St George Illawarra’s contract stand-off with Ben Hunt has hit a new low with the skipper reportedly saying he has no desire to return to the club or be coached by Shane Flanagan again. The veteran half is in Kangaroos camp at the moment for the Pacific Championships but even after the team takes a break for the next week, he will stay in the South Island of New Zealand for a family holiday rather than returning to the Dragons to sort out his contract dramas. Flanagan conducted media interviews last week in which he implied Hunt or his management had leaked information about his end-of-season player review.
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report on the weekend, Hunt is fuming over the insinuations and his fractured relationship with the coach has now become irreparable. More League “There were three people in the review: Me, Dean Young and Ben. I can guarantee you, Dean Young didn’t speak to any media and I haven’t spoken to any media about the review,” Flanagan said.
“And what’s being said is incorrect. There was no discussion about Ben’s salary and all that sort of stuff. That’s just absolutely rubbish.
” Although his preference is to return to Queensland, the 34-year-old is apparently now open to all offers for 2025 even though he is contracted to the Dragons for next season. The Dolphins are the favourites to land Hunt if he can get an early release with new coach Kristian Woolf expressing his interest in the veteran playmaker. Dragons officials ha.