NRL 2023: Gold Coast Titans close in on Ben Hunt after latest ruthless move

He was pencilled in as the club’s long-term playmaker in last season’s review, but Gold Coast’s relentless pursuit of Ben Hunt is set to force the prodigious talent out of the club.

Toby Sexton has been told he can look for another club as the Titans ramp up pursuit of Ben Hunt.

Titans wonder boy Toby Sexton has been told he can leave the club as the Gold Coast free up salary cap space to make a big-money play for Ben Hunt.

This masthead can reveal promising playmaker Sexton has been given permission to negotiate with rival clubs in a move that suggests the Titans are planning to enter the bidding war for Hunt’s services.

Hunt will hold crisis talks with incoming Dragons coach Shane Flanagan on Monday, but the Maroons Origin star has made it clear he wants out of the Red V to return home to Queensland for family reasons.

That opens the door for the Titans, who last month registered fresh interest in Hunt with his management team after first being linked with the Dragons skipper last year.

Sexton - the Titans’ Chosen One just 12 months ago - shapes as collateral damage in the Hunt saga.

The 22-year-old was last year viewed internally as Gold Coast’s next great playmaker and the Titans were so confident in Sexton’s ability to run the show the club offloaded co-captain Jamal Fogarty to Canberra.

Toby Sexton has been told he can look for another club as the Titans ramp up pursuit of Ben Hunt.

But after 19 games, Sexton was dropped at the back end of last season and has barely been sighted in the NRL since after losing the Titans’ No.7 jumper this year to Tanah Boyd.

The former Australian Schoolboy is on $500,000 next season and those funds could be re-directed towards Hunt if the Titans can offload Sexton to another NRL rival.

Currently languishing in Queensland Cup, Sexton is contracted until the end of 2024, but the Titans will not stand in the way of the halfback or five-eighth if he can find another club.

Sexton has played just one NRL game this season, setting up the winning try in the Titans’ 20-18 victory against, ironically, Hunt’s Dragons.

Sexton was linked with the Dolphins during their scrumbase injury crisis earlier this season, but coach Wayne Bennett is putting faith in halves Sean O’Sullivan, Isaiya Katoa and Anthony Milford.

Last month, Sexton said he had not given up hope of unseating Boyd from the Titans No.7 jumper.

“I don’t really know anything else but the Gold Coast,” he said.

“Last year was a pretty tough year, I’ve been through the wringer in a way.

“I was a little bit disappointed (to be overlooked for the halfback spot). I want to be playing NRL, especially after last year.

“I’ve got so much drive for the club. I’ve still got another year-and-a-half here and I’m fully committed to the club. I want to bring success here.

“It’s a long journey but the boys are working hard towards it. Any way I can add value, I want to be there.

“All I can control is playing good footy.”

It is understood the Titans are prepared to pay around $900,000 a season to lure Hunt to the Glitter Strip.

The 34-year-old is eyeing a four-month cameo with the Broncos this season, but Brisbane cannot afford Hunt long-term, putting the Titans in the box seat to secure the Test star for 2024 and beyond.