Shane Flanagan has confirmed that Ben Hunt will be his first-choice halfback if he is appointed the Dragons head coach following a meeting with the star playmaker.
Hunt has been linked with rumours of an exit in recent weeks amid suggestions that he would be forced to play as a hooker at the club level under the Dragons’ next coach.
Flanagan has emerged as the hot favourite to win the job after Jason Ryles backflipped on joining the club, instead joining the Storm as an assistant.
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The 57-year-old said he had a “really good meeting” with Dragons powerbrokers and is expecting to hear back from the club later this week.
He also explained exactly what he asked Hunt when meeting with him ahead of a potential appointment.
“The question that I did have for Ben Hunt was: ‘If I did get the coaching job at the Dragons, would you still want to stay at the club?’, because there’s been a lot of speculation that Ben Hunt wanted out,” he told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
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“I just wanted assurance that if I got the job all of a sudden on day one I’m looking for a halfback.
“There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge for me to get the job, but in my mind, I had to know what was going on with Ben.
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“I said to him, ‘If I do get the job, you will be my halfback’, and I don’t think that’s a big statement.
“I just wanted to reassure myself that mine and Ben’s relationship was where I thought it was.”
Flanagan once again reaffirmed his desire to be named the Dragons’ full-time head coach.
“Yes, I hope I get the job,” he said.
“I think I can help that club, I want to help that club, I know how to fix recruitment and pathways and I think I’ve been proven in the coaching department and I’ve won a competition.”
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