Ben Hunt says he “would do it differently” in regards to the Dragons release request controversy.

Ben Hunt has acknowledged that he has “regrets” over the way he handled St George Illawarra’s request for his release last year. During a moment of instability at the club, the veteran halfback attempted several times to break his lucrative Dragons agreement, making it one of the biggest off-field stories of 2023.

After Hunt had openly backed coach Anthony Griffin for the previous eighteen months, the club fired Griffin in May.

The 33-year-old was connected to other northern clubs after feeling the need to pack his bags and return to Queensland as a result of that.

Ben Hunt of the Dragons and teammates look dejected after a Sharks try during the round 18 NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons at PointsBet Stadium on June 29, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Even the appointment of Shane Flanagan to the coaching chair wasn’t enough to quell Hunt’s festering distrust of club management.

It took Flanagan several conversations to convince the halfback to stay.

“There’s regrets about parts of it,” Hunt told 9News of the saga.

“In a way I’m happy there were some things that came to a head.

“It definitely could have been handled better, that’s for sure.

“It’s been a long couple of years and it all sort of compounded into a couple of little things that ticked it off at the end.