Dragons to hold talks with Eels captain Clint Gutherson as Ben Hunt cold war heats up

St George Illawarra privately insist they won’t be pressured into tabling a contract extension to captain Ben Hunt as they prepare to hold talks with a $900,000 free agent.

St George Illawarra privately insist they won’t be pressured into tabling a contract extension to captain Ben Hunt as they prepare to hold talks with Parramatta skipper Clint Gutherson as early as this week.

The Dragons were stunned at the weekend when Hunt told this masthead that he was ready to open talks with rival clubs from November 1, claiming discussions with St George Illawarra over an extension had gone cold.

Hunt also claimed that it didn’t seem like the Dragons were overly keen to keep him and that the club should look at signing Gutherson as a five-eighth, the position currently occupied by coach Shane Flanagan’s son Kyle.

Those incendiary comments have rekindled debate over Hunt’s future, having been viewed in some quarters as an attempt to put pressure on the Dragons to come up with an offer for the 2026 season, when he will turn 36.

Either that or cut him loose to find another club, something he has agitated for in the past. Hunt, currently in Brisbane as part of the Kangaroos squad for the Pacific Championships, spent the day training and signing autographs while speculation over his future continued to simmer.

Ben Hunt at Kangaroos training ahead of the Pacific Championships. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

There seems little doubt it will boil over to some point this summer, particularly if a rival club comes in with an offer for the 2026 season.

It is understood the Dragons have no plans to change their stance as they take their time in making a call over Hunt’s future given his and the club’s disappointing end to the season.

The Dragons were in the mix for the finals but lost their closing three games against Cronulla, Parramatta and Canberra to slip out of top eight contention.

Hunt’s role in their late-season capitulation formed part of his review of the season, which started with promise but fizzled badly.

According to Fox Sports Stats, Hunt finished the season with the most try assists in the NRL with 34, but also made the most errors at 53.

He also missed 25 tackles in his last six games, hence the concern from Dragons officials over the way his form dipped in the latter stages of the year.

Clearly Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga didn’t harbour the same concerns as he named the Dragons skipper in his squad for the Pacific Championship, choosing the 34-year-old most notably ahead of Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

Hunt is poised to add to his 15 Tests for Australia as early as Friday night at Suncorp Stadium as the Kangaroos meet Tonga in the Pacific Championships opener.

While the Dragons are reluctant to sit down to talk terms with Hunt, they are poised to begin discussions with Gutherson within days after the Eels skipper was given permission to explore his options at rival clubs for 2026.

The Dragons head the list of interested parties, although it is understood they are not the only club keen to speak to Gutherson about his future.

Gutherson has another year remaining on a lucrative deal worth more than $900,000 next season but Parramatta coach Jason Ryles wants to reshape the club’s roster by adding more speed and moving his captain to a utility role.