On the July 29, 2009, Karmichael Hunt shocked Aussie Rules and rugby league fans alike by announcing he was switching codes, moving from the Brisbane Broncos to the Gold Coast Suns on a deal reportedly worth $1 million a season.
During his short yet eventful AFL career, Hunt demonstrated plenty of promise.
Following a 16-disposal performance, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said, “Anyone who has criticised Karmichael Hunt over the journey should be eating their words and should be apologising to him because, on that performance, he’s a bona fide AFL midfielder.”
Hunt also scored an after-the-siren winner against Richmond to secure the Suns’ first win of the season in 2012. That was spine tingling for all.
Hunt’s performances ultimately didn’t justify his price tag – they were never going to. The Suns and Andrew Demetriou knew the money wouldn’t reflect through on-field performances, but were hoping such funds would be worth it to the club and code’s presence in the rugby league state.
While initially Hunt’s signing was successful for the code due to an increased interest, the latest drug scandal has diminished his value significantly. After reportedly implicating numerous former teammates, the Suns is a club in dire straits only years into their existence.
The AFL and the Suns paid millions of dollars for a player whose last season was spent in the reserves, and ultimately divided the senior team.
“All but two players used the cocaine. I met with (the dealer) at Domino’s Pizza on the Gold Coast Highway at the end of Miami, start of Broadbeach,” Hunt told police officers, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
“I was with (a player) and we chipped in about half the money each as the cocaine was for both of us… We would play golf and drink throughout the day. At night we would drink alcohol and use cocaine. I was vaguely aware that most people there were using the cocaine at nights.”
With Hunt gone the Suns now sit on the bottom of the ladder at 1-11 with a worrying divide within the playing group. Such poor culture for a team only just beginning its history; and the million-dollar man who was supposed to represent and support the growth of the club and the code was at the centre of it.
Macca
Guest
Pillock - you don't have to be much of a man to earn $100k and them not being a "man" and earning $100k is exactly why they needed a quality mentor to stop them going off the rails, not one who putting rocks on the track.
Macca
Guest
Ozee316 - If you look at this with even the slightest of opened minds you will see an experienced professional athlete in Hunt being lauded by the club and the AFL as a mentor to the young, impressionable players he was surrounded by - who even had Harley Bennell live with him procuring drugs which he then made accessible to the 18 year old kids he was charged with mentoring - it is pretty obvious where the blame li e s. And I don't think you can be chrged with dealing if you are giving the drugs away for free.
Ozee316
Guest
Why you think Hunt was responsible for the whole team? He wasn't charged with dealing. Those other players make their own decisions in life. How do you know Hunt wasn't influenced by someone else? The coaches? Management? Senior players? How can you know enough about the inner workings of their team culture to know he was any sort of ring leader?
Pillock
Guest
Easy oars fella's. The boys as yet unnamed are man enough to get $100k a year plus but not man enough to say no when a line of Charlie hits the deck. Sure Hunt deserves to cop a bucket of shite but so do the others. Hopefully ASADA take over the investigation and we can still be talking about this in 2020.
BigAl
Guest
Well it seemed like a good idea at the time !
Nick Nack
Guest
A silly experiment getting in Hunt. Really doubt it did anything other than give games to someone who was not good enough to be there and lined his pockets. Hopefully lesson learned.
Shaw
Roar Rookie
What an f#ing disgrace! A highly paid professional athlete going to Domino's... What sort of message does that send to the kids? We need role-models to teach kids that you can succeed at sport and life and score Charlie and never need to go to bottom of the barrel fast-food outlets. It's all about self-respect.
Desert Qlder
Roar Rookie
What goes around comes around.
nopuritan
Guest
even more damning is the question of how Hunt's highly confidential police interview turned up in the hands of the media?
Sklod
Guest
Maybe if the club had a Leader rather than just a Captain, things would be better?
lao hu
Guest
more damning is the fact he is still on the books at the Reds.
AR
Guest
That Hunt was considered a role model and mentor for the young group of kids up there is a damning indictment on Hunt and the club.
Macca
Guest
I remember when I used to say what a waste of money Hunt was and his supporters used to point to the fact that he was a role model to the young players, teaching these young kids how to be a professional athlete and that he had Harley Bennell living with him. Now it turns out all he was doing was teaching them how to party and score drugs and very few of them seem to know the first thing about being a professional athlete. The Hunt experiment was a failure on every level!!
Craigo
Guest
Andrew Demetriou and the AFL got what they deserved buying a player as some kind of circus sideshow.
Franko
Guest
"“All but two players used the cocaine. " The parents of these players must be thrilled. To have young lads drafted largely from interstate at 17,18, 19 and send up there to have an 'ambassador' procure them class A drugs..... Expect the trade requests to be coming thick and fast.