Released St George Illawarra Dragons captain Ben Hunt may be moving closer to a decision on his future, with the halfback reportedly set to meet with the Brisbane Broncos this week.
Hunt, who spent the last two years of his time at the Dragons in an on-again, off-again type relationship with wanting a release, was finally granted one at the end of the 2024 season.
It came after the relationship between he and coach Shane Flanagan, who also released Zac Lomax to the Parramatta Eels, reportedly became 'untenable'.
Since then, it has been speculated that four clubs - the Sydney Roosters, Canterbury Bulldogs, Brisbane Broncos and The Dolphins - have been in the mix for his signature.
Channel 9s Danny Weidler is reporting that Hunt will meet with the Broncos this week, but the Roosters are still firmly in the running for his signature.
The Roosters pursuing Hunt is hardly a surprise given they will miss both Sam Walker and Brandon Smith - their halfback and hooker - through the first half of 2025 as they recover from ACL injuries that were both sustained during Round 26 of the 2024 campaign.
Hunt can play both halfback and hooker, and the Roosters have money to burn after the departures of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Luke Keary, Joseph Suaalii and Joseph Manu at the end of 2024. The tri-colours haven't replaced any of the players with elite talent yet and have six spots left on their Top 30 for 2025.
The Roosters, who have re-signed Sam Walker, also have the added issue of Brandon Smith's potential departure at the end of 2025, although the Kiwi international has claimed he would prefer to remain with the club.
Hunt could see a return to the Broncos as a homecoming of sorts after playing a large chunk of his career based out of Red Hill, but it's understood his preference is to remain in Sydney with his family at this time.
That could leave the Roosters or Bulldogs as the front-runners to secure his services, although Canterbury will be also keen on giving Toby Sexton a prolonged run in the number seven alongside Matt Burton at five-eighth after the duo guided the blue and white back to the finals for the first time in eight years during the most recently completed season.
As it stands, it's understood the Dolphins would win the battle for his contract if it came down to money, but that is an unlikely scenario given Hunt left plenty of cash on the table by departing the Dragons without a confirmed contract elsewhere.
Hunt has set no timeline for a decision on his future, but it was made clear that negotiations would only start following the conclusion of his Australian commitments in the Pacific Championships.
Because of those matches, Hunt isn't due back for pre-season until mid December, so likely has a month to make a call before he would start eating into any pre-season preparation time.