St George Illawarra Dragons captain Ben Hunt has been linked with a shock move to a Sydney club for next season as his time at the Red V looks set to come to a close.
Ever since reports emerged that he was seeking a release in the middle of last year, Hunt's future has been up in the air. Surprisingly, he has been linked with signing a contract extension or being gifted an early release from his contract.
His form - and the Dragons' improvement - under Shane Flanagan had the rumour mill speculating he was in talks with the club over adding a year to his contract, which would have likely seen him retire as a Dragon.
However, it's understood that won't be happening.
Instead, the $950,000 per season player has been linked with a return home to Queensland to play for either The Dolphins or Gold Coast Titans.
Yet to confirm his future, it is now being reported that the Canterbury Bulldogs have emerged as a potential shock destination for him for the 2025 NRL season.
"This is really interesting because he's had such an up-and-down relationship with the Dragons over the last few years, and he's obviously got one more season under contract at the Dragons," The Sydney Morning Herald's Adrian Proszenko said on SEN 1170 NRL Crunch Time.
"At one stage, there was even talk about maybe extending him, despite the fact he'd previously asked for a release, but everything that I'm hearing is that he's unlikely to be there next year.
"I think that's (Gold Coast Titans) a chance. There's a big standoff there because if the club asks him to move on, they'll have to chip in some freight, and if Hunt asks to leave, the departures are sort of on the club's terms.
"I reckon what will happen over the off-season is at some point they'll sit down, and they'll say, listen, we've decided we're not going to extend you (and) you can have a look around.
"And if you find something, I reckon he'll potentially move a little bit earlier rather than wait till the contract expires.
"You mentioned the Titans. He's been linked with them, obviously, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Dogs have a look at him as well."
The reports linking him to the Canterbury Bulldogs come after they failed to make it past the opening week of the 2024 NRL Finals despite being considered the favourites against the Manly Sea Eagles.
Starting the season in the NSW Cup, incumbent halfback Toby Sexton played a significant role in their run to the finals but was outplayed by Daly Cherry-Evans on the big stage.
Sexton remains contracted for another season, while promising youngster Mitchell Woods will progress into the club's Top 30 roster in 2025 after representing the U19s NSW Blues earlier this year.
"Toby Sexton has done a magnificent job this season to get them to where they're at," Proszenko added.
"But if you look at that last game, I think that was a bit of a wake-up call to some of the club where it's a game that they dominated (and) if they had an experienced guy like Ben Hunt, potentially that might have been the difference and just got them over the line against Manly.
"There's obviously Mitchell Woods waiting in the wings.
He's a tremendous young talent, but whether he's ready at the start of next year or maybe closer to 12 months away. So, he could potentially be a good riding player for the Bulldogs.