St George Illawarra Dragons captain Ben Hunt has been ruled out for at least a month after fracturing his arm.
Hunt managed to play the entire 80 minutes as the Red V were flogged to the tune of 50 points to 14 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday evening.
Unfortunately scans revealed Ben Hunt suffered an arm fracture, wonโt require surgery but will miss at least 4 weeks. Remarkable effort as he appeared to carry the injury for much of the 2nd half yesterday. Usual recovery range 4-8 weeks (fracture type/specific location)
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 2, 2021
While the half and club captain won't need surgery on the arm, he will be out for the next month as he recovers from the injury.
Hunt has been a shining light in an inconsistent Dragons team this season.
The 31-year-old, who also represented Queensland, has made 15 appearances, running the ball for over 100 metres per game, controlling the kicking game and featuring in six victories.
A club statement refused to name his replacement, or a new captain, saying rather that it'd be confirmed at 4pm tomorrow when the team is named for the Round 21 clash against the Canberra Raiders.
Jayden Sullivan has been playing alongside Hunt for the past two weeks, however, it's tipped Corey Norman may move from the centres to the halves, with Talatau Amone the only other competition.
St George Illawarra may look at the experience of Jack Bird, Andrew McCullough or Tariq Sims to take over the captaincy.
Both the Dragons and Raiders will be coming into the clash off a five-day turnaround, unless fixtures are re-arranged with the NRL currently dealing with the ramifications of an extended lockdown on the Queensland bubble.
LOL, they have no finals push, they are finished and won’t win another game this year. Their already ordinary season ended the day of the BBQ and the dirty dozen are a bunch of morons. Combine that with an incompetent coach and a board asleep at the wheel that have embraced mediocrity for a decade it is clear to see their is no future for St George. The whole place needs a clean out from the entire board, coaching staff and playing roster.