Matty Johns believes the situation inside the Dragons’ dressing room may not be as fractured as has been suggested.
The club has been reeling since revelations 27 senior players failed to front at the club’s end-of-season awards night where Ben Hunt was awarded the Dragons Medal in front of just two other senior teammates – Zac Lomax and Michael Molo.
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Hunt has since spoken publicly to slam the teammates who failed to attend — with many still being in Sydney at the time of the awards night, held in Pyrmont.
Hunt said it was “disrespectful” of his teammates and it has poured more fuel on the fire that has engulfed the club. However, Johns has shared a theory the playing group is largely united, suggesting the real problem is either with the club’s front office, or with coach Anthony Griffin.
Johns said on SEN Breakfast: “What you’re seeing is the players are fairly united in what they were protesting about.
“Whether that’s the way the club is being run. Whether that is the coach. Whichever way, there is so much going on at that club at the moment. I think it’s symbolic of the trouble they are in at the moment. I don’t know exactly how they get out.”
Speculation about the future of the veteran coach continues to run wild while he heads into the 2023 season without a contract for 2024.
The club has also been hit with claims of player unrest with young gun Tyrell Sloan reportedly asking to be released from his contract to join the Dolphins and boom talent Jayden Sullivan reportedly wanting to move to the Bulldogs.
Journalist Michelle Bishop said on Monday something “stinks” about what is going on at the club.
“In all seriousness, if you have a big night planned, like a presentation night… it’s a night to share everything with your teammates and your family – win, lose or draw. If the dates collide with something else or you’re not turning up to that, surely, the club should have thought about moving it and rescheduling it for another time,” she said on SEN.
“The whole thing stinks. The whole thing is telling me there’s massive dramas at the Dragons and players don’t want to be there. Especially if it is true that some players were a few suburbs away while three people were celebrating the year.”
Panthers great Greg Alexander also said on the show it was a particularly bad look to happen in front of the officials, senior club figures and sponsors attending the event.
“Can you imagine the Chinese whispers that would have been going around the room from the sponsors and those that are tied to the club, but aren’t in the inner-sanctum,” he said.
“Can you imagine the whispers going around.”
He said Ben Hunt’s public comments would have been “watered down” from how “filthy” he would privately have been at those teammates for not attending.
Hunt is in the UK for the Kangaroos’ Rugby League World Cup tour and has admitted he was disappointed 27 Dragons players didn’t turn up at the awards night.
The event was rescheduled to a later date and fell at a time when players had been on annual leave since their season ended on September 3.
“It was a bit disappointing, in a way,” he told Channel 9.
“But a lot of players came to me when we found out about presentation night and mentioned they’d already booked holidays away.”
“I did hear after it that there was a couple of guys that were in Sydney and I think that is pretty disrespectful,” Hunt said.
“You’re part of the club, you’ve worked hard all year playing for them, you should come and celebrate the year.”
The 32-year-old said he would like to clear the air with his Dragons teammates after returning from international duties.
“Yeah, I’d like to have a chat to some of them,” Hunt said.
“Obviously I won’t be able to do it for a few weeks now, not until pre-season. It’d just be good to know their reasons for why they didn’t come.”
Despite Hunt’s career-best season that made him a contender for the Dally M Medal and halfback of the year, the Dragons finished 10th an outside the top eight in another disappointing season.
Hunt has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2025 season.
