Corey Parker: What the puzzling Ben Hunt situation means for Dragons, Broncos and Titans

Here’s why.

He isn’t just a fringe player. He’s their marquee $1 million per season star and captain. He’s also 33, a grown man and a veteran player who makes his own decisions.

Ben is a stand-up guy. A straight-shooter. So for him to want to leave the club immediately, potentially to play hooker at Brisbane when he never wanted to do that at the Dragons … it just doesn’t look good on his part.

I can only think that there’s more to the story. Time will tell if we ever hear it. But this isn’t the Ben Hunt I know.

The one thing I have no doubt played a part is that he’s very close to sacked Dragons coach Anthony Griffin, right back to their under-20s days at the Broncos. What followed Hook’s exit – failed interest in up-and-coming coaches, before reverting to another veteran – then showed the lack of clear vision for what’s next to make the club better.

But in this particular situation at least, the Dragons have done the right thing: insisted that Ben honour his contract. The ramifications were too big if he was allowed to walk out. It would have made the club look weak and possibly condemned them to the wooden spoon, given they’re already running last.

St George Illawarra needed to take this stand, for that iconic Red V and its fans, even though no player is ever bigger than a club.

Will Ben be at the Dragons next year? I doubt it.

But to allow him to leave this deep into the season to benefit a club that’s in premiership contention … the answer had to be ‘no’.

Here is how I see the situation for the different clubs involved.

Dragons

Ben Hunt is far and away the best thing about an otherwise ordinary St George Illawarra team.

If Ben wasn’t playing well, him wanting to leave would probably be beneficial for a side in need of an overhaul. It would allow them to start with a clean slate and no salary cap pressure.

But because he’s clearly been their No.1 player, this is a huge deal.

The only chance that the Dragons may have to keep him is if Shane Flanagan can gradually talk him around with fresh ideas to improve the joint; which seems unlikely if Ben and his family are already intent on moving home to Queensland.

The Dragons will be an even poorer team without Ben but I think they have at least landed on the right coach in ‘Flanno’.

It’s been a rough few years for the Dragons and the vision has looked muddled. There was all the noise around Craig Fitzgibbon and then Jason Ryles as the new coach, but neither plan came off. As it turns out, I think an experienced coach is what they need, for greater stability.

Shane has won a premiership at Cronulla. He can set firmer standards in terms of recruitment and what the Dragons stand for, knowing what it takes to build a champion team.

Yes, he’s had some crosses against this name in recent years, but he’s served his time and his record otherwise speaks for itself. It’s time to let him move on with his career and he looks the right man for the Dragons at this delicate point for the club.

Broncos

I love the Broncos. I hope they go on to win another premiership this season, their first in 17 years.

But winning a grand final … for mine, it’s all about the journey. It’s about the blood, sweat and tears, the sacrifices and the collective efforts that came along the way. When you step onto that podium and lift the trophy with your mates, all those things flood back to you.

So if Ben was to come to the Broncos and win a grand final … that journey is barely three months, with none of the hard stuff alongside his new teammates before the season even started. That’s got to be somewhat hollow, I would feel. It took me seven years of first grade alongside my mates, including the brutality of pre-seasons, to win a premiership.

I took that grand final journey with Ben in 2015. He’d come to the Broncos as a kid and captained the under-20s, then taken every little hard step to get to that big moment. It wasn’t to be, that night against the Cowboys, but the feeling of victory after all that would have been so special.

Would it be the same if he’d come in mid-season this time? Maybe, but I personally can’t imagine so. He could have played as few as seven regular-season games.

So I don’t think it’s a bad thing that Ben won’t be coming to the Broncos in these circumstances, on a number of levels. Even though they’d clearly be a stronger team with him in the line-up.

If Ben had come in as hooker, Billy Walters goes back to the bench and Cory Paix goes to Q Cup. Cory was there in pre-season carrying logs through the bush with his mates, all those crazy things you do together to build camaraderie, so to be pushed out for the finals by a mid-season recruit would have been hard to stomach. You’d be filthy.

The Broncos should still be feeling good about their premiership chances. Although – and I say this respectfully – there’s no doubt that the ghosts of last year’s huge fadeout would come to the forefront of their minds at some point.

Reece Walsh is now out for three weeks. Jordan Riki is out for an extended period, as is Tom Flegler. Strong teams survive those challenges, weak teams don’t.

Brisbane are now a very different team to what we saw last year. I firmly believe that, based on their defensive standards; in which I could see cracks before they crashed and missed the finals last season. They’re a better, tougher, more experienced team now.

But the reality of the game that we play is that there’s still a long way to go and you can’t ever let those standards slip. Teams like Penrith, who are still winning with barely any of their stars and have triumphed in finals football before, will only get stronger.

The Broncos have to match that. Things are looking tough – meaning it’s go time if they’re serious about winning a comp.

Titans

I think Gold Coast are a good side that need some more strong leaders. Ben Hunt certainly fits that bill.

The Titans have told Toby Sexton that he can move on. Tanah Boyd is the current halfback. Ben is clearly an upgrade, if they can sign him to play alongside Kieran Foran.

However, the old throwaway line when joining a new club is that you want to win a comp … and even with Ben as halfback, I don’t see the Titans as being in a premiership window. I don’t see that window opening for them before Ben retires.

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Free to leave: Titans’ ruthless move to land Ben Hunt

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The club is clearly chasing bigger, better things. Their sacking of Justin Holbrook, who really struck me as a good coach, was ruthless.

I liked that, as opposed to the Dragons, they at least did it with a firm plan. They didn’t just sack the coach, they had a new plan in place and they went out and executed it, which means Des Hasler is in charge from next season.

The Titans now move forward with a dual premiership-winning coach and potentially one of the NRL’s best halfbacks steering the team around. Titans fans can be happy with that.