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St George Illawarra’s contract stand-off with Ben Hunt has hit a new low with the skipper reportedly saying he has no desire to return to the club or be coached by Shane Flanagan again.
The veteran half is in Kangaroos camp at the moment for the Pacific Championships but even after the team takes a break for the next week, he will stay in the South Island of New Zealand for a family holiday rather than returning to the Dragons to sort out his contract dramas.
Flanagan conducted media interviews last week in which he implied Hunt or his management had leaked information about his end-of-season player review.
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report on the weekend, Hunt is fuming over the insinuations and his fractured relationship with the coach has now become irreparable.
“There were three people in the review: Me, Dean Young and Ben. I can guarantee you, Dean Young didn’t speak to any media and I haven’t spoken to any media about the review,” Flanagan said. “And what’s being said is incorrect. There was no discussion about Ben’s salary and all that sort of stuff. That’s just absolutely rubbish.”
Although his preference is to return to Queensland, the 34-year-old is apparently now open to all offers for 2025 even though he is contracted to the Dragons for next season.
The Dolphins are the favourites to land Hunt if he can get an early release with new coach Kristian Woolf expressing his interest in the veteran playmaker.
Dragons officials have granted Hunt permission to field offers for 2026 before free agency officially begins on November 1 but have not allowed him to be released for next season.
He has long been contemplating a move back to Queensland to finish his career, with the Dragons blocking previous requests for a release in 2023.
Gold Coast will not pursue Hunt amid a wealth of their own playmaking options, while Brisbane have been linked with a play for Roosters half Sam Walker – also able to field offers from November 1 – but he is likely to stay in Sydney.
“I read the media reports and I can sit here with my hand on my heart and say we’ve had no contact at all,” Woolf said on Thursday. “At the moment it’s not something I’m interested in talking about.”
But ahead of the Dolphins’ third season in the premiership, Woolf said his side would always be keen on players of Hunt’s ilk.
Hunt recorded more try assists (34) than any other player in 2024 and Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima are the Dolphins’ only halves options contracted beyond next season.
“We’re always interested in talented players and Ben Hunt is a talented player, he’s playing for Australia at the moment,” Woolf said.
“We’re always interested in having those conversations but as I said, that conversation hasn’t happened at the moment.”
Australia captain Isaah Yeo has warned New Zealand will be “a hundred times better” than during their first Pacific Championships clash if the traditional rivals meet again in the Pacific Cup final.
The Kiwis will start hot favourites to beat Tonga in Auckland on Saturday and book a rematch with the Kangaroos, who punched their ticket to the decider by winning 22-10 in Christchurch on Sunday.
New Zealand showed positive signs in Stacey Jones’ first game at the helm, controlling the territory battle for long stretches and guarding possession better than Australia.
But they were outperformed defensively and a long list of absentees meant halfback Shaun Johnson had little support in orchestrating the Kiwis’ set plays on return from retirement.
While the Kangaroos came into the clash on the back of a win over Tonga earlier this month, the majority of New Zealand players were lining up for their first competitive game in almost two months.
In total, 10 members of the Kiwis’ 17 played in NRL teams that missed finals this season, so last played a competitive game in the week beginning September 2.
Dylan Edwards. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
Australia had themselves looked out of practice in their first match of the Pacific Championships, as they made a staggering 19 errors in the win over Tonga at Suncorp Stadium.
Improvements shown in the defeat of New Zealand led Yeo to believe the Kiwis were capable of similar growth should the sides meet again to decide the Pacific Cup on November 10.
“I felt like we were a better side this week than last week and I think just the extra weeks’ prep, you have the game under your belt,” he said.
“I certainly think New Zealand will be a hundred times better.
“There are blokes in there who wouldn’t have played for four or five weeks. So automatically, you get 80 minutes under your belt and another week’s training, you’ll be a better side for it.
“Off the back of that, whoever wins next week will be a better side again because they’ve got another game under their belt.”
But the captain felt his side was capable of making more strides of their own, after a bombed try from Angus Crichton headlined a list of preventable errors.
“I feel like our best football is still in front of us, which is exciting but I think that’ll be the case for both teams,” he said.
Yeo spoke candidly about the pain of Australia’s loss to the Kiwis in last year’s Pacific Cup final – a 30-0 drubbing that counts as the country’s biggest defeat.
The lock was pleased for the Kangaroos to have recorded their first defeat of the Kiwis in New Zealand since 2012 but still felt Australia had unfinished business in the tournament.
“It was certainly nice to get one back on them for sure but I guess the ultimate goal and all that matters is that championship in two weeks’ time,” he said.
Shaun Johnson is confident he has made the right call retiring from the NRL despite a skilful and emotional comeback for New Zealand in Christchurch.
Johnson answered a distress call from the injury-hit Kiwis to lace up the boots for the Pacific Championships after calling time on a storied NRL career at the end of the 2024 season.
The 34-year-old could not prevent an improved Australia from lodging a 22-10 win on Sunday but had a superb individual performance without another recognised playmaker by his side.
He triggered the play that netted the Kiwis’ first try through Jamayne Isaako and kicked superbly all afternoon, putting up the cross-field bomb that helped Will Warbrick keep their side in the game late.
“I felt probably as I expected, probably a little bit underdone,” said Johnson, one of 10 Kiwis playing their first game in seven weeks.
“The weeks (off) haven’t helped me at all. I’ve battled niggles all year like a lot of us do and that’s been well-documented with my Achilles and obviously falling off that load.
“You can’t just go from nothing to get there. You’ve got to build gradual and I haven’t had that luxury with the late call-up.
“(But) I’m pretty stoked with how I went tonight. I enjoyed it, I stayed in the moment and I played some good footy at times. Is there things I can work on? 100 per cent, and I will, but for a first hit-out in a while with a lack of reps, I’ll take a lot out of it personally.”
Johnson took a moment to survey the crowd on return to the field, picking out his family in the stands at Apollo Projects Stadium and having an emotional moment to himself.
As he prepared to take the field for the first of at least two Tests, the Warriors legend knew his career was supposed to be consigned to the history books.
“This whole week has been crazy,” Johnson said.
“Running out tonight, I never thought I was going to feel that again, and I was at peace with that. So why not smile and soak it all up?
“I wish everyone got to experience what I got to experience tonight. It’s a pretty cool feeling.”
Johnson spent the seven weeks since playing his last NRL game juggling media work with parenting duties.
The chance to cook breakfast for his daughters and take them to school has been all too rare a luxury for Johnson across his playing career.
“I got to be hands-on, I got to be present and footy was at the furthest point from my mind through that stretch,” he said.
“I didn’t do too much footy stuff but I did a whole heap of life stuff.”
Family man Johnson remained content with his decision to hang up the boots, bullish on what he would say if Warriors coach Andrew Webster called to float an NRL comeback for 2025.
“I’d say ‘No, mate’,” Johnson said with a smile.
“Or I’d say, ‘All the best, I’ll be there with you but alongside you, not out on the field’.”
Johnson, usually ranked the finest Kiwi playmaker of his generation, was confident in Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown as the Kiwis’ halfback options for the future.
“I’m the third-string halfback here. Like, think about that. We’re in great hands,” he said.
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