The Dragons have knocked back Ben Hunt’s request for a release with the Queensland star told he would need to honour the remainer of his contract at a meeting on Monday morning.
St George Illawarra officials met Hunt and his manager where, according to a club statement, “he shared the concerns and frustrations that led to his recent request for a release from his contract”.
Dragons CEO Ryan Webb was confident Hunt would now stay despite the Broncos and Titans waiting in the wings to sign him for the rest of this season and the next two years.
“The club listened to Ben’s concerns and is committed to working with him throughout the remainder of his playing contract as both Ben and the club share a common goal of winning football games and building a successful football club,” said Webb.
Hunt was quoted in the statement as saying: “I appreciated the open and honest discussion and will continue to work alongside the club and now focus on our game against the Sharks this Thursday night.”
Ben Hunt. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The Dragons copped a 48-18 flogging at WIN Stadium on Friday night at the hands of the Warriors.
In the wake of the Dragons’ coaching upheaval, with Shane Flanagan replacing Hunt’s close confidant Anthony Griffin from 2024, the veteran halfback wants to move home to Queensland.
He had been linked with an immediate switch to the second-placed Broncos, who first scouted him as a teenager and turned him into an established NRL player across 187 first-grade games.
Contracted with the Dragons through 2025, Hunt could not see a path to premiership success at the joint venture and was poised to provide the Broncos with an immediate sugar hit at hooker on the run to the finals.
The Dragons had already formally denied his release request earlier in the month.
Hunt’s Origin duties had previously delayed in-person talks so Monday’s meeting in Wollongong was the first time his management was able to to discuss the matter with the club executives.
During the meeting, the Dragons listened to Hunt’s frustrations but reiterated their stance on his release request.
The club believe they will retain Hunt for the remaining two-and-a-half years of the new contract he signed last October.
Retaining Hunt is a significant boost for a Dragons side aiming to start afresh under premiership-winning coach Flanagan.
They are in the midst of their longest finals drought as a joint venture, having last played in the post-season in 2018, and are languishing in last spot on the ladder through 17 rounds.
They have been dogged by off-field scandals in recent seasons – most notably the 2021 COVID-19 barbecue breach – but Hunt has been a shining light through the lean years.
He is their only current Origin representative and finished third in the Dally M Medal rankings last year.
With Hunt seemingly off the table this year, the Broncos will back Billy Walters and Cory Paix to marshal the middle of the park from dummy-half as they hunt their first premiership since 2006.
with AAP
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Tigers have been very public about chasing Braydon Trindall, despite Trindall being contracted to the Sharks until the end of 2025. Yet there is no public outrage and FA from PVL
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
I remember that, and while none of us are privy to the conversations behind closed doors, it didn't seem like he had any major issues with the Broncos and the way it was run or he was treated. He wanted more money. When he came to the realisation he wouldn't get it, he sucked it up. I couldn't say for certain, but I expect he realised he was actually pretty happy at the Broncos. Hunt isn't after more money, it's all about not wanting to be at the Dragons. Things could change with the new coach, but it's still the same board that didn't turn up to his 300th game celebrations.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Panthers vs Broncos GF
KenW
Roar Rookie
Hunt's situation is not the same as other potential mid-season signings though - regardless of whether we agree or disagree with them. They are almost universally players who are nearing the end of a contract, able to negotiate and usually have already signed elsewhere for the next season before asking for an early release request. Hunt has 2 and a half years left on contract and is unable to negotiate elsewhere. It would have been extraordinary if the Dragons had allowed him to join anyone else mid-season.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Such a beat-up. The CEO and members of the board travelled to his 300th game in Townsville but didn't get back up to the Gold Coast a few days later. The club put it on there rather than in Sydney in deference to Hunt getting more family/friends there. No crimes were committed here.
mushi
Roar Guru
You can also understand why someone might want out. I'm actually a bit worried westpac pulled the sponsorship as that seemed to be the only thing that changed behaviour
danwain
Roar Rookie
Sad state of affairs
KenW
Roar Rookie
I don't see any way his last game is rd 25 2025. Firstly because it's likely that he'll be gone well before that. But if he is there at the back end of 2025 I doubt they'll leave him out of the grand final team!
Rossi
Roar Rookie
I don't think they could win it with him even
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Payne Haas did the same, Broncos said no and now its all good
jammel
Roar Rookie
I agree on taking a stance on contracts. In NRL and also in the EPL! Hunt should stay at STG given he signed the contract imo.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Yep, There’s a still a long way to go to
Renegade
Roar Guru
:laughing: Dan, You know it must be bad when a sharks fans is showing sympathy towards the dragons mate!
mushi
Roar Guru
Yeah hanging tough on one of the guys who showed up to the awards ceremony is a line in the sand. Homophobia, okay with that Explicit child material, give us a few months to form a view "Female issues", all he's guilty of is being a bad person... Who is our captain because we respect bad people Covid restrictions? Let me check under the bed for our future captain Peds? Yes please Cap "plausible deniability", let me get some of that
Nick
Roar Rookie
I am still hoping Hunt comes to the Broncs this year, mostly so we can finally close this loophole. Players should only be able to play for one team every season or we need a much more robust system to deal with this. Basically, you have a problem with it all unless the Broncos benefit. Ok...
KenW
Roar Rookie
No they are looking after the Dragons. I agree that it doesn't make much sense to try to hold on to Hunt long-term if he doesn't want to be there. Will be surprised if there's not an off-season move. Short-term though, it simply wasn't tolerable to grant an immediate release. People are comparing this situation to other mid-season moves likeTPJ or Josh Kerr (who the Dragons just let go for the Dolphins). It's actually very different though, these players had already signed elsewhere for the following season - they had already had permission to negotiate, had made a deal elsewhere and were now just requesting an early exit. Allowing a club captain to suddenly exit mid-season (while away in Origin camp no less), with 2 and a half years on his contract and no permission to negotiate elsewhere is a whole different ball-game.
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
Somehow I don’t think the Dragons are thinking about what’s good for other clubs. Their responsibility is to the Dragons. As for Hunt, it does matter if he wants to be there or not. Even a small loss of motivation can make a big difference to performance, no matter how hard a person tries. But sporting clubs are built on passion. His team mates know he doesn’t want to be there and that will almost certainly impact on team harmony and their performance. What about the fans? Some will be happy they took the hard line, but at the same time they won’t be happy with Ben Hunt. Every time he makes a mistake they’ll blame him for not being committed to the team, for creating disunity. Sometimes you have to try and make the best out of a bad situation. I just don’t see that this is the best outcome for the Dragons.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
But even then, they can and do insert clauses to induce levels of acceptable effort.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
In pro sports coaches get sacked if they are doing a poor job. In fact its the third straight club Hook has been hooked by
KenW
Roar Rookie
I can only speak for myself but I don't think Hunt is a villain for requesting a release. I just didn't like the circus he (or his management on his behalf) created around it. But these things are not the same anyway. Hunt is not a naive child that was railroaded into signing a contract late last year, he knew what he was agreeing to and was being handsomely rewarded. Hook similarly knew that he was signing a contract where the club could terminate him at any time, and would have been able to negotiate his severance packet. These are separate agreements that both freely entered into, with full understanding of their commitments and the commitments of the club.