Anthony Griffin’s sacking has the potential to cost the Dragons their skipper and best player Ben Hunt as the Bulldogs emerge as a potential suitor for the Origin star.
The 33-year-old is contracted to the Dragons until the end of 2025 in potentially his last NRL deal, but he is on record as saying Griffin’s potential sacking could lead to a rethink.
Braith Anasta believes the Bulldogs would be the ideal fit for Hunt should he try to find a way out of his contract in light of Griffin’s departure.
“I’m not sure he wants to stay there, in my eyes there are a lot of other clubs that would be circling, there is one that stands out to me and that is the Bulldogs,” Anasta said.
“Dragons management have created this situation where, not only have they been unable and are unable, to recruit star power, to recruit from outside because they can’t sell a story.
“You can’t go to the Dragons because you don’t know who the head coach is, you’d only be going for an opportunity and that only lasts for so long.
“The Ben Hunt situation, I think this is headed for a divorce. Why would Ben Hunt was to stick around through another process under a new coach when the potential of the Bulldogs would be appealing.”
Paul Crawley believes the Dragons’ lacklustre management could make Hunt’s contract hard to get out of, but given his price tag it may be in both parties’ best interests to part ways.
“That’s the only thing the Dragons have got going in their favour, is the fact they have no one there that can make a decision,” Crawley said.
“So if Ben Hunt has a contract and he wants out, who is going to give him the permission to go?
“I have no doubt in the world though if he doesn’t want to be there, and he’s on more than a million dollars a year, see you later.”
“There are murmurs that the Bulldogs are chasing, I know Gus has interest in Hunt.
“Hunt would be the perfect fit for the Bulldogs right now, Kikau to come back in, Mahoney, Burton, Crichton to come in next year.
“He would be the perfect solution to the Bulldogs.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio believes Dragons fans should be furious that the club’s handling of the Griffin situation seems likely to cost the club its most important player.
“This is why Dragons fans deserve to be absolutely filthy,” Riccio said.
Anasta cited Jack Bird’s outburst at the fans as evidence Hunt is not the only unhappy player in the camp and a mass exodus could be on the cards in light of the Dragons’ coaching shake-up.
“I think all the players are unhappy at the moment, you only have to look at Jack Bird a few weeks ago and what he said about the media and the fans,” Anasta said.
“That was unusual, and I think if he had his time over again he wouldn’t have said it. But it was a sign that the place was just a dark place.
“All the players would be on edge, none would be happy.”
