the Warriors keep rising up the ladder and Parramatta are showing the benefits of being a playoff team the past few years.

They’re not necessarily the most flamboyant team in the comp but the Eels get the job done more often than not.

Melbourne are another team that fits into that category – they dominated the Sea Eagles on Saturday night even though Cameron Munster was crook after Origin.

North Queensland were inconsistent in the first couple of months but are building momentum now and are only a couple of wins outside the eight.

Their Queensland reps were outstanding on Sunday in the road win over South Sydney while Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater are stepping up more and more in attack so that Chad Townsend doesn’t have to carry a huge playmaking burden.

The Roosters’ chances have taken a hit after their 20-18 loss to Canberra on Sunday night but their win-loss record isn’t terrible at 7-8 and it only takes a few wins in a row with the logjam in the middle of the ladder for a team’s fortunes to change very quickly.