Open letter to Hunt from a fellow cross-coder

 
Adam Santarossa Roar Guru

By Adam_Santarossa, 30 Jul 2009 Adam Santarossa is a Roar Guru

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Queenslanders Scott Prince (left) and Karmichael Hunt (centre) embrace after the final whistle of the NRL State of Origin match between Queensland and New South Wales at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Wednesday, June 11, 2008. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

Queenslanders Scott Prince (left) and Karmichael Hunt (centre) embrace after the final whistle of the NRL State of Origin match between Queensland and New South Wales at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Wednesday, June 11, 2008. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

I may have not played the elite level that Karmicheal Hunt has experienced so far in his sporting career, but I can tell him what to expect in terms of the difficulties and experiences that come along when changing to AFL from a rival code.

I completed the same experience, be it on a smaller scale, in my time as a representative football player (soccer) and made the decision to play AFL in the Sydney AFL competition.

Sensing that my dream of playing professional football was dying and that I was only going to be above average at best (like so many others), I decided to make the transition.

Like Hunt, when changing codes, I had already had some experience with AFL. Like Hunt, I had played some games (4) of AFL at schoolboy level, included alongside a healthy knowledge, interest and following of the sport courtesy of a Victorian parent.

If I was not kicking a football around the backyard, chances are a Sherrin was not too far away.

But even without being a complete amateur at the game, the challenges are huge, and in Hunt’s case, magnified 10-fold to those I experienced given that he will be competing on the elite level alongside Brownlow medalists, 300-gamers and icons of the sport.

I thought I would give the readers some indication of the problems I faced in my changeover and the possible challenges facing Karmichael Hunt.

1. Physicalness
I have played all codes at some point in my time, be it competitively or at schoolboy level, and AFL is by far the most physical. But before you rugby league followers stick the knives in, consider this: in league, the defence is generally front on. You can anticipate the defence and brace for the impact.

In AFL, you can be hit from all angles: front, side and behind. And you can’t anticipate or brace for the impact. Furthermore, in AFL you can be bumped when not in possession of the ball (as long as you are within 5 metres of the ball), again showing the importance of constantly having your wits about you.

And non-AFL fans can only imagine what goes on at the bottom of those packs (i.e. elbows and forearms) before the umpire scampers over and calls for a ball-up.

I found myself coming from the ground having played my first AFL game with two deep corks and a greater respect for the code.

2. Fitness
Karmicheal Hunt’s body at the moment is designed to withstand the brutal collisions that are so constant in a game of rugby league, both in attack and in defence.

Not only will Hunt have to withstand these in AFL, but he will also have to possess an AFL engine.

AFL players are known to run around 20-30km per game, but this is not the hard part. Fitness will come the more games Hunt plays.

What will be the hardest challenge will be the decision-making when under fatigue. The mental strength for the constant decision-making and disposal after disposal when out on your feet, the need for composure coming out of your back half, or hitting the right target in the forward fifty is the hardest skill to acquire and the most foreign to Hunt’s experience in rugby league.

3. Kicking
It may sound stupid, but this is another extremely challenging skill, particularly for rugby league players.

I was told by an AFL coach in the early stages of my crossover to the game that football (soccer) players find it the easiest to crossover, given their balance on the ball.

He found rugby league players tended to “fallover” when they kicked (fall to one side) and therefore not direct the ball in its chosen path.

Furthermore, the around the corner style that is common in rugby league is another problem that needs to be overcome. Muscle memory and natural instinct is the hardest to coach out of a player or overcome.

In AFL, with kicking in general play but more importantly kicking for goal, it is vital that your body stays aligned, that you hold your form, stay balanced, and kick through the ball.

AFL coaches admit this is the hardest skill to teach as old habits continue to hinder the technique of cross-code players. And, in my experience, it was something I struggled with due to my natural footballing instinct.

But over time it can be overcome.

4. Vision
This is another skill that Karmichael Hunt will find challenging. In the NRL, generally players can see the play unfolding purely in front of them – be it a target in defence, a hole in the defensive line, or identifying a kicking option.

In AFL, it couldn’t be any different.

In AFL, your peripheral vision is your best friend. Not only will it help you evade opposition defenders that can smash you from all angles, but it is important when linking with your wide players and switching play or players coming through the corridor for the hand pass: all equally important skills with the popularity of flooding now in the game along with the faster ball movement and pace of the game year upon year.

Players are under more pressure to move the ball faster, and therefore it is equally important to know not only where you are on the ground, but what players you have at your disposal in front, behind and to the side.

Vision is a super-important skill.

5. Complexities
These are the skills that new players to the code have the most difficulty with and these are skills in which AFL players do not even consider. They come naturally.

Take an example from my experience.

In football, you are taught to defend “goalside” or behind an opponent. In AFL, you defend from in front.

Simple as it may sound, it is not something that can be coached out of someone overnight. Natural instinct and muscle memory are strange things.

Hunt will need to learn the complexities of zone defence, putting a block on, playing from in-front, switching the play, a centre bounce setup, flooding, the subtleties of leading, tagging, playing through the corridor and other skills that most AFL players and coaches do not give a second thought to.

To new players of the code, these can only be learned in time and with experience. It comes down to eroding the natural instincts and muscle memory Hunt has built up over the years that he has played rugby league.

I found myself five years into an AFL career and still not feeling that everything was entirely natural.

NRL players have tried to make the transition before: NRL player Luke Phillips, then at the Sydney Roosters, spent some time trialling with the Sydney Swans in the 1990s.

Phillips was released after just a pre-season.

Media reports yesterday morning linked the experience of Kieran Jack to that of Karmicheal Hunt and using Jack as vindication that Hunt could be a succsess.

Kieran Jack, however, took to AFL as a 15 year-old and had seven years in the game before he was picked up by the Sydney Swans.

Karmichael Hunt will have 18 months, 12 of which, if reports are correct, will see him play yet another new code in rugby union.

Karmicheal Hunt will undertake a journey like no other and I think it’s a journey that will see many non-AFL fans go along for the ride.

If Hunt is a success in his new game, his recruitment would have to be considered as the biggest coup in Australian sport due to its effectiveness on-field and off.

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