The news we were all at least partially expecting has finally come, with St George Illawarra Dragons halfback Ben Hunt requesting a release over the weekend.
And while the Dragons were quick to release a statement of their own on Sunday afternoon knocking back the request, to do so may not be in the club's best interests.
I've seen varied reactions from Dragons fans over the last 48 hours - and the frustrations of a fan base who have tasted finals success just twice since Wayne Bennett left at the end of 2011 are to be expected - but Hunt hasn't done what he was supposed to in his time at the Red V.
A Queensland Origin player? Yes, sure.
A Rugby League World Cup winner? Also, yes.
But guiding his club team to something of substance? It's a dismal failure.
That's not to say it's all Hunt's fault at all, because it isn't. Hunt has not had the cattle around him to help the cause, but ultimately, he has been at the club for six years, and the results are poor.
If Luke Brooks gets all of the criticism in the world directed at the Tigers over his 11-year stint, then why is Hunt immune? He might be a better player, sure, but if the primary job of a halfback is to direct teams to win games of football, then Hunt has failed on his million-dollar per-season deal at the Dragons.
This year in particular, Hunt's head has looked elsewhere - during a string of close games, he struggled to stand up and ice the game when situations - the one against the Canberra Raiders springs to mind - put themselves in front of the Queensland Origin star.
As mentioned, it's not exactly Hunt's fault regarding the horrid results at the Red V over the last six seasons - the club has been run diabolically at the board level for all of that period, the coaching appointments have all turned disastrous, and recruitment has been run by a team who, based on the decisions made, never bothered to watch the club's juniors, or actually had an understanding of who the marquee recruits should have been.
So it's not exactly difficult to see why Hunt wants to head elsewhere to finish his career. Once you throw the Anthony Griffin factor in on top of that, well, it becomes almost a surprise he has lasted this long.
Hunt is a well-known big supporter of Griffin, and while the star halfback wanted Griffin to stay at the club, even into next season, the situation had become completely and utterly untenable.
Griffin, who hadn't made the finals in either of his two seasons at the joint-venture, lost six straight games before the club's board finally decided to pull the pin - a pin that should have been pulled weeks earlier.
Some of the changes made in the final weeks of Griffin's time in charge at the Red V made little to no sense, but again, it's just part of the reason Hunt can have his release and head off to another club.
The bottom line is that Hunt, as well as he has played at times, has not been at his best this season.
At any rate, no one player is bigger than the club, and making unrealistic demands of the club to continue with a coach who simply wasn't working was doing just that.
But it's not just his support of Griffin. Hunt has made plenty of destabilising comments throughout the first half of the 2023 season.
As late as last week in Queensland Origin camp, while endorsing the appointment of Shane Flanagan, he suggested he wasn't sure about his future.
"I don't know yet. I have to get down there and talk to Flanno and the staff and go from there," Hunt told the media.
That, despite signing a two-year deal before this year, kicked off to extend his time at the Red V until the end of 2025.
That came after his comments in April to The Sydney Morning Herald that he wasn't sure what he would do if Griffin got the sack.
โI honestly can't comment on it [what would happen if Griffin was sacked],โ Hunt said.
โI've been at clubs when coaches do change and all of a sudden the player personnel changes, the new coach comes in and wants different things.
โI understand a lot can change when there's a coaching change.
โI'm definitely not saying I'll ride off into the sunset [with Griffin], but you never know what's going to happen.โ
That came alongside Hunt suggesting he didn't want another rebuild at this stage of his career - again, fair enough, but it doesn't need to be a rebuild at the Dragons.
They simply need the right direction.
And then, asking for his release from Queensland Origin camp, where he won't have to face his teammates until at least Thursday.
Unfortunately, even the request for a release has been poorly managed by Hunt, and while he has been the club's best player for much of the last six years, it's easy to see why the sick and tired fan base have turned on him so quickly.
The bottom line is that the Dragons have options - it may not be Ben Hunt, but it will put experience on the shoulders of Jayden Sullivan managing the football team along with Talatau Amone in the six, or, failing that, Paul Turner.
The duo were the halves for Illawarra's 2019 SG Ball premiership-winning team, a side that also featured fullback Tyrell Sloan.
What the Dragons need is good coaching, which Flanagan will bring in 2024, and to get rid of dead weight. Hunt is not deadweight, but the club's most experienced player can not carry an attitude of not wanting to be there if the Dragons are ever going to improve.
On a million dollars per season, the club is built around him, but it may be time for the Dragons to balance their salary cap, bring in a handful of marquees, particularly in the forwards where they are desperately needed, and build from the ground up.
Whether that plan even needs to feature Hunt or not is up for debate.
Regardless of anything, the first decision interim coach Ryan Carr must make is who will be the new captain - Hunt can't lead the side onto the field this Friday night against the New Zealand Warriors.
Ultimately, the Dragons can dig their heels in all they like, but doing so isn't the right move for the club.
Free up the money, get the youngsters in and start the proper rebuild now. That, under the arrival of Shane Flanagan, is the way forward for a club who haven't tasted anything like success in over a decade.
