St George Illawarra Dragons name Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook as co-captains to replace Ben Hunt

They were accused of lacking leadership options but that hasn’t been a problem for Dragons coach Shane Flanagan after he anointed the successor to departed captain Ben Hunt.

Damien Cook and Clint Gutherson will replace Ben Hunt as Dragons captains.

St George Illawarra have wasted little time in exploiting their veteran recruitment spree by naming new signings Damien Cook and Clint Gutherson co-captains for the 2025 NRL season.

With former skipper and halfback Ben Hunt released from the final year of his contract last October, the Dragons needed to fill the leadership void.

At a luncheon in Wollongong on Monday coach Shane Flanagan announced the dual captaincy with the two former NSW State of Origin representatives.

In a nod to history, inaugural St George Illawarra co-captains Mark Coyne and Paul McGregor were in attendance.

Gutherson, 30, held a similar role at Parramatta for seven seasons. He was just 23 when he was named Eels co-captain in 2018 alongside Beau Scott and Tim Mannah. In recent seasons, he shared leadership duties with prop Junior Paulo before joining the Red-V.

Refreshed from the change, Gutherso spoke about his drive to turn the Dragons into a premiership force again.

“I want to do it,” he said.

“That’s what Cooky and I spoke about when we got told, we want to lead this team into a good spot and we’re the right people to do it.

“They were a solid team last year, they probably should have played finals, and they lost a few games they should have won.

“With another year under Flanno, and the staff they’ve got, we’re going to keep trending up, and that’s what we need to do and we’re here to drive it.”

Cook, 33, captained the Prime Minister’s XIII against Papua New Guinea last year but says this is the biggest honour of his career at the club where he debuted in 2013.

“By far, I played all my junior footy here at Helensburgh, a little bit at Thirroul as well, just growing up in the area and then debuting here in 2013, been away for a bit but to come back and lead the side alongside Gutho, it’s really special,” he said.

“It was a special moment when the coach told me, and the highest honour of my career.”

Gutherson, Cook and Valentine Holmes bring a wealth of club and representative experience to a Dragons side that fell one win short of a top-eight finish in 2024.

The Dragons haven’t played finals football since 2018, highlighting the task ahead of the new captaincy duo.

The co-captaincy decision was a big call from the Dragons, who made the club-altering call to part ways with Hunt, their captain and highest-paid player, despite being under contract for this season.

It’s been a busy start to 2025 for St George Illawarra, who recently announced they had secured boom youngster Loko Pasifiki Tonga on a multi-year deal.

The 121kg 19-year-old signed a one-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least the end of 2027.

He has moved into the Dragons’ top-30 squad and is expected to make his NRL debut at some point this year.

Originally published as St George Illawarra Dragons name Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook as co-captains to replace Ben Hunt