The noise, speculation and rumours around the future of star St George Illawarra Dragons half Ben Hunt are unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon.
The Queensland State of Origin winner - who can play either halfback or hooker - is off-contract at the end of 2023 and reports suggest the Dragons are having plenty of trouble tying him down.
From the idea that Hunt potentially wants a clause added to his contract regarding the future of coach Anthony Griffin, to reports suggesting the Dragons 'lowballed' Hunt with an offer of around $750,000 per season, the Dragons have just over two months remaining until Hunt gains the right to negotiate with any other club in the competition.
That is a scary thought for Dragons fans when they consider exactly how good he has been this year, and how poor the remainder of the team have played around him.
While the Dragons will be desperate to retain Hunt, it's no sure thing, and with clubs already showing interest, Zero Tackle looks at the top five clubs not named the Dragons where he could end up in 2024.
4. Wests Tigers
2024 is the year the Tigers simply must push the reset button and become a competitive outfit once again.
Failure to do it correctly could see them remaining languishing down at the bottom of the table for the foreseeable future. It's that important.
All of Luke Brooks, Jackson Hastings and Adam Doueihi will come off-contract at the same time, and while this writer is of the clear opinion that Jock Madden should be the future of the number seven jersey for the joint venture, it's also fairly unconvincing that is even close to how the Tigers' brass see it.
Madden could be out the door from Concord by the start of the 2023 season, so taking into account that isn't how the Tigers see it, and that Jackson Hastings will continue transforming into a lock forward, then Ben Hunt could be the answer.
The club have already been linked to Cameron Munster, who is also off-contract at the end of the 2023 season, but if they miss the Storm star, Hunt could be the answer.
