St George Illawarra's tumultuous season was hit with its biggest bombshell yet when Ben Hunt declared that he wanted out immediately.
The skipper informed the Dragons he was unhappy at the joint-venture with his management sending in a release request - which was knocked back - just days after Shane Flanagan was appointed as their new head coach.
Hunt's request has now been denied a second time, with club management expecting him to fulfill his contract and the Broncos now distancing themselves from their former star.
Brisbane Broncos 'move on' from Ben Hunt pursuit
The Dragons were thrown into disarray when the news broke that Hunt wanted to be released from the remaining two years of his deal with the halfback unwilling to stick around amid the club possibly being plunged into another rebuilding stage during the twilight of his career.
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It came just a day or so after the Dragons' CEO, Ryan Webb, had revealed he believed the appointment of Flanagan would be enough to keep Hunt happy as murmurings around his discontent spread.
After initially declining his release request, the Dragons have now doubled down on their approach towards Hunt.
The club continues to refuse to release their No. 7, informing him on Monday morning that they expect him to fulfill his deal until 2025.
He has been given the remainder of Monday off, with the expectation he returns to training on Wednesday before their Thursday night clash with the Sharks, per the Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph.
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"The club listened to Ben’s concerns and is committed to working with him throughout the remainder of his playing contract as both Ben and the club share a common goal of winning football games and building a successful football club," Dragons CEO Ryan Webb said following discussions on Monday morning.
Hunt also issued a statement via the club's website: "I appreciated the open and honest discussion and will continue to work alongside the club and now focus on our game against the Sharks this Thursday night."
The Broncos have now released their own statement on the matter with the club's CEO, Dave Donaghy, declaring the chance of Hunt making a short-term switch to Brisbane was over.
"I had one conversation with Ryan Webb over the weekend where, after seeing public comments in the media, I enquired as to Ben's availability," he said.
"Ben is contracted to the Dragons and we respect that and we move on.
"We are really happy with the squad we have here at the Broncos."
Hunt only inked a new deal to remain at the Dragons last year after protracted contract discussions took place.
He is currently signed until the end of the 2025 campaign but has now gone on record about wanting to move on straight away with the August deadline for mid-season switches fast approaching.
Ben Hunt reveals intention to leave the Dragons to move back to Queensland
Following Origin II, Hunt delved into the reasons why he wanted out of the Dragons citing his unhappiness with the way the club have operated since he signed his extension, while reiterating his desire to move back to Queensland for family reasons.
"The priority is to come home to Queensland," Hunt told News Corp.
"That’s where we want to be. I have missed the support networks with family and the weather is always nice.
"Myself and my partner, our families are here and my family is in central Queensland, so being in Sydney we’re a long way away. We’ve enjoyed our time in Sydney but we’re ready to come home."
Hunt claimed the bombshell to seek a release from the remaining years of his deal didn't come out of the blue and was instead the result of a lot of factors building up in recent months.
"It wasn’t something that has just come out of nowhere," he said.
"There’s been a lot of build up to it and it’s got to a point where I felt I needed to get out.
"It’s been a lot of stuff over a long period of time.
"When I signed, there was a lot going on. They wanted to get me signed first to get it sorted out so they could start making recruitment decisions and it’s gone nowhere. I don’t know. It’s tough to answer.
"I just thought once I signed there would be a snowball effect and a few things would happen, but it hasn’t happened."
Which clubs are interested in signing Ben Hunt?
Reports over the weekend have linked Hunt with a short-term move to the Broncos for the remainder of the season, before another switch to the Titans from next season onwards.
The Bulldogs and Roosters have also been touted as clubs potentially interested in the halfback.
Many in the game are questioning the fairness of Hunt moving from one of the competition’s battlers to a premiership contender just in time for the business end of the campaign.
Hunt’s former Dragons teammate James Graham spoke strongly on the matter on Sunday.
“This is a guy that has publicly said he doesn’t want to play no. 9 for the St George Illawarra Dragons, despite the fact that might be his best position with the squad that they’ve got,” Graham said on Triple M.
“But hold on a minute, I’ll do it for Queensland, I’ll do it for Australia and I’ll do it for the Broncos?
“For the average NRL fan, does this pass the pub test? Ben Hunt is leaving the bottom club to play for the top club on a four-month deal. Come on.
“The NRL need to close this loophole. You can’t be signing somewhere for four months and then going somewhere else."
