Dragons drop Ben Hunt bomb as star looks elsewhere

Ben Hunt has been given permission to immediately start plotting his exit with claims he won’t play another game for the Dragons.

The Dragons are reportedly open to letting Ben Hunt leave before the 2025 season starts — if the club can find a replacement.

Those reports came as it emerged the club has granted Hunt permission to talk with rival clubs immediately about a move for the start of the 2026 season.

The Dragons captain was already free to talk to clubs after the November 1 deadline with his Dragons contract expiring at the end of the 2025 season.

As first reported by News Corp, Hunt wants to leave the club before the start of the 2025 season.

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The SMH reports it is increasingly likely Hunt has already played his last game for the club.

Hunt this weekend confirmed he’ll hit the open market in a few weeks, saying the club are no longer interested in extending his contract beyond 2025.

Hunt, who turns 35 in the opening month of next season, is determined to play beyond his 36th birthday.

The halfback is still in top form and has been picked in the Kangaroos squad for the Pacific Championships this month.

Hunt’s comments from the Australian camp reportedly played a part in the Dragons’ decision to grant him permission to talk with rival clubs.

“I definitely want to play beyond next year,” Hunt told The Daily Telegraph.

Give a guy a break. NRL PHOTOS.

“I’m still feeling good in myself and I feel like I can contribute

“We’ve had that discussion earlier in the year and it went away. They don’t want to offer me anything so I’ll go to November 1 and see what happens.

“I haven’t shut the doors on anything. The Dragons said they were keen to extend me around April and then they said they’d wait until after Origin.

“Now they want to see how I’m playing next year. It’s all gone quiet and they don’t want to do anything. Doesn’t sound like they are overly keen to keep me.

“It may be in Queensland or somewhere else. I’ll just wait and see. “

Ben Hunt’s Dragons future is up in the air.

Hunt has been linked with a return to Queensland since twice requesting a release in 2023 in a bid to be closer to family, with the Broncos and Titans potential landing spots at the time.

“I’ve always said I’ll be open to it if the opportunity arose,” he told AAP.

“Queensland’s home, I’ve had a lot of great times up here, I’ve got a lot of family up here. If that opportunity did come up, I’d never say no.”

However, most recently Hunt has been linked with a possible switch to the Bulldogs to add some experience to their halves.

“At this stage I’ll be there (next year),” Hunt said.

“Nothing has changed. I had to get away and freshen up and not think about footy for a while. Unless something extreme happens I’ll probably be there.”

Hunt is open to an immediate move but Dragons recruit Damien Cook has implored him to not walk out on the club.

Hunt was reportedly given a heated bake by coach Shane Flanagan after their loss to the Eels, which cost them a finals berth — and things have reportedly been tense in the aftermath between the captain and the club.

Hunt has played 147 of his 324 NRL games for the Dragons since joining the club in 2018.

Originally published as Dragons drop Ben Hunt bomb as star looks elsewhere