Ben huntl

[maestro1]

With Ben Hunt gone, the team's footy IQ just tripled.......Now if we sign Gutho, it improves immeasurably.

 

[jeffdragon]

Ugh I cringe at the voice of Mark Levy. Dreadful. But I think I cringed even harder hearing Flanno talking about Adam Douehi. Yikes.

Levy is ok
Don't want Douehi
One more major injury and we are back to square 1.

 

[jeffdragon]

An

From the articles and quotes it would appear that the announcement today is that Hunt's contract has been agreed to be void... therefore he is a free agent to sign where he pleases BUT there is NO agreement for Hunt to be paid by the Dragons into the future... Good luck to him I guess - although not too much when he plays against the Red + Whites. At least SOO should be quieter for us in '25; given that our captain will do be looking to 'escape' back to QLD.

And the boos when we play him.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

I just told my wife, who hasn't followed NRL since the Bears were ousted, about Ben Hunt.

She immediately said "that's great for the Dragons, like the Mariners you need a 'Team' of committed players without someone like Hunt who has set up a massive 'marquee' in his head."

Go figure!

One of my bosses hasn’t followed the NRL since the bears were ousted.

Hang on to that insightful wife!

 

[coastiedragon]

Don't let the door hit ya. we're the good lord split ya. tata you little qld wanker will always be remembered for dropping that kick off in the g.f

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

i understand and agree with the happiness that hunt is gone. Not for his game play, not his effort or value, but for the off-field behaviour and media releases.

we have to find a 7, and I kind of expect it will be short term pain till that happens.

but I’m willing to suffer that if all the players play with passion for the club and act like proud players for my club.

(I don’t put Lomax in this bracket. All he did was want out, and get out. Always played with passion and effort, even in not 100% with brain at times. Was sad to see him go).

All good, but don’t forget Zac left because he didn’t want to be a team player.

He didn’t want to do what Flanno considered was in the teams best interest.

He wanted his freedom to play wherever he wanted and to box.

I think he let his mates and club down for his own interests. He even took less money to drive the point home. That was a bit of an insult. Brad being sacked by the eels was karma for Zac ( bad for them too).

And the great irony is, under Flanno and playing where he was told to ( not where he wanted to) he realises his potential and becomes a kangaroo.

He’s a wonderful player, his effort was 100%, but at the end of the day, he abandoned his post.

And if he could have got his head around the fact that his desires lacked insight and unlikely to help his career, he would still be around. And it would be good for all concerned and he’d keep getting better and all that. The sky was the limit!

Sometimes in life, all of us have to admit that we don’t have the answers ourselves and giving is better than receiving.He also could have become an SGI legend, that’s got to mean something.

Flanno is consistent, the club comes first.

Win, lose or draw, everyone fights together, every man does his job. No one puts themselves first.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I don't think his sulky dial will be missed post match sitting next to Flanno.....Hunt always reminded me of a snivelling sulky little kid.....I was going to say like a little rat looking over a toothbrush but I didn't want to sound to harsh lol

 

[getsmarty]

Ugh I cringe at the voice of Mark Levy. Dreadful. But I think I cringed even harder hearing Flanno talking about Adam Douehi. Yikes.

Re Douehi...Levy bought up his name...If I remember correctly, flanno said he has had 2 acl's and would be a risky buy...I thought he handled it well... Talked about him well as a player...very diplomatic...

 

[UnknownDragon]

i dont mind douehi if he comes cheap, can cover all spine positions and centre. max 300k

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

That caller on 2gb said he used to watch Bunt refrain from giving the team a good going over under the posts congregating when the opponents scored.

He said he saw multiple games live where Ben was standing there and said and did nothing. He was very harsh but his final appraisal was that Ben wasn’t a leader.

I used to watch the press conferences, the body language was such that neither Ben nor Flanno had no feelings other than complete contempt for each other. The writing was on the wall. I saw this many times.

Flanno kept him while you had a shot at the finals but as we have seen, beyond that he’s shown little interest and no commitment.

@blue bags told me:

Bunts manager pressing Flanno for an answer today, but the response was a long slurp on the strawberry milkshake.

As Bunts efforts became more intense and the threats of leaving became louder and angrier, so too Flanno’s slurping mirrored the aggro.

Then as Hunts manager started screaming and carrying on, Flanno turned the volume down and commenced eating a pineapple donut…

Today should be declared a national public holiday for all rugby league fans.

 

[muzby]

Someone needs to start a Blake Lawriel thread now.


Just sayin…

 

[Veteran Dragon]

Understand your concerns Veteran Dragon , however Mr. Hunt had made his thoughts and intentions ( returning to Queensland ) quite clear for a couple of seasons before the Dragons finally adhered to his wishes .

The ongoing drama which was covered by the media only made matters worse , as did the numerous leaks of in-house discussions , all as you have said , giving the club a rather bad look .

But both the club and Flanagan had made it clear on a number of occasions that they wish to retain Benny’s services however he had other ideas . Even although the Dragons gave him an extension - that yet again took a large chunk of the salary cap , the man still was not happy .

What were they to do ? He would only play half for St.George Illawarra yet the little mongrel would play wherever for his beloved banana landers . No , he is best gone , he was undoubtedly the lousiest Big Red V captain
the club ever had and should be horse whipped all the way back to the Sunshine state !

Good points. I just hope we can sign a quality half back very soon.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Good points. I just hope we can sign a quality half back very soon.

Yes but If all those other ducks fall in a row, you should be able to get away with a factory half.

We are trying to offload Bud if you can make an offer in the zone.

He seemed to play better with you guys unfortunately, showed more promise. I’m not afraid to say we haven’t done enough with him.

It’s strange how some players prosper under different stars.

Val should be reborn under Flanno and get some of his sparkle back. The dark horse.

 

[Jubilee]

Yes but If all those other ducks fall in a row, you should be able to get away with a factory half.

We are trying to offload Bud if you can make an offer in the zone.

He seemed to play better with you guys unfortunately, showed more promise. I’m not afraid to say we haven’t done enough with him.

It’s strange how some players prosper under different stars.

Val should be reborn under Flanno and get some of his sparkle back. The dark horse.

If Val plays exactly like he did at the end of the season, I will be very happy.

 

[TheRev]

i dont mind douehi if he comes cheap, can cover all spine positions and centre. max 300k

He could be a very astute purchase.. as the backup half (and backup ctr).. but I think/hope/pray we can go higher up the food chain for Hunts replacement.

The problem I have though.. supposedly Douehi is on 350k which journos are saying is massive unders.. I dunno about that.. seems perfectly reasonable.. I cant see us even matching that number.

 

[<StGeorgeDragons>]

This exerpt from an article from the SMH stood out to me.

160,000 reasons to cut the cord: Inside story of the Ben Hunt saga

Few will begrudge Hunt for taking the best part of $7 million over seven years. But what the money hasn’t been able to buy is an affinity to the Red V.

www.smh.com.au

People at the Dragons often say he never really formed any close bonds with players at the Dragons – apart from those he previously played with at the Broncos and Maroons – and distanced himself from social gatherings with teammates.

They also said he is an introvert by nature; a family man who wanted to spend as little time at training in Wollongong as possible and as much time back in the Shire with his young family.

While the Dragons saw it as an admirable trait as a father and a husband, it was less than ideal as the captain of one of the most iconic brands in Australian sport that was crying out for leadership.

--------

I really think this says a lot. As a bit of introvert and family man myself I am not going to criticise his personality, but when you look a the culture of the team that has just won its 4th straight premiership, or any of the successful clubs, this would just not fly. It is so polar opposite to winning team culture. The captain needs to be an inspiration and respected, and to do this he needs to be a real team player. Hunt is great individual player on his day but he is not a team man.

 

[Crush]

Things are looking up my friends, we are finally on our way out of the weeds.
I never liked Hunt, selfish little Queenslander.

 

[56to66]

Things are looking up my friends, we are finally on our way out of the weeds.
I never liked Hunt, selfish little Queenslander.

Queenslanders from young a meant to love and breath QLD, however the NRL is made up with many Sydney teams, if a Sydney base club is willing to pay you well, set your life up, a return of investment is part of the deal, Mark Coyne was a prime example of how a footballer should perform on and off the field.

 

[jay mac]

It would be poetic if we just closed this thread now with a gif of him dropping the ball in the 2015 GF. Can the mods do something?

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Just read that his manager said on SEN Queensland that he’s open to all offers, including Super League.

What?

You and your client just agitated yourselves out of a million dollars in the next twelve months and no one is knocking on the door.

Absolute arse smacking by Flange here.

Honestly believe all clubs will follow this lead from here.

A Man doing it like a Man and putting the kids firmly in their places.