Dragons captain Ben Hunt has confirmed he will play this weekend, but revealed he wants to return to Queensland.
Hunt dropped a bombshell on St George Illawarra last week when his manager contacted the club to request an immediate release.
The 33-year-old has since opened up to News Corp, saying he is keen to move home to Queensland and is “hopeful” the Dragons will understand.
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It comes eight months after Hunt re-signed with the Dragons until the end of 2025.
Reports emerged this week claiming the veteran No.7 will not return to the Dragons for their Friday night clash with the Warriors in Wollongong.
In fact, it was reported he wouldn’t play for the Dragons again.
But Hunt has shot down those reports.
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“Yeah I will play Friday,” told News Corp after Queensland’s 32-6 win at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday.
“I had a good conversation with (interim coach) Ryan Carr on Monday.
“He said will I come down and play and I said as long as I get through Origin fit, I will definitely come down and play, so that’s what I’m doing.
“I don’t know where all that (not returning to the Dragons stuff) has come from.
“I would never be a guy to do that to my teammates where I just drop it and walk away.
“I will turn up and play as long as I’m there.”
Hunt will meet with incoming head coach Shane Flanagan on Monday to try and come to an agreement.
The Bulldogs are keen on Hunt’s services but his desire to return to Queensland makes the Titans — who are reportedly willing to offer him a $9000,000-a-year deal — the frontrunners for his signature.
“The priority is to come home to Queensland. That’s where we want to be,” Hunt said.
“I have missed the support networks with family and the weather is always nice.
“Myself and my partner, our families are here and my family is in central Queensland, so being in Sydney we’re a long long way. We’ve enjoyed our time in Sydney but we’re ready to come home.
“Surely there’s no cap room at the Broncos, they are loaded.
“I have a meeting with the club on Monday and ‘Flanno’. We will sit down with them and work through it.
“I’m just hopeful they (the Dragons) listen. We’ll see how we go.”
Hunt has always been a big supporter of ex-Dragons coach Anthony Griffin. He even indicated in a press conference earlier this season that if Griffin was shown the door he’d weigh up his options.
So naturally, it was assumed Griffin’s sacking in May is what caused Hunt’s release request.
But he claimed there’s “been a lot of build up” and it didn’t “just come out of nowhere.”
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“There’s been a lot building up the last couple of months to be honest,” Hunt revealed.
“It wasn’t something that has just come out of nowhere.
“There’s been a lot of build up to it and it’s got to a point where I felt I needed to get out.
“I know it wasn’t the best timing (during Origin camp), but it got out there.
“It was a crazy couple of days early in camp but it got to the weekend and I put all that behind me and focused on the game.”
“There wasn’t one thing in particular, mate. It’s been a lot of stuff over a long period of time.
“When I signed, there was a lot going on. They wanted to get me signed first to get it sorted out so they could start making recruitment decisions and it’s gone nowhere. I don’t know. It’s tough to answer.
“I just thought once I signed there would be a snowball effect and a few things would happen, but it hasn’t happened.
“I’ve chatted to ‘Hook’ (Griffin), not about this, just more of a call to have a yarn to see how he is going and to talk about life.
“He is someone I will probably lean on in the next few weeks.”
Hunt has been captain of the Red V since 2021 — a role he is happy to keep but will understand if it’s given to someone else.
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He can also “definitely understand” the anger from Dragons fans in the wake of his shock release request.
“If they want to hand the captaincy over to someone else, then that’s fine, I will support that and support whoever it is,” he said.
“But at the moment I will do my best for my teammates.
“If I’m still the captain, I will do the best I can.
“I definitely understand why the Dragons fans can be upset. I totally understand that. But it’s not like it’s come out of nowhere, there’s been a lot happening at the club, they have been really good to me the fans.
“I appreciate that, but this is a decision I’ve had to make.”
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Hunt did, however, shoot down a report claiming he was willing to pay $150,000 of his own money to get out of the Dragons faster.
“There’s been a few things that have come out this week that I don’t know where they come from and that’s one of them,” he said.
As for his future, Hunt believes he has “definitely two, maybe three” years and winning a premiership “will come into it (his decision) for sure.”
But he claims he hasn’t put much thought into where he’ll end up yet.
“To be honest, I haven’t considered anyone,” he said.
“All the Queensland teams are in good positions, so I haven’t considered anyone.
“My focus has been on Origin and working stuff out with the Dragons. I won’t look into the other clubs until I have a conversation with the Dragons.
“I definitely have two more years, maybe three. I still feel all right. I have been very lucky through my career with injuries. I have been pretty healthy so I wouldn’t rule out three more years.
“It’s every player’s dream to win a premiership so that will come into it for sure.
“I have put a lot of thought into it and what comes first to me is always my family.
“We are just ready to get out and come home.”
