Blues adamant Hunt contract drama won't distract Maroons

NSW players and officials aren’t expecting speculation around Ben Hunt’s NRL future to be a distraction for the St George Illawarra captain or his Maroons team-mates in Wednesday night’s Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium.

The Dragons confirmed in a statement on Sunday that Hunt has requested a release from his contract, which runs until the end of the 2025 season, and is keen to return home to Queensland. The club said the request had been denied.

“Ben is contracted through to the end of the 2025 season and is a big part of the current and future plans of the Dragons,” chief executive Ryan Webb said.

“We’re committed to working with Ben to understand and address his concerns."

Incoming St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan is desperate to keep the star playmaker and had already assured Hunt that he wouldn’t seek to play him at hooker, the position he plays for Queensland and Australia.

The Maroons dummy half still wants out of the Red V and he took the extraordinary step of texting journalists to confirm he had sought a release.

With the speculation about Hunt’s future now set to dominate headlines in the lead up to Origin II, NSW officials decided to withdraw assistant coach Paul McGregor, who signed the Kangaroos World Cup winner six years ago, from media interviews.

However, Blues players and staff insisted that the saga would not impact Hunt or the Maroons in the lead up to the Suncorp Stadium clash.

“I don’t know the specifics about it or when he asked for a release but Ben Hunt is a very experienced player,” Blues official Greg Alexander said.

“He has been through contract situations before so I’m sure it will be water off a duck’s back.”

Star centre Tom Trbojevic added: “I don't think so. I am sure that he’s focusing on Queensland and I’m sure that after that he will talk about it”.

The Blues held their final training session in Sydney on Sunday and forward Cameron Murray dispelled any doubts about his fitness by taking part in the work-out.

Murray suffered a groin injury two weeks ago playing for South Sydney and had been on a restricted training program but he was heavily involved.

The Rabbitohs captain upended team-mate Damien Cook in a tackling drill, prompting McGregor to say: “Take it easy on each other you Souths blokes”.

“He did a fair bit of team training on Friday so today will be full session for Cam just to make sure he's good,” Alexander said. “He's confident and the physios are confident so I think he'll be ready.”

Panthers forward Liam Martin is undergoing HIA protocols but also looks set to play and Alexander said he had decided against wearing headgear on Wednesday night after trialling it at training last week.