- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Karmichael Hunt addresses the media after defecting from the NRL to AFL signing with the Gold Coast
The Karmichael Hunt and Kevin Sheedy experiments may very well end up unmitigated success stories that go on to revolutionise the way we look at both recruiting and coaching. But something tells me the main reason they’ve been snapped up isn’t all that football-related.
Consider that Hunt, the rugby league convert signed to play for the Gold Coast, will line up in just two of his side’s VFL matches next year after returning from his stint playing union in France.
A bridging season in the reserves seemed like the perfect avenue to gradually facilitate his code switch, yet it seems he’ll be largely on the sidelines instead.
Consider also that Sheedy, the legendary coach signed to steer the new Greater Western Sydney outfit, will not be in charge of the team that lines up in the TAC Cup next year, despite it being the first year of his contract. He will take the helm in the team’s VFL preparatory season and their first AFL season.
Then his contract expires. And already people are speaking about possible succession plans and post-2012 replacements.
It makes you wonder just how serious both these signings were.
It’s not as if league players defect to footy all the time. It’s not as if Sheedy is the most in-demand coach, either. He wasn’t deemed suitable for Melbourne’s coaching gig two years ago. This year, he was unwanted by North Melbourne and farcically entered then withdrew from the Richmond race.
As far as the football side of things go, Hunt is just another cap-exempt rookie – a gamble.
As for Sheedy, he’s just another experienced coach placed in a mentor role. It’s the same as Ron Barassi at Sydney in 1993.
In other words, Hunt – despite his salary – will not be an integral part of his side’s list. Sheedy’s role, too, may not be the be-all and end-all for his side. He’s not expected to guide them to a premiership, which would’ve been the case if he’d ended up at a Richmond or North Melbourne.
After all, despite the fact it is looked back on positively, Barassi’s three-year stint at the Swans saw that team finish 15th, 15th and 12th.
So what’s all the fuss about? Why would the AFL try so desperately to land a player who has never played at the elite level and a coach that has been written off by the existing clubs?
Well, the answer should be obvious. They both have a value to these new teams that goes beyond their playing and coaching abilities.
They attract publicity.
And for two brand new clubs without much of an identity at all, that publicity is worth its weight in gold.
Front pages around the country featured the Gold Coast’s newest recruit holding up a jumper with the team colours and logo. Newspapers ran with the story of Team GWS and its first coach as if it were the killer blow that knocked out the NRL for good.
The stories filtered through TV sets, radio sets and the internet. They were major news. Major enough to put two teams that hadn’t even entered the AFL yet well and truly in the national spotlight.
Because of that, the signings have already paid off.
According to the Sport Confidential section of the Herald Sun yesterday, research has revealed the Sheedy signing “would have cost the AFL $6,414,200 in advertising if it had to pay for the coverage.” Hunt’s signing was valued at $7.5 million.
Whether or not that’s entirely accurate is irrelevant. There’s no doubting the value of the publicity caused by the signings exceeds what the two teams will be paying for the two men in salaries, and their journeys have only just begun.
Hunt’s every step will be monitored by the media from here on in. Even in his later years, Sheedy was spruiking his way into news bulletins. It will be the same up in Sydney’s west.
From a marketing perspective, both moves were masterstrokes.
From a football perspective, time will tell.
But something tells me they’ve already made good on the investment made by the AFL and its two new clubs. Anything from here will just be a bonus.