Ben Hunt responds to startling allegations levelled against Dragons

Dragons star Ben Hunt has hit out at claims there is a leak in the team after allegations that someone told the media about what happened in Mudgee. The Dragons have been under constant scrutiny in the past few seasons after a string of of-field events have hampered their on-field focus.

The club was dragged into a serious NRL biosecurity Covid-19 breach in 2021, which saw 13 players fined for disobeying the game's rules. The players were Josh McGuire, Jack de Belin, Paul Vaughan, Zac Lomax, Corey Norman, Kaide Ellis, Blake Lawrie, Jack Bird, Daniel Alvaro, Gerard Beale, Matt Dufty, Josh Kerr and Tyrell Fuimaono.

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Last year, only a handful of players turned up for the end-of-year awards night after another tough season that saw them miss out on NRL Finals for the fourth year in a row. This year, Mikaele Ravalawa got into an early-morning argument with teammate Zane Musgrove in Mudgee.

Dragons players fronted the media on Monday for the first time since the pair's public spat, with captain Hunt defending the club's culture after a nightmare off-season. In a brutal three months for the Saints, five-eighth Tyrell Amone has been stood down after an alleged assault charge while prop Francis Molo has pleaded guilty to intimidation on a domestic matter.

And Hunt has hit out suggestions there is a mole in the group after the media found out about the incident in Mudgee. Former Dragons player made the allegations last week that there was a 'little snitch' leaking infornation.

"I don't think there's a mole in the group. I don't think there is anyone who has intentionally gone out and ratted the club out," Hunt said to the media. "It's just something that happens."

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The club have since fined Ravalawa and Musgrove over their loud 6am argument at their Mudgee team hotel after last week's Charity Shield defeat to South Sydney, which the players say was football-related. Hunt admitted that he can understand why fans of the club could be getting frustrated, but reassured them the team is focused.

"I can definitely understand why they are getting a bit restless and a bit annoyed with what is going on," Hunt said. "On the whole I don't think there is a culture problem, everyone is working hard every day to be better and everyone wants to win.

"It's frustrating for 99 per cent of players when things like this pop up. All you want to do is train hard and win games of footy. Then you're faced with this stuff all the time." Ravalawa attempted to clarify the issue on Monday. "It was just a bit dumb," Ravalawa told AAP.

"I was angry at myself after it. I let the club down and I just want to get back on the field and play well this year. We cleared it up straight away and jumped on the bus. We are good mates."

Both Ravalawa and Musgrove admitted they were surprised the drama had become public, with the latter adamant the argument was no different in nature to any at training. "No punches were thrown, there was no scuffle," Musgrove said.

"The club said we could have a few beers after the game, and myself, I probably should have went to bed a bit earlier. But it was literally nothing. It was a heated argument. I am very apologetic, but I want to move on.

"It was just footy talk. You should see our team meetings, we talk in them and if you're not happy you express how you feel about something. It's just what you do."

with AAP

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