Phil Gould has dismissed speculation of Ben Hunt returning to the Brisbane Broncos, saying that the mid-season move was never an option.
The Dragons on Monday met with Hunt and for the second time blocked his request to leave the club, with both parties agreeing to reassess later in the year, leaving a string of reports that the Origin star would leave the club immediately wide of the mark.
In the lead up to Hunt's meeting with the Dragons, the utility had been heavily linked with a mid-season switch to the Broncos to attempt to win a premiership with his old club. It was reported that he would then sign a multi-year deal with the Titans.
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Gould said the Broncos leg of that deal was never going to happen and that the story had snowballed without factual basis.
"There have been a lot of misleading reports around Ben Hunt. He has made a request, a very public request, it's been denied… the club wants to hold him to his contract. I think that's where it settles at the moment," Gould said on Nine's 100% Footy on Monday.
"I don't think there has been any conversations between his management or Ben Hunt about the Broncos. I don't think Ben Hunt ever offered compensation to pay his way out of his contract… People run off with their mouths with these types of things."
Gould added that the Dragons had nothing to gain from letting Hunt walk immediately and said the club's incoming coach Shane Flanagan would be keen to broker a swap deal with Hunt's potential suitors rather than just letting him walk.
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"There is no way (Flanagan) would let him go for any financial compensation or to just let him walk out of his contract unless whatever club wanted Ben Hunt, he would be saying I want Tom and Bill, and you get Ben Hunt, and he would get two players out of it," Gould said.
"That's how he operates."
Gould's comments came after Dragons CEO Ryan Webb, club chairman Andrew Lancaster and Flanagan met with Hunt on Monday morning.
Speaking on 100% Footy, Nine's Michael Chammas revealed that Hunt had walked into that meeting with the clear idea that he would stay with the Dragons for the rest of the season but wanted to be given a release to leave in the off-season.
"I have been told… his intention isn't to leave the club mid-season. He doesn't want to walk away from his teammates, but for the release at the end of the season, he wants to move on from the club," Chammas said.
"The Dragons feel a disconnect between what Ben Hunt is saying and what his management is saying… They want time to prove to Ben Hunt that the club is not a basket case. They want time [for] Shane Flanagan to show him this road map out of the current predicament they find themselves in.
"I think they have agreed to revisit this in the off-season, and if Ben Hunt still feels the same way at the end of the season the Dragons will have a chat with him and try and work out a solution then."
Paul Gallen said there was little hope of the 2016 premiership coach talking Hunt into staying.
"I don't know whether Flanagan will be able to talk him around it, I hope he can for Flanagan's sake," Gallen said.
"He's been great individually as a player… I'll never take that away from him. He has been fantastic, but there hasn't been a lot else that's come with it.
"…If I was the Dragons, I'd be making sure they get a win out of it. Whether it's financially, or whether they pick up another player or two. However it is going to work, the Dragons have to get a win out of this. Shane Flanagan needs to get a win out of this.
"Players are well within their rights not to move. I've been with the Sharks where they've told players to move on and the player's said 'No, we're not going, I have a contract here.
"If the Dragons don't want to release him, they don't have to release him.
"The fact is, you can't just release him and expect to have $800,000 to $900,000 back in the cap and go spend it on someone else. The fact is there are just not quality halfbacks, or for that fact, quality players at the moment, to go and spend that money on."
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