Shane Flanagan has labelled Ben Hunt’s sly dig at his halves partner “a little bit frustrating”, with the Red V coach opening up on his halfback’s contract saga.
Hunt commented earlier this month that Clint Gutherson, who has been given permission to depart the Eels, could prove to be his halves partner if the Dragons land their top target.
Speaking to the SMH, Flanagan admitted that claim angered him, with his son Kyle the current five-eighth who partnered Hunt for the majority of the season.
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When asked if the comment was a direct sledge, Flanagan said: “I’m not quite sure. Maybe Kyle moves to halfback and he was insinuating that he wouldn’t be here.
“I’m not quite sure which way he was going with that one. I’ll talk to Ben about that.
“I’m not going to speculate on if he was having a shot at someone or whether he was speculating that he wouldn’t be here. It was a strange one and a little bit frustrating, to be honest.”
Flanagan also revealed the club had sat down with Gutherson, who will reportedly make a decision on his future in the coming days.
Hunt’s contract status has been a major talking point following the 2024 season, with a post-season review reportedly leaving the Origin star disgruntled.
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He’s contracted until the end of the 2025 season, and has reportedly been given permission to negotiate with rivals before he becomes a free agent come November 1.
What’s more is Hunt’s future at the club will reportedly be decided by his performances to start the 2025 season, with the Dragons refusing to hand him an extension for the 2026 season as it stands.
So is there any ill feeling between Flanagan and Hunt?
“I don’t see any issues there, to be really honest. I’m comfortable with my relationship with Ben. The club’s made a decision,” Flanagan said.
“We just move on. He’ll be back at training. I haven’t got the exact date, but it’ll probably be early January. So we just move on.
As for Hunt’s disappointment regarding the Dragons decision to not hand his an extension, Flanagan claimed there could be some confusion.
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“Yeah, probably it could be a little bit of my fault. I said to Ben at some point we’ll talk about ’26. As the season went on there were other priorities and Ben got put on the back burner,” he said.
“I can understand his frustration… I’m hoping Ben has a cracking season next year and we’re looking at extending him.
“That would be the perfect scenario, wouldn’t it? Whether that’s going to happen or not, I don’t know.”
Flanagan also pointed to Hunt’s age, with the 35-year-old potentially edging closer to the end of his NRL career.
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