Shock contender that makes perfect sense as five clubs floated in Ben Hunt pursuit

Ben Hunt is searching for a new home and there's expected to be a few clubs lining up to sign the State of Origin star for the 2025 season.

The halfback parted ways with the Dragons this week after a messy contract saga that spanned 18 months and involved plenty of back-and-forth.

Hunt had a year to run on his deal at St George Illawarra worth an estimated $900,000 but the club have confirmed their now-former captain won't receive a cent of it.

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Instead, the 34-year-old will head to the open market to keep his hopes of winning an NRL premiership alive before he hangs up the boots.

Wide World Of Sports takes a look at the potential landing spots for the Maroons star.

Dolphins

The most obvious and likely destination for Hunt to finish his career is the Dolphins.

Throughout the entire ordeal at the Dragons, the playmaker expressed his desire to move back home to Queensland and be closer to his family.

With new coach Kristian Woolf on the search for marquee talent to join the Redcliffe-based side next year, Hunt looms as the perfect fit.

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Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader has publicly stated the door was open for Hunt to join the club next season and they would be keen to discuss a move.

As it stands, the Dolphins have young gun Isaiya Katoa and experienced utility Kodi Nikorima as their front-line playmaking options, but Hunt would certainly bring class and match-winning ability to a strong roster packed with talent.

Canterbury Bulldogs

They've been linked with Hunt for an extended period and now the opportunity could finally be presented to Phil Gould to work his magic.

It has been reported that any talks between the two parties cooled off due to Hunt's sizeable contract at the Dragons, but that has since been wiped out of the equation.

Canterbury pushed themselves up the ladder in 2024 under coach Cameron Ciraldo, but perhaps still lacked that last piece of the puzzle to be a legitimate title threat.

Adding a player of Hunt's calibre to the equation for the next year or two could make the Bulldogs one of the competition's most feared sides.

Teen sensation Mitchell Woods has already been touted as the long-term No.7 at the club but is still a little way off being ready for first grade footy, which could make the potential move for Hunt the perfect stop-gap.

Sydney Roosters

It's no secret the Tricolours are cashed up after losing a stack of players - but on top of that, they will be without two key spine players for a large chunk of 2025.

Luke Keary has moved overseas, while halfback Sam Walker and hooker Brandon Smith are both expected to miss more than half of next season due to ACL injuries.

Hunt has starred at rep level in the No.9 jumper and if the Chooks made a play for him, it could allow Connor Watson to remain in his preferred position at lock.

The club have brought Chad Townsend into the fold as a back-up option and he's expected to partner Sandon Smith early in the season, but Hunt also provides cover.

They've got the money to spend and Hunt wants to win a premiership, which the Roosters are always a chance of competing for.

Brisbane Broncos

There's still a few dominoes that would need to fall to make this reunion happen, but it's also not out of the realm of possibility.

Ezra Mam is facing an uncertain future at the Broncos after an off-field incident, with many of the belief that the club should sack their star five-eighth.

Should they come down hard on Mam, new coach Michael Maguire will have a big hole to fill and Hunt's desire to play out his career in Queensland could play into his hands, as well as the new-found space in their salary cap.

Hunt would have plenty of star players to work off and could combine with Adam Reynolds for a year or two in a bid to bring the Broncos a premiership.

Newcastle Knights

It's hard to imagine a world where if Hunt leaves Sydney, he doesn't move home to Queensland - but if there was ever a club that needed a marquee playmaker, it's the Knights.

While they did manage to sneak into the finals again this season, coach Adam O'Brien played musical chairs with his halves and it clearly had an impact on the side's form.

Plenty of the weight has been placed firmly on Kalyn Ponga's shoulders in recent years but there's only so much the superstar fullback can do.

Adding a player like Hunt to their spine could help turn the Novacastrians into title hopes instead a fringe top-eight team.

Newcastle should also have some salary cap space with Daniel Saifiti moving on and Jayden Brailey rumoured to potentially follow soon, so it wouldn't be a major surprise to see them make a play for Hunt's services.