The “trust factor” between Dragons star Ben Hunt and new coach Shane Flanagan is being tabbed as one of the main reasons why the star halfback is set to sign a contract extension with St. George-Illawarra.
Flanagan told The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie that he was set to meet with Hunt and his wife Bridget in the next couple of weeks to finalise a one-year extension for the star halfback, which will keep him at the Dragons until the end of the 2026 season.
Hunt is reportedly happy with the direction the Dragons are heading in under Flanagan, who has made quite the impact in his first season at the Red V.
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Ritchie said on NRL360 that it’s a remarkable turnaround from Hunt to want to re-up with the Dragons considering that this time last year he was agitating for an early release from his Dragons contract so he could finish his career with a Queensland-based club.
“I didn’t think there was anyway back for Ben Hunt when he was public and forceful about wanting that release I thought there was no way he could stay,” Ritchie said.
“I spoke to Shane Flanagan and he says there’s a trust factor now. They trust each other.”
Fox League’s James Hooper and former NRL star James Graham both believe that Hunt has been let down by the club in the past, but Flanagan has so far done a great job of doing what he says he will, starting with improving the club’s on field performances.
“It’s a remarkable effort from the Dragons to be able to keep him. It was one of the biggest stories of last year that Ben Hunt demanded an immediate release,” Hooper said.
“At the time, many of us were of the view that it was going to be all over and that the Dragons management have erred, and failed to deliver on promises and Ben was going to be let go. To Shane Flanagan’s credit, he held firm, he’s convinced him to stay and now the Dragons are much improved as a result.”
Graham added: “I think reading between the lines that Ben was let down to and misled by the club on some promises he was assured of about signings and where the club was going but you look at the instant impact of Flanagan. Publicly, he comes out and says we aren’t getting the spoon, and it’s proven to be right.
“So you can only imagine the conversations in private, he delivers on his word about where the club is going, he starts to believe in the vision and now Ben Hunt trusts his coach. He’s built that trust in 6,7,8 months time, so he’s starteing to believe already that when it comes to crunch time with this extension, when Flanno says this is where we’re going, he believes it.”
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The Dragons, who haven’t finished the regular season better than tenth since 2018, are currently sitting in the top eight with seven wins and six losses. Hunt’s play is a huge reason why as well, with his 22 try assists the most in the NRL this season, five more than the second-best mark.
Graham went onto say that the Dragons still have plenty of improvement left in them after taking some time to find their feet earlier in the season, and credits Flanagan to getting them to a position where they are challenging for a top eight spot.
“It goes back to Flanagan and the environment he creates there,” Graham said.
“Currently, they are on seven wins, the same number as the Dolphins who sit fourth. Now you can guarantee internally in that dressing room, ‘We’re better than them, we’re better than the team sitting fourth’.”
Ritchie also sung Flanagan’s praises.
“If you had to pick a Dally M Coach of the Year right now, I would have to pick Shane Flanagan. From where they were to where they are right now, I think it’s been a remarkable turnaround,” the journalist said.
The arrival of Flanagan and in turn the on-field improvement of the Dragons has given cause for Hunt to potentially end his outstanding career with the Red V.
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Flanagan told The Daily Telegraph that he plans to meet with Hunt and Hunt’s wife in the coming weeks.
“Ben has told me he wants to stay,” Flanagan said.
“I will sit down with Ben and Bridget in the next week or two, have a feed, and talk about it. We’ll go from there. Ben is happy where the club is heading and wants to be part of it
“He is all about winning and we are winning football games. We’re lucky to have him and we want to keep him. He is crucial to our club. Ben’s our captain, a rep player and a halfback.
“It’s not something we’re in a rush to get done but we’ll sit down as soon as possible when time allows us.
“We are going into an important game against Manly this week and then Ben will head into (Queensland) camp so we will have to get to each other at the right time.”
Flanagan credited Hunt for the way the 34-year-old has managed his body throughout his long playing career, believing the halfback he still has plenty of good football left.
Since debuting for the Broncos in 2009, the Rockhampton product has played in 324 NRL games and 43 representative matches.
“Ben trains all the time. It’s not like he’s injured and has one day at training and then the next day off. His body is still in good shape, he’s looked after himself for a long period of time. That’s the modern day footballer,” Flanagan said.