‘I really don’t have a problem with the culture here’: Bern Hunt defends Dragons

They’ve endured a difficult few years on and off the field, but skipper Ben Hunt is adamant there are no issues with the Dragons culture.

Ben Hunt isn’t worried about the culture at the Dragons despite a number of off-field dramas. Picture; Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Dragons skipper Ben Hunt insists there’s no culture problem at the club and denied suggestions there’s a rat amongst the playing group after allegations someone leaked what happened in Mudgee to members of the media.

St George Illawarra has endured a torrid few years with players caught breaking Covid-19 stay at home orders when they had a barbeque that resulted in hefty fines and suspensions being handed down.

Things didn’t get better when only a handful of players turned up to last year’s presentation night after a tough season that saw them miss the finals for the fourth year in a row.

Mikaele Ravalawa was one of the players involved in the last controversy at the Dragons. Picture; Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The club is also dealing with fresh controversy with Talatau Amone and Francis Molo both in hot water off the field, and that’s on top of what went down in Mudgee after an embarrassing loss to South Sydney in the Charity Shield.

The incident between Mikaele Ravalawa and Zane Musgrove at the team’s hotel is at the minor end of the atrocity scale, but fans appear fed up given everything else that has gone on at the club.

“I really don’t have a problem with the culture here,” Hunt said.

“There’s obviously something that happened with a couple of individuals that the club is working on and working with those guys to help them out. On a whole, I don’t think there’s a culture problem.

“There’s a great bunch of fellas here and everyone is working hard every day to be better. Everyone wants to win so I don't have any issues.

“We had a discussion just as a playing group about the incident and what had happened. We addressed it and said it’s time to move on and focus on rugby league. (We said) that stuff doesn’t happen here anymore and that it’s all about the footy.

“The start of the season couldn’t come quicker for us. We need to get out there and play some games. If we start playing games and winning games then that stuff doesn’t matter.”

Club legend James Graham was irate that the Mudgee incident was leaked to the media, blaming “snitches” for stirring up more drama.

But Hunt is adamant that there’s no mole at the club.

“Everything seems to get out these days. It doesn’t matter what happens – you can’t keep it quiet,” he said.

“I don’t think there’s a mole in the group. I don’t think there’s anyone that’s intentionally gone out and ratted the club out. It’s just something that happens these days.”

The veteran skipper was fantastic for the Red V in an otherwise gloomy campaign last year, and he can understand why fans are “getting a bit restless and a bit annoyed” at the state of things at the club.

The Dragons have an extra week to regroup after they were humbled in the Charity Shield against the Rabbitohs in Mudgee. Picture; Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The 42-24 loss to the Rabbitohs heaped more pressure on coach Anthony Griffin who is dealing with a major headache as to who partners Hunt in the halves.

Griffin has a bit of extra time to sort it out with the Dragons out of action in Round 1 thanks to the bye, and while Hunt concedes the Charity Shield wasn’t good enough, he says there are positives to take out of the loss.

“What we did out in Mudgee wasn’t great for us, but we believe that’s not what we’re about. I definitely think we’ve got a lot more to offer than what we showed out there,” the halfback said.

“Through the pre-season, we’ve been building to something really well, so in a way, I’m kind of happy that happened down there. We probably got that game out of our system and know we need to be better now.

“It’s a bit of a wakeup call that games are here now and we need to be better than what we were out there.”

Originally published as ‘I really don’t have a problem with the culture here’: Bern Hunt defends Dragons