St George Illawarra Dragons halfback Ben Hunt has confirmed he is still on the fence over his future.
And now he has been previously.
This time, it's about whether he will retire or not at the end of his current deal, which is due to expire at the end of 2025.
The past 24 months have been something of a roller coaster for Hunt. From re-signing with the club on a two-year extension at the back-end of 2022 that would see him at the joint-venture to the end of 2025, he then asked for a release mid way through 2023 following the axing of former coach and good friend Anthony Griffin.
Hunt had originally wanted a clause in his contract linked to Griffin.
But the club's turnaround and potential to push for a finals berth under Shane Flanagan has seen him flip on his desire to leave Wollongong, where he now appears destined to finish his career, having already been in discussions with the Red V over the potential of playing on into 2026.
Hunt confirmed on Fox Sports Face-to-Face however that he is yet to commit to playing on, although promised he would make up his mind by the end of this current season.
โTo be honest I'm still on the fence about it, and not on the fence with the club and whether I want to leave or not,โ Hunt said on the show.
โIt's more about my future and how much longer I've got left in this game. I'm 34 now and have played a hell of a lot of footy.
โWhile I'm still enjoying my footy it's not getting easier, I don't want to rush into anything.
โI definitely don't think (I'll make my decision) next year, it will be before that, the club's I think in a position where they are looking to grow and make some moves in our roster to bring some players in, so I don't want to leave them in limbo for too long.
โSo I will get that sorted out at some stage, but I just want to not rush into something that I'm not 100 per cent in.โ
The star halfback has already hinted that he may have played his last game for the Queensland Maroons, but has refused to confirm as yet whether that will be the case, with a desire to not be away from family for six weeks potentially the driving force in that decision.
Either way, Hunt will again captain the Dragons in 2025 before deciding whether he plays on into 2026.
It's understood the Dragons and Shane Flanagan are keen to keep him on the books if Hunt has the desire to play on, with a decision now expected before the year is out.
If Hunt does elect to end his career at the end of 2025, the Dragons would be able to attack the free agency market from November 1 this year for a replacement halfback.
Although the market already looks skinny, with the likes of Jackson Hastings, Toby Sexton, Jonah Pezet Braydon Trindall and Sam Walker the best of those off-contract, along with Mitchell Moses who has player options in his contract at the Parramatta Eels.
Hunt is on big money and so the Dragons would be armed with a war chest if they needed to replace their current club captain, althoughthe club may be hopeful of him playing on for an extra year given the state of the market.
