Hunt has asked for a release

[VodkaSaint]

No way Hunt will be here in 24-25. Both parties and most fans don't want it. 23 is finished for us so I'm sure the horse trading is already well under way. Therefore I'm glad we have Flanno who has so much more experience in these matters. I've moved on from his earlier transgressions. It's a bit of "he who is without sin etc" kind of situation.

If Flanno cant get what he wants in a swap he wont be letting anyone go
Flanno is a downright street fighter, what has been lacking at the dragons for a long time,
Flanno should have been signed long ago.
Yeah I was against it in Favour of Ryles but Just maybe fortune has played a part, lets just hope so anyway

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I can’t understand why people are over complicating the Hunt issue

We have Hunt playing 7 who doesn’t want to be here and actually restricts the team and stifles the development of younger players. He has also stated he wants to play 7 and not 9 in the interests of the team.

We have a likely heir apparent that doesn’t get to play 7, is stifled by the incumbent and when he gets the occasional game at 7 he is hampered by the lack of a good 6 and of course under performing pack

All this talk about player swaps for fullbacks, wingers, edges, props, developing juniours etc is simply crap.

Hunt moves on or to 6 simple as that and if he does move on we get a good 6.

Address the problem at hand then address the other problems 1 by 1.

If Flanno is the coach and negotiator that people think he is surely he will see that and address it accordingly.

All this talk about Hunt needs to be changed to how best to set up our halves with Bud at 7.

Anything other than that is soft cock behaviour and Flanno saying Hunt is our 7 for 24 maybe 25 means he already needs a blue pill and he hasn’t even started yet.

The Hunt issue relates to the halves so let’s deal with that and get the best outcome for Bud not Ben.

If no one wants to give up a good 6 then Hunt gets the jersey until we get what we need.

As I said earlier swapsiess never works imo.....as for Bud he should be playing 7 hes our future in that position not Hunt........ at least we may see some early ball for our backline which in the past has been severely hampered by Hunts pain in the arse habit of drifting sideways and double pumping almost every pass which throws the receivers timing completely off, breaks down our attacking raids and allows the opposition to slide in defence.....and further he (Hunt) also has this annoying habit when he receives the ball to run sideways back to where it was fed from and hands the ball to a flat footed forward...let's at least
address this situation for starters till season end and in the meantime lets try some new bodies in the forwards....what have we got to lose in 2023

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

as long as he leaves woods at manly

Further to mine 1.7 last January

 

[dannyt]

Just caught up with similar comments so I've re-edited my post. Also agree that no way Hunt will be here in 24-25. Both parties and most fans don't want it. 23 is finished for us so I'm sure the horse trading is already well under way. Therefore I'm glad we have Flanno who has so much more experience in these matters. I've moved on from his earlier transgressions. It's a bit of "he who is without sin etc" kind of situation.

The punchline to that joke is "Mum! You spoil all my fun".

 

[Victoire]

I can’t understand why people are over complicating the Hunt issue

We have Hunt playing 7 who doesn’t want to be here and actually restricts the team and stifles the development of younger players. He has also stated he wants to play 7 and not 9 in the interests of the team.

We have a likely heir apparent that doesn’t get to play 7, is stifled by the incumbent and when he gets the occasional game at 7 he is hampered by the lack of a good 6 and of course under performing pack

All this talk about player swaps for fullbacks, wingers, edges, props, developing juniours etc is simply crap.

Hunt moves on or to 6 simple as that and if he does move on we get a good 6.

Address the problem at hand then address the other problems 1 by 1.

If Flanno is the coach and negotiator that people think he is surely he will see that and address it accordingly.

All this talk about Hunt needs to be changed to how best to set up our halves with Bud at 7.

Anything other than that is soft cock behaviour and Flanno saying Hunt is our 7 for 24 maybe 25 means he already needs a blue pill and he hasn’t even started yet.

The Hunt issue relates to the halves so let’s deal with that and get the best outcome for Bud not Ben.

If no one wants to give up a good 6 then Hunt gets the jersey until we get what we need.

Brisbane is not going to release Mam. Dolphins will not release Katoa. Cowboys will not release Dearden. I don't particularly want Foran.

So, you don't get a good 6. We keep Hunt? Obviously not. You get a crappy 6, plus a Hunt-sized hole in the salary cap that you have to go to market (late) and fill - this is more a curse than a blessing. There aren't too many halves worthy of Hunt money out there, so you aim at other needs - like prop, or edge, etc. At this late stage there aren't many off-contract in those positions either, so you've got to look at players with 1 year to run who might be coaxed by a longer deal, AND will be let go by their clubs. Which club will likely let them go? Obviously, it's the club we trade Hunt to.

 

[Slippery Morris]

I don't get how the players would feel playing with him knowing he wants out. It is just a very uncomfortable situation for all and the only solution if feel is have Hunt play as 14 or at least Hooker seeing he is not in the future plans and let Sullivan play at 7 to give the kid a good chance to show he is the long term future in the role. I would hate for Saints to keep Hunt at 7 then he leaves and the bring in another 7 like Kyle Flanno or Sexton and they get the No.7.

I hate how media are saying there are no good No.7 for Saints to replace Hunt with. Actually Saints have a good No.7 but need a five eight more than anything. Amone situation is also weird as he may be out of the game if courts decide he is guilty. Wighton would have been ideal if he had not already signed with Souths to partner Sullivan. Good leader and great No.6.

 

[Mojo]

I can’t understand why people are over complicating the Hunt issue

We have Hunt playing 7 who doesn’t want to be here and actually restricts the team and stifles the development of younger players. He has also stated he wants to play 7 and not 9 in the interests of the team.

We have a likely heir apparent that doesn’t get to play 7, is stifled by the incumbent and when he gets the occasional game at 7 he is hampered by the lack of a good 6 and of course under performing pack

All this talk about player swaps for fullbacks, wingers, edges, props, developing juniours etc is simply crap.

Hunt moves on or to 6 simple as that and if he does move on we get a good 6.

Address the problem at hand then address the other problems 1 by 1.

If Flanno is the coach and negotiator that people think he is surely he will see that and address it accordingly.

All this talk about Hunt needs to be changed to how best to set up our halves with Bud at 7.

Anything other than that is soft cock behaviour and Flanno saying Hunt is our 7 for 24 maybe 25 means he already needs a blue pill and he hasn’t even started yet.

The Hunt issue relates to the halves so let’s deal with that and get the best outcome for Bud not Ben.

If no one wants to give up a good 6 then Hunt gets the jersey until we get what we need.

100%.
I reckon Hunt's best position would be 6 anyway.
After his latest 'woe is me' shenanigans surely we're not going to continue to pander to his demands are we.
Liddle's a better 9 and Sullivan is a better 7. Hunt would be better at 6. 1 is a worry.

 

[Mojo]

Brisbane is not going to release Mam. Dolphins will not release Katoa. Cowboys will not release Dearden. I don't particularly want Foran.

So, you don't get a good 6. We keep Hunt? Obviously not. You get a crappy 6, plus a Hunt-sized hole in the salary cap that you have to go to market (late) and fill - this is more a curse than a blessing. There aren't too many halves worthy of Hunt money out there, so you aim at other needs - like prop, or edge, etc. At this late stage there aren't many off-contract in those positions either, so you've got to look at players with 1 year to run who might be coaxed by a longer deal, AND will be let go by their clubs. Which club will likely let them go? Obviously, it's the club we trade Hunt to.

Agree. Hunt's not worthy of 'Hunt money'. Piss him off as soon as we get a decent offer and recruit or promote someone who can play 6. We don't have to, and nor should we, create another millionaire to replace Hunt.

 

[Old Timer]

Brisbane is not going to release Mam. Dolphins will not release Katoa. Cowboys will not release Dearden. I don't particularly want Foran.

So, you don't get a good 6. We keep Hunt? Obviously not. You get a crappy 6, plus a Hunt-sized hole in the salary cap that you have to go to market (late) and fill - this is more a curse than a blessing. There aren't too many halves worthy of Hunt money out there, so you aim at other needs - like prop, or edge, etc. At this late stage there aren't many off-contract in those positions either, so you've got to look at players with 1 year to run who might be coaxed by a longer deal, AND will be let go by their clubs. Which club will likely let them go? Obviously, it's the club we trade Hunt to.

The task is get a good 6 to compliment the budding half
If we don’t the budding half will leave and then we are right up shit creek
If we don’t get a 6 then Flanno is a complete myth and all this “he’s a premiership winner and players want to play for him” is a load of old codswallop

 

[56to66]

After listening to Mark Levys radio hook up with Flanno regarding the Hunt meeting I'm not yet convinced that weve kissed and made up....understandably Flanno couldnt go into to much detail for personal reasons but I noticed comments from him like when we left the meeting it was very positive well I certainly was or words to that effect....to be perfectly honest imo Flanno will have bugger all to do with Hunt wanting to stay and sort things out with the club and help us move in the right direction......imo its pretty obvious Hunt doesnt want be here now or in the future full stop.....lets face it if earlier reports are true then the supposibly reasons for Hunt wanting out ie closer family support and better weather in Qld hasnt changed have they....nah he thought the club would roll over but we didn't....this chapter is far from being resolved imo

Now that the dust has settled and we know who really was after Hunt and steering the pot: Broncs this year as they saw the missing piece to challenge for grand final and Titans from 2024 onwards, I applaud the club standing firm and ensuring we get what we want. I think the best options are:

1. 2 Player swap: 2 players for 2 years (equal for $950k - rumoured Hunt's salary).
2. 1 Player swap: It maybe impossible to get like for like. But we get a player with lesser ability and some transfer fee
3. Junior and a transfer fee: We can get a Junior and a hefty transfer fee (maybe around 600k)
4. Transfer fee only: Anything below 800k should be unacceptable.

This will depend on Hunt's manager and the club that wants Hunt (at this stage seems Titans).

Flanno needs to build a monster pack, using the Bankers money, Sulli @ 7, a Trent Barrett built 6, the rest will fall into place, however you can't just release Hunt with no other worthy players on the market.

 

[Gareth67]

Flanno needs to build a monster pack, using the Bankers money, Sulli @ 7, a Trent Barrett built 6, the rest will fall into place, however you can't just release Hunt with no other worthy players on the market.

Just so , I believe that the Dragon team that runs onto the field in 2024 will have many new faces , handpicked by Flanagan .

With the money from Hunt and a few other hanger-ons there should be sufficient to have quality among those newbies .

 

[jay mac]

What if the whole thing was orchestrated by Flanno and Hunt to pressure the board and management to get active in the player transfer market?

 

[Mojo]

What if the whole thing was orchestrated by Flanno and Hunt to pressure the board and management to get active in the player transfer market?

That's a big What if. Very much at the extremely unlikely end of the scale, IMO. In fact, I'd say, off the chart.

 

[jay mac]

That's a big What if. Very much at the extremely unlikely end of the scale, IMO. In fact, I'd say, off the chart.

Everything at the club is off the chart this season

 

[Carrera28]

Transfer fee is pointless, we are still limited by the salary cap. In the old days when we had Illawarra and their debt but the club is debt free and cash transfer does nothing to improve our squad.

Our forward pack is inconsistent and ultimately we need a solid forward pack.

We need to get one or two quality players from the club Hunt goes to, the trick is this player or players needs to have their salary partly paid by the sending club. That effectively increases our cap. Realistically no club is going to release their fullback, halves or hooker in a swap deal. However, one or two solid forwards would greatly improve our pack and critically the discipline and training standards.

We need to decide if Liddle is our Hooker for next two years or not. If not we need to get a hooker who is solid and experienced who gets good service. With a young halfback we need a hooker that is an old head who can calm things down and gives the halves good service. I don't know if Liddle is that player or not I would have said no but his interview yesterday demonstrated that he is hurt by how bad they played against Warriors and maybe he will step up.

If Liddle is the man and we have beefed up our pack, then we can look for a 5/8. But until our forward pack is sorted our salary cap needs to be reserved for forwards.

Once we have a pack with two new solid forwards and a hooker we have a solid foundation to look into the market for halves. We need a solid foundation, without that having a star half to replace Hunt will just consume our salary cap and leave us in same situation we are in now. Unless we can somehow get Nathan Cleary having a star half does not get you wins as despite all his hard work Ben Hunt has not gotten us into the finals.

I would rather play Sullivan at half and rotate Amone (provided he gets over his court case) and Bird at 5/8 behind a big solid consistent forward pack that turns up for 80 minutes, knows how to tackle, who make decent yards and completes sets of sixes. Soward is already at the club coaching the Ladies team so lets appoint him as a halves coach and get him to work with them. Soward was never the best half but he saw the good and the bad of having and not having self confidence/belief and that experience of being thought of as washed up before Bennett arrived through to winning a Premiership gives him a unique insight he can share with young halves to get them paying consistently or 80 minutes.

It won't win Premierships but it will avoid the wooden spoon and realistically will probably win most of its games against the bottom six clubs and could pick up a win or two through Origin.

If we have cap left then we will be forced to look to England for a 5/8. Not ideal (a long way short of ideal) but they are not there

 

[56to66]

What if the whole thing was orchestrated by Flanno and Hunt to pressure the board and management to get active in the player transfer market?

Nuh sorry mate, Jabba Jaws, Fox media and QLD connection Chirp Chirp Chirp $$$ in Bankers head was more likely scenario.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

What if the whole thing was orchestrated by Flanno and Hunt to pressure the board and management to get active in the player transfer market?

You might be on to something there jay mac !!!!!........ Its got me thinking now that maybe all our losses and our position on the ladder have been orchestrated to lull other teams into a false sense of security up untill now so we can start our march to the GF

 

[Mojo]

You might be on to something there jay mac !!!!!........ Its got me thinking now that maybe all our losses and our position on the ladder have been orchestrated to lull other teams into a false sense of security up untill now so we can start our march to the GF

The Art of War

 

[Dragon David]

Broncos not wanting Hunt now so he definitely will be at the Dragons for the rest of the year. Flanno has said that Hunt will also play a big part with the Dragons in 2024. So, things should settle down and our guys and club can concentrate on the remaining games in 2023.

Shock twist in Hunt saga as Broncos ‘move on’ after ‘positive’ Dragons meeting

Shock twist in Hunt saga as Broncos ‘move on’ after ‘positive’ Dragons meeting

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

My take on all this is we need $$$$$ not swappsies....if we play swappsies we get blokes that are fairly ordinary and really dont want to be here.....now on the other hand if we get $$$$$ and lots of it we can add decent players to our roster that want to be here....and further if we don't get lots of $$$$$$ we will end up with cheap used by journeymen that are discards from other clubs like we have previously

Doesn't work that way, any money we get from a Transfer fee doesn't go onto our salary cap, salary cap is about $12m the NRL basically gives all clubs a "grant" of approx $12m which is used for the Salary Cap, so any transfer fee could be used to prop up our pathways, used to purchase equipment or buy Crownies, can't be used for the salary cap to purchase players, unless we start handing out brown paper bags..