Ben Hunt seems all but certain to return to Queensland, with the Canterbury Bulldogs reportedly joining the Sydney Roosters in pulling out of the race for his signature.
Hunt, who was released by the St George Illawarra Dragons while in Australian camp at the Pacific Championships after a messy end to a tumultuous final two years in red and white, is yet to sign on with a new club.
It had been understood four clubs had made inquiries with his management over the future.
They were the Sydney Roosters, who pulled out some days ago, the Canterbury Bulldogs, Brisbane Broncos and the Dolphins.
The Sydney Morning Herald are now reporting the Bulldogs, who were understood to have been weighing up a two-year contract offer for Hunt, have pulled out of the race.
The blue and white were understood to be looking at the possibility of bringing in Hunt to play alongside Matt Burton in the halves, but will now instead stick with ex-Gold Coast Titan Toby Sexton, who had an outstanding second half of the 2024 campaign.
Canterbury, who made the finals for the first time in eight years during the most recently completed season, will instead pour the money they would have used for Hunt, into future resources, with the club bullish about the prospects of a number of their current juniors becoming first-choice first-grade options.
With the Sydney suitors out of the mix for Hunt, it likely means it's a race in two, with Hunt to join either his former club at the Brisbane Broncos, or the Dolphins.
The Broncos are understood to have tabled a two-year deal worth around $550,000 per season. The NRL will tick off on that deal, but could be blown out of the water by the Dolphins per a News Corp report.
It's understood Kristian Woolf is desperate to bring Hunt to Redcliffe, and the club have tabled an offer believed to be worth a combined $1.4 million over the next two years.
The Dolphins were always tipped as the club with the biggest financial fund available when it came to signing Hunt, but there was also little in the way of a guarantee Hunt would end up there. At one point, it was understood the halfback wanted to stay in Sydney, but it's also clear he wants success - that may not happen in the interim at the Dolphins.
For that reason alone, the Broncos may well become Hunt's preferred new home where he would be able to play a number of roles under the coaching of Michael Maguire, who replaced Kevin Walters at the end of the 2024 season when the latter was axed by the club.