Shane Flanagan was recently appointed to the role of head coach at the St George Illawarra Dragons to try and get the club out of their current rut.

The Dragons were hoping that the confirmation of who the new coach would bring with it stability but it seems things may get worse before they get better as Channel Nine’s Danny Weidler has revealed that halfback Ben Hunt has requested his release from the Red V.

Hunt has been in a purple patch of form since the start of last year and is arguably the main reason why the Dragons managed to stay in the race for the top eight in 2022 for as long as they did.

While this is an unfortunate situation it has allowed Flanagan to set a precedent early that the coach had the final say with the 2016 premiership-winning coach confirming to The Daily Telegraph that Hunt would not be released.

“He’ll be captain and our halfback and we’ll move forward,” Flanagan said.

“He’s got a contract. I haven’t bothered him because he’s in Origin camp but we’ll chat after the game.”

Hunt bombshell takes another twist as Dragons star tells club he wants out THIS season 😮

Update 👉 https://t.co/PHoJu4ITnv pic.twitter.com/9hR6o2ftyu

— Fox League (@FOXNRL) June 17, 2023

Since these comments were made Fox Sports has reported that the Gold Coast Titans are looking to sign Hunt if given the chance and are believed to have even made him an informal offer.

Titans High-Performance Advisor and Fox Sports analyst Mal Meninga was asked about the club’s interest in Hunt and gave an answer that should have Gold Coast fans optimistic.

“I sort of represent the Titans and we’d certainly be interested in talking to Ben Hunt if he became available, it really is that simple,” said Meninga.

Unfortunately for Dragons fans it seems that this situation will not be resolved for a while as Flanagan is likely to remain firm on his decision to not release Hunt for a while to set a new standard at the club but in doing so could further upset the Red V’s captain which in turn could start to impact his performance on the field until all parties involved come to a compromise or Hunt is released.