The Sydney Roosters have reportedly entered the running for the signature of Ben Hunt.
The star St George Illawarra Dragons halfback and captain requested a release over the weekend, which has been knocked back flat by the Dragons.
Currently in Queensland Maroons camp ahead of Game 2 of the State of Origin series, the state's starting hooker is set for meetings with the Dragons' board and incoming coach Shane Flanagan when he returns to Wollongong on Thursday.
It's believed the Manly Sea Eagles, where Flanagan is employed as an assistant coach until the end of this season, have given the incoming head coach permission to work through the Hunt issue on his days off from the Northern Beaches.
Hunt, who was a big fan of Anthony Griffin, has spoken out often this year regarding his future, and could have no shortage of clubs lining up to make a play for him.
It's believed the Canterbury Bulldogs, Dolphins and Gold Coast Titans will all show interest, while Tim Sheens has admitted the Wests Tigers are on the lookout for a quality half.
Hunt's possible desire to return to Queensland could also yet play into the events to come in his contract discussions, however, James Hooper, speaking on Fox Sports' NRL 360, said the Roosters had emerged as a contender.
โThe left-field surprise contender that emerged today is the Sydney Roosters,โ Hooper said.
โThe Chooks had a gutsy win over the Knights on Saturday and as this news began to reverberate around the game, powerbrokers at the Roosters immediately began to have those conversations how they could possibly fit Hunt into their roster.
โThere are three ongoing clubs that are monitoring this situation, the Titans, the Roosters and the Bulldogs.
โAt this stage, no deals have been done and it's now up to the Dragons to try and fix this mess that they have created.โ
The Roosters have struggled throughout the 2023 season against pre-season expectation, and there have been widespread reports in recent days that the club could undergo a full sale clean out.
The tri-colours have ultimately struggled most in the halves, where Luke Keary has bounced between the number six and seven jumpers, while Sam Walker was dropped before being injured.
Sandon Smith has now made his debut after the Joseph Manu experiment in the number six was curtailed, but as always, the question will be around the salary cap.
Ben Hunt's contract is rumoured to be worth around the $900,000 per season mark at the Dragons, and it's unlikely he would take a great deal less than that if he was to sign elsewhere - and of course if the Dragons were to grant him his release.
So let me get this right. The rorters could fit another player worth close to $1 million under their sombrero. Will never happen.
Well, that makes me look foolish, eh?
Yesterday I said that the only clubs who could be interested were those that:
a) had a chance of making the eight
b) had plenty of money to pay his wages and a transfer fee.
And I concluded that would rule out everyone but the Dolphins.
Then, today, the Chooks have shown interest!
Well, I suppose they might _just_ make the eight, and they always seem to be able to find some cash.
I suppose that they don’t have to be masters of creative accounting, just the masters of unloading players they want to get rid of, to pay for someone they do want !