'My phone hasn't stopped': Dragons confident in landing replacement after 'ballsy' Ben Hunt decision
Shane Flanagan and Ryan Webb are confident the Dragons will land a replacement for Ben Hunt before next season after the "ballsy decision" to terminate his contract.
After weeks of speculation, St George Illawarra drew a line in the sand on Wednesday, coming to a mutual agreement to terminate the final year of Hunt's deal.
The 34-year-old will finish his NRL career at a rival club, with the likes of the Dolphins and Bulldogs emerging as potential destinations for the Maroons playmaker.
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Speaking on SEN Radio, the club's chief executive was quizzed about whether he thought it was the right decision to let Hunt walk and how it came to a head.
"I think for us, yes it was," Webb said.
"I think everyone has seen in the media that Ben has been a bit unsettled for a while now and we've tried to work through that.
Ben Hunt's tenure at the Dragons has come to an end. Getty
"When you put all the pieces together and look at where Ben's head was at and our performance not being where we need to get to on the field and what the future looks like, making a bit of a clean break now was the right call.
"You could see things were ultimately gonna affect the other players and people around the club. It all came to a head a few days ago - that's how we got to where we did."
Webb also confirmed that the Dragons wouldn't be paying a cent to Hunt next season, despite the State of Origin star being on a contract worth approximately $900,000.
Flanagan reiterated the comments from Webb and believes it was best to move on.
Flanagan and Hunt had a testy relationship at times. Getty
"He's always been a little bit unsettled," he told 2GB's Wide World Of Sports Radio.
"Obviously there's been some stuff in the media over the last six or seven weeks that has upset me and I just said as the club captain, we needed to get on top of it.
"The club felt it was best to part ways and move forward … he wasn't comfortable and happy. If he doesn't wanna be there, we may as well move forward."
With the marquee man leaving Wollongong after seven rollercoaster seasons, Red V officials are now looking towards the future for 2025 and beyond.
On top of Hunt's early exit, the Dragons also opted to release Zac Lomax with time to run on his deal, but Webb pointed out that when one door closes, another one opens.
Zac Lomax during Kangaroos camp. Getty
"There's risk in this, there's no doubt," he said.
"There was [a] risk when Zac went and then an opportunity presented. Val Holmes never would have presented to us if we hadn't already made such a strong decision.
"Part of it is you have to back yourself and have trust that by making a decision like this, all of a sudden we're in the shop window.
"It puts us out on show and the 'open for business' sign and sometimes you've got to make a ballsy call now and back yourself in that a solution will appear."
As it stands, the only recognised halves in St George Illawarra's top 30 roster for next season are Kyle Flanagan and Lykhan King-Togia.
Kyle Flanagan remains signed to the Dragons next year. Wolter Peeters
But the coach is confident there will be quality depth added before round one.
"My phone has not stopped with potential candidates to come," Flanagan said.
"We're in the market for some good players and there's obviously some chat around Clint Gutherson. We'll see what happens over the next month there.
"We are looking for some good leaders, we've got some outstanding young kids coming through and I'm really confident in the direction we're going.
"In relation to halfback, we've got to do some work but there's definitely heaps of options - I had six or seven player managers ringing me today."
