Interim Dragons coach Ryan Carr insists he's never had cause to question Ben Hunt's commitment when he "gets over that white line" but admits his longer term future is a matter for higher ups at the club.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Hunt confirmed following the Maroons series-clinching win on Wednesday night that he will play for the Dragons in Wollongong on Friday, but also deoubled-down on his desire for an immediate return to Queensland.
The formal request that rocked the club this week came despite the 33-year-old having only inked an extension tying him to the Dragons until the end of 2025 in October.
"Yeah I will play Friday," Hunt told News Corp on Wednesday night.
"I had a good conversation with Ryan Carr on Monday. He said will I come down and play and I said as long as I get through Origin fit, I will definitely come down and play, so that's what I'm doing.
"I would never be a guy to do that to my teammates where I just drop it and walk away. I will turn up and play as long as I'm there."
Hunt added he could "definitely understand" the anger of Dragons fans, from whom he's sure to cop a hostile reception from at WIN Stadium, but said he and has family are "ready to come home."
It sees the Titans firming to land his signature, despite technically being unable to negotiate with the wantaway star.
Newly appointed Dragons coach Shane Flanagan is set to make a final pitch for Hunt to remain in Wollongong, but it's Carr facing the task of managing the remainder of the season with a captain who's made it clear he doesn't want to be there.
While he admittedly had "no inkling" the release request was coming, Carr said the skipper's long-term future is "not for me to comment on."
"Webby's (CEO Ryan Webb) addressed the club's stance on it, Hunty's got his own stance on it, it's not for me to buy into," Carr said on Thursday morning.
"I'm here to coach the team, and to coach the team tomorrow night against the Warriors. We're at full-steam ahead on that. What happens outside of that will happen.
"That'll take its course and there'll be a process around that, but I don't want to buy into it because it's not for me to comment on. My players are my players and I just want to coach them.
"I give them the respect that they give me and [they'll] turn up tomorrow night and put their body on the line and, and wear their heart on their sleeve and play for the jersey. That's all I'm going to ask of them all."
He's confident Hunt will answer the call despite making it clear he wants out at the soonest opportunity.
"What you see is what you get with Benny," Carr said.
"He's an unreal competitor. When he gets over that white line, he just gives his all for his teammates and for his team and his club. That's all we can ask of anyone really.
"I love him, I love coaching him. He's a great person, great leader, great player so [I'd] definitely love to see him here at the Dragons, that's for sure. I've had multiple conversations with him and we're treating this one like we treated Origin one.
"If he pulls up sweet we expect him to play. There's no doubt in my mind that, come tomorrow night at eight o'clock, everyone who takes that field is going to be ready to put their body on the line for the team."
The Wollongong faithful are sure to make their feelings known on the matter, but Carr isn't concerning himself with the possibility of a hostile reaction.
"That's another one of those things we can't control," Carr said.
"We can only control what we can control, which is our performance on the field and what we do out there over that white line. That's what the crowd wants us do, play well and do a good job on the field.
"I don't want to read too much into [their reaction]. All I want the boys to do is focus on playing our best game of footy that we can for this team, for this club and for our fans and our supporters."
Carr has impressed in his role as caretaker, the Dragons 2-2 over the last month on his watch. It's led to call from players to see him retained on the club's coaching staff beyond this year.
"I've known Flanno for a bit. We haven't caught up yet but I think we're going to catch up soon," Carr said.
"I've known Flanno for a while now so it's good for him.The club made a decision there and we all support it, we get on board with it.
"Looking forward to next year, there's some stability there but we've got a game to play tomorrow night at the moment. We just want to take it one game at a time.
"We've had a good month of footy, but we want to keep building on that. We want to be a consistent footy team and footy club so that's the goal [for the rest of the year]."
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.
Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
