Royce Hunt wants to finish NRL career at Cronulla

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Royce Hunt wants to finish NRL career at Cronulla

Royce Hunt insists he wants to finish his career at Cronulla despite being linked with an exit from the NRL club.

The Sharks have Hunt contracted until the end of next season but granted the prop permission to field offers from rival clubs earlier this year, months before the usual November 1 window opens.

Hunt has spent time playing for Cronulla’s NSW Cup feeder side Newtown this season and has largely been restricted to cameos from the interchange across 13 NRL games.

It comes as the Sharks prepare to add elite front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake to an already busy middle forward rotation next season.

Hunt, 29, had been linked with a move to South Sydney while Canterbury, with whom he began his professional career as a teen, could also do with extra size in the middle of the park.

But Hunt says “in a perfect world”, he’ll be playing with the Sharks well beyond 2025.

“I want to finish my career here,” he said.

“But footy’s footy, it’s a business and we could end up anywhere.

“I’ve just left it up to my manager. I said, ‘Let me know what happens, I’m pretty happy where I’m at and I’ve still got another year here’.

“That’s my sole focus, playing good footy for the Sharks this year and next year too.”

Hunt feels indebted to the Sharks who took a chance on him as a first-grader in the 2020 season, some three years after he made his first and only NRL appearance at Canberra in 2017.

Since then, Hunt has played in Samoa’s charge to the World Cup final in 2022 and appeared in each of the Sharks’ last two finals campaigns.

“I love this club,” he said.

“They’ve given me my opportunity and I just want to pay them back and be here for as long as I can.”

Hunt welcomed the chance to measure up against Fonua-Blake when the Warriors hit-man arrives to begin a four-year contract in the summer.

Fonua-Blake will join Hunt, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Toby Rudolf, Cameron McInnes, Tuku Hau Tapuha, Oregon Kaufusi and Tom Hazelton as middle forward options for Craig Fitzgibbon in 2025.

“We’re pretty thick on middles already and we’re going to add another world-class middle to our pack,” Hunt said.

“It’s just going to be a better pre-season, I’d say, because everyone’s going to be fighting for a spot and everyone’s going to get the best out of each other.”

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