- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Just when the Reds thought things couldn’t get any worse – reeling from an injury list that reads like a hospital casualty room before the season even got under way, and a 47-3 belting from the Brumbies on their first outing – their vice captain has been charged with cocaine supply.
What does this mean for the Queensland Reds?
Jim Carmichael, the CEO of the Reds, will be absolutely livid. This is a public relations disaster.
Whether Hunt is innocent or guilty or innocent of the alleged offences, mud sticks, as we all know.
So, what do the Reds do, given this is a problem they appear to have inherited, with the charges relating to incidents between June and December last year?
According to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission, “the three men and one woman arranged for the supply of cocaine for personal use or to on-supply cocaine to friends and colleagues between June and December 2014”.
It is the last thing the Reds need on their plate as they strive to bounce back from last week’s on-field disaster.
Should they adopt the position that Hunt be stood down immediately, pending the outcome of these alleged charges?
If so, are the Reds legally obliged to continue paying him during this time?
In the event they are required to continue to pay him, are the Reds better off playing him and adopting the position that Hunt is innocent until proven guilty and accordingly carry on as before, hoping to hell he is cleared?
And if he is not, then what is the level of damage to the Queensland Reds rugby brand in the interim?
Where do the Reds sponsors sit in all of this?
One must also ask the question – whether or not Hunt was aware of the possibility of these alleged charges during his negotiations with the Reds and if so, was he duty bound to disclose it?
And for the young man himself, what does this mean for him personally, in the event that the alleged offences have substance?
At the age of 28, and having moved from rugby league to AFL and now rugby union, he would have been drug tested a number of times.
So is it a one off? Is it simply a case of stupidity?
So many questions.
Irrespective of these latest revelations, I cannot help but think Hunt has been put on a pedestal and saddled with unrealistic expectations since his move to rugby union, before he even laced on a boot for the Reds.
In my view, his elevation to the Reds vice captaincy was premature and simply put another level of expectation upon him as he adjusted to rugby union.
As we saw last week, he was thrust into the captaincy role once James Slipper left the field. On top of this he had to play at fly half, one of the most pivotable positions in the game – talk about being under the pump!
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer has recently called for Hunt to be immediately put in the Wallaby squad. So much for having to prove yourself!
According to today’s article by The Australian’s Wayne Smith, “newly-appointed Wallabies fitness co-ordinator Dean Benton recently described him [Hunt] as ‘the greatest all-round footballer Australia has ever produced'”.
Methinks a Messiah complex is building.
Smith goes on to state that “Certainly he is the only one to have made an impact in AFL, NRL and rugby union”.
Well Wayne, we certainly can’t argue your last point after today’s revelation.
However, to date, the impact that Hunt has made in Australian rugby is off the field, rather than on it.
Having watched last week’s game against the Force carefully, I can only say that Hunt’s performance (together with the majority of his teammates) was underwhelming – but perfectly understandable given the fact that it was his first serious Super Rugby outing and he was on the back foot for 90 per cent of the match.
As I see it, the Reds are in for a rough ride – but as recently recruited All Black flanker Adam Thomson put it – actions speak louder than words.
So hunker down boys – it’s put up or shut up time against a fired up Western Force – with or without Karmichael Hunt.