So, the whole Ben Hunt thing. Not good. Not good at all.
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There's always heroes and villains in rugby league, whatever the story. When the story is Ben Hunt, things are even more black and white. That's despite the fact that, in the present story, he's neither.
He's not the villain he's being made out to be in some quarters, nor is he the poor innocent soul as he's been painted in others. It's Hunt's career for you.
Ever since he inked that $6.5 million contract with Dragons at the beginning of 2017 he's been relentlessly criticised and lavished with praise, almost all of it way over the top.
High pay packets beget high emotions and Hunt's salary has always inspired as much, despite the man himself going about his business in a very understated fashion.
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That's just the way it rolls. For whatever reason, Hunt just gets heart rates going. Given as much, the tendency to look at his contract standoff with the Dragons emotionally.
This column's tendency through Hunt's time in Wollongong has been to leap to the skipper's defence. Kickoff loves Benny, as do most people who've had anything to do with the bloke.
He's earned no end of respect for the way he's carried himself through the aforementioned storm. It's why even those with loyalties lying south of the Tweed were out of their seats when Hunt grabbed that Nathan Cleary chip-kick in last year's Origin decider and raced 50 metres fore the keystone moment of his career.
Others are just as inclined to reach for the biggest stick they can find. Those views are not without foundation either. In such highly combustible matters, it's wise to take emotion out of the discussion and look just at the facts.
From whichever end of the pendulum you sit, they just don't read well for the Dragons skipper. Like the fact the club will have paid him in the vicinity of $6.5 million for just one finals appearance in six years.
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Another fact is that, if he was as concerned about the club's future direction as he now appears, he didn't need to sign a two-year contract extension at the end of last season. But he did.
That's the axis on which the whole saga turns. Had either club or player determined a fresh start or parting of ways was required, it was the perfect time to make that decision.
Not a single fact or circumstance has changed as it pertains to the years 2024 and 2025. There was never a coach in place for either of those seasons.
At the time of inking it, Anthony Griffin was only contracted as coach until the end of this season. A requested out-clause hinging on Griffin's remaining as head coach was denied by the club. Hunt signed the contract anyway.
Another fact is that Griffin's tenure was a demonstrable disaster. He had to be sacked, and the club did so in what was an off-contract year. It did not break any promises or contractual obligations in regards to the Hunt deal.
Through Griffin's tenure, Hunt was appointed club captain and was guaranteed to wear the No. 7 and only the No. 7 at club level. Incoming coach Shane Flanagan has provided the same direct assurance that he will play Hunt at halfback.
A final fact to bear in mind, is that Queensland hasn't drifted any further north from Sydney since October last year. As best anyone can deduce, it won't do so by the end of 2025.
Of course things aren't always that simple. The aforementioned facts don't allow for nuance. Facts in rugby league are a lot like beauty, they lie in the eye of the beholder.
They certainly don't always take you to where you'd like to go, but a dispassionate reading of them doesn't read great for Hunt at this juncture. It's hard to swallow for those of us who really like the bloke.
The sad reality is that most of us also accept Hunt's time with the Dragons has run its course, and probably had done prior to him signing his extension, but sign it he did.
It means both parties lost out on the opportunity to go through what's currently a very messy process in a more amicable fashion. It would not have been seamless, with Hunt things never are, but it beats what we're seeing now.
The NRL needs to seriously consider a salary cap tax when players arrive at a club after failing to see out a contract at another club, but that's a discussion for another day.
It'll have heroes and villains too. Rugby league yarns always do.
In this yarn, Hunt isn't really one or the other, but it will all depend on the eye of the beholder. What he's most certainly not, though, is a victim. The Dragons club isn't either.
As is always the case in such matters, the real victims are the fans. They need their heroes and villains. Otherwise, to lean on the famous Seinfeld idiom, they really are just cheering for the clothes.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
