Ben Hunt and the Dragons are reportedly locked in a standoff over a new deal for the veteran halfback.
While the 34-year-old was expected to sign a one-year extension earlier this season to keep him at the club until 2026, that deal never eventuated, with the No.7’s future in Wollongong now up in the air.
Speaking on Monday night’s NRL 360, veteran journalist Phil Rothfield indicated coach Shane Flanagan and the Dragons aren’t yet ready to re-sign Hunt beyond his current deal, which expires at the end of next season.
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“What we’re dealing with now is Ben Hunt wants to extend beyond 2025. Flanagan has said to him ‘I’m not ready to extend beyond ‘25. Let’s wait, do a good pre-season, see how you go the first four, five weeks next year and then talk,” Rothfield said on Monday night.
Rothfield said he spoke to Flanagan who confirmed the review with Hunt “didn’t go well” but insisted “it’s fine” between himself and his skipper.
Hunt, meanwhile, told Rothfield over text message he was “having a break and not ready to talk about the position.”
Hunt’s current deal expires at the end of 2025, meaning he is able to negotiate with new clubs from 1 November, a dynamic which The Australian’s Brent Read believes will complicate matters further.
“The issue will be if some other club comes in and says ‘we’ll give you a deal for ‘26, but you’ve got to get out in ‘25.’ And that’s when things will get messy,” he said.
However, Fox League’s Gorden Tallis believes the Dragons are making a smart move considering the halfback’s age.
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“It’s smart, isn’t it? To me Ben Hunt’s (an) amazing player, (he’s) done an amazing job under a lot of pressure at that club. He’s been a one man band, but he looks tired,” he said.
Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns weighed into the debate on Hunt’s future last week, declaring a move to the Gold Coast is a matter of when, not if, with the champion halfback expecting several dominos to fall in the coming months to facilitate the move.
“I’ve heard Sam Verrills may be going back to the Roosters… have a look at Brandon Smith, he won’t play until mid-next year,” Johns said on a recent episode of WWOS’ Freddy and the Eighth.
“That opens up the way for Ben Hunt to go to the Titans.”
Whether the club have the cap space to squeeze the 34-year-old into their roster is another question, though there is no doubt he would immensely improve Ben Hunt’s side.
Another potential destination for the veteran is the Sydney Roosters, who have a “war chest” to spend for next season after losing Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Joseph Manu and Joseph Sua’ali’i at the end of this season, while Sam Walker and Brandon Smith will spend a majority of 2025 sidelined.
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