St George Illawarra Dragons captain Ben Hunt has revealed he is not ready to commit his future to the club after the appointment of Shane Flanagan as head coach.
The Dragons confirmed on Wednesday evening that Flanagan would take over as head coach on a three-year deal from the start of the 2024 season.
Interim coach Ryan Carr is expected to remain with the club in an assistant capacity after he took over from Anthony Griffin, who was sacked on the back of six straight losses.
Hunt, who was one of Griffin's biggest supporters, said earlier in the year that he didn't want to go through another rebuild, and could consider his future at the Red V if Griffin was moved on, despite the fact he re-signed on a new two-year deal before 2023 that would lock him in at the club until the end of 2025.
Quizzed during a media opportunity in State of Origin camp, Hunt said he didn't know what it meant for his future yet.
"I don't know yet. I have to get down there and talk to Flanno and the staff and go from there," Hunt said.
The captain admitted it was exciting to have an experienced coach coming in to take over the struggling club, who are currently anchored to the bottom of the table and have played finals just twice since the end of Wayne Bennett's time in charge - at the end of 2011.
Flanagan is a premiership-winner as an NRL coach, having taken out the title in 2016 with the Cronulla Sharks.
"It's exciting. I'm glad they have gone with an experienced coach. I think that needed to happen - someone that knows how to run a club and has been there before," Hunt said.
"The main thing is that I'm glad they have come to a decision and got someone in there that everyone can move on now."
Flanagan revealed on 2GB Radio on Monday prior to the announcement that he would take over as coach that he had already contacted Hunt, although does so regularly.
The coach said he did ask Hunt about his desire to remain with the Dragons, although failed to say what the answer from the Queensland Maroons and Australian Kangaroos representative was.
“The question I did have for Ben Hunt - if I was lucky enough to get the coaching job, would you want to stay at the club, because there has been a lot of speculation that Ben Hunt wanted out, and I just wanted assurance that Ben Hunt would not [want to leave] if I got the job, and all of sudden Day 1 of my job I'm looking for a halfback," Flanagan said on air on Monday.
"That's the conversation I had with Ben and there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge for me to get the job, but in my mind, I had to know what was going on there."
Questions over Hunt's future have circled him for much of the year, with the veteran in what is likely to be his final NRL deal.
The Canterbury Bulldogs, among other clubs, have been heavily linked to Hunt, with Queensland clubs also in the market for Hunt.
News Corp's James Hooper told Fox Sports' show NRL 360 that the Bulldogs have conducted a secret meeting with Hunt.
"I did hear as recently as today that the Bulldogs have met with Ben Hunt. Recently, powerbrokers sat down with him," Hooper told NRL 360.
"They can't table anything. He is under contract, so they can't be seen to be doing anything outside the paremeters of the rules, but the conversation was simple as if you're not happy with how things have transpired there and you do decide you want a change, then we will be all ears.
"They aren't the only club either. There are a couple of clubs in Queensland - the Gold Coast Titans, the Cowboys."
Hunt is on contract until at least the end of 2025.
What’s the point of a contract?????????????? The tail isn’t supposed to wag the dog Hunt. You’ve signed until end of 2025 and Dragons should hold him to it. If this attitude from Hunt continues though I would show him the door immediately and let Sullivan take over. BTW Griffin didn’t rebuild anything Hunt, he tore it down.
“Not ready to commit to Dragons…”
As dragoon said – he committed to the Dragons when he signed the contract extension. If he wants to leave, now, then I hope Shane Flanagan says to him “That’s fine. You can go to any club that is prepared to pay SGI a $250K transfer fee, and you will play in NSW Cup until someone comes up with the money, or until 30 September 2025.”
Otherwise, the contract is worthless, and every player that breaks his contract encourages others to do the same.
RLPA would be up in arms if a club said to a player: “we don’t want you any more, so we won’t be paying you from the end of this season”. It’s a shame they will not remind their members that a contract cuts _both_ ways.