Karmichael Hunt switches codes

[LostDoggy]

Moving to Gold Coast AFL team, press conference today 10:30am.

[Topdog]

Haha brilliant, one less spot on their list if true and a venture that is bound to fail miserably.

[LostDoggy]

Haha brilliant, one less spot on their list if true and a venture that is bound to fail miserably.

Was a very good junior player apparently, but went to rugby because AFL was to hard to crack into.

[aker39]

Other than taking him with their 1st pick in the draft, how do they guarantee that he goes to Gold Coast

[Mofra]

I think he'd make it, not star but at least be serviceable. He's quick, agile and strong, so would probably start as a run-with player to an inside midfielder and develop from there.

Although League hasn't given us a player before, Brogan won an NBL title before switching to Port, and from our own list in the past couple of years Williams was an obvious one but Ray was a gun soccer player in his junior days.

[LostDoggy]

Good luck to Carmichael, it'll be interesting to see how he goes. There are a few players running around in the NRL that I think could do well at Aussie Rules - Greg Inglis, Israel Falou to name a couple.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Other than taking him with their 1st pick in the draft, how do they guarantee that he goes to Gold Coast

There's a rule that allows you to place a player on the rookie list if that player has not played in an official competition for the last 3 years.

Sydney picked up some rugby player last year.

[Mantis]

Confirmed (http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/81596/default.aspx)

Interesting that he is going to play a season of rugby union before joining the GC franchise next May.

[Sedat]

He'll be able to teach our code all the NRL joys of, ahem, 'team bonding'

[Hot_Doggies]

Confirmed (http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/81596/default.aspx)

Interesting that he is going to play a season of rugby union before joining the GC franchise next May.

Very interesting.

I would of thought a year in the QAFL or VFL might of been wise. Maybe he is going for the old 3 codes in 3 yrs look.

[Sockeye Salmon]

If he doesn't play VFL next year he's not fair dinkum.

[Desipura]

If he doesn't play VFL next year he's not fair dinkum.
With a name like Karmichael how fair dinkum can we take him?

[bulldogtragic]

If he doesn't play VFL next year he's not fair dinkum.
Agreed. Looks more like a stunt than anything else.

[bulldogsman]

Would expect nothing less from Scott Clayton

[bulldogtragic]

Would expect nothing less from Scott Clayton
Good thing is Hunt will take a decent chunk of the salary cap.

[aker39]

Good thing is Hunt will take a decent chunk of the salary cap.

What salary cap;)

[Jasper]

How much for the first commentator who abbreviates his name to Karmike_Hunt.
Network executives will be terrified......

[LostDoggy]

Had a good laugh when I read your name Captain Groenewagon - WELCOME!!

NRL commentators have been worried about a name slip up for years, but I don't think it's happened yet. His nickname amongst our Storm group is "Telephone call for ........" ;)

[The Coon Dog]

How much for the first commentator who abbreviates his name to Karmike_Hunt.
Network executives will be terrified......
Any chance you could ask the mods to change your name so its spelt correctly? ;)

[Desipura]

Any chance you could ask the mods to change your name so its spelt correctly? ;)

I was waiting for it...........:D

[Sedat]

Would expect nothing less from Scott Clayton
He weighs about 30kgs more than the usual Clayton smoky

[mighty_west]

Apparently he is far more advanced with skills than Hampson at Carlton, according to Mark Browning, he will no doubt be as skillful as Tom Williams & Kurt Tippett.

Leaving th NRL to play AFL, do you honestly blame him?...:p

[AndrewP6]

For mine,in terms of interest, this one belongs with Colliwobble's double appointment of Bucks and the 2-year temp, Mick Malthouse... couldn't give a toss...

Just lucky the thread title didn't read "Karmichael Hunt switches teams"...

[BulldogBelle]

Him switching codes was probably something that the AFL had planned, or had their fingers in the pie

It actually serves a great branding message for the game in a rugby league hotbed like the Gold Coast

Young athletes especially may take note of Karmichael's decision and select AFL over Rugby League in the future...

Its a talking point, will get heaps of mainstream media coverage up there which will be good for the GCFC

17/18 clubs...two more reasons why it will be harder for us to win a flag

[GVGjr]

I know they have a lot of additional scope for players and payments etc but Hunt won;t come cheaply and will take a large chunk of money. It's getting GC17 a lot of coverage though.

[The Coon Dog]

I know they have a lot of additional scope for players and payments etc but Hunt won;t come cheaply and will take a large chunk of money. It's getting GC17 a lot of coverage though.
How much of his overall package will his salary be & how much will his earnings as a 'game development and promotional role' with the AFL and AFL Queensland for three years be?

[GVGjr]

How much of his overall package will his salary be & how much will his earnings as a 'game development and promotional role' with the AFL and AFL Queensland for three years be?

Great question and the answer will always be about what is in the best interest for the new club. The AFL are determined not to duplicate the old Brisbane Bears fiasco.

[Topdog]

How much of his overall package will his salary be & how much will his earnings as a 'game development and promotional role' with the AFL and AFL Queensland for three years be?

NONE! Yes none will be on it according to some reports. Apparently GC17 found an old loophole of a rule, which I am sure the AFL didn't help them find.

[Desipura]

Apparently the Wiggles are interested in speaking with Eagleton who's rendition of "hot potato" on the footy field is said to have impressed Wiggles Management.
They were quoted as saying "we love the fact that Nathan can perform "hot potato" especially in a big game, this will hold him in good stead when he has to perform in front of thousands of screaming kids" unquote.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Hunt has now said that at some stage he wants to be a Wallaby.

Clearly he's half-arsed about playing for the Gold Coast and if he is he will fail miserably.

[The Underdog]

I actually didn't think there was a story I could care less about than the Buckley coaching saga but here it is. This is a publicity stunt pure and simple to raise interest in GC17. It has **** all ramifications on recruiting on any large scale, the thought that rugby players will be flocking to AFL is ridiculous in the extreme.

Below is an excerpt from this morning's Leaping Larry's Letterbox in The Age. It is meant to be a joke but in truth pretty much sums up where things are at:

Leaping Larry L
August 1, 2009

Whimsical scheme

AFTER a number of years in the planning stages, I have developed a revolutionary new method of identifying young sporting talent suitable for development in the AFL. You sign up kids who are good at Australian rules football. That’s about it. What do people think?

Arthur Mercante, Kyneton

Horses for courses

I’VE been thinking a good deal about the previous letter, after having a good stickybeak at it while the bloke was writing it in the kitchen at work. As a traditionalist, I don’t like it at all. As we all know, promising AFL talent conventionally comes from the ranks of basketballers, beanpole sprinters, Gaelic footballers and rugby league players. Surely there are many other sports we can devote years of study to, such as baseball, discus, ice hockey and harness racing, with a view to acquiring young talent to completely re-train for AFL purposes, before we have to descend to such desperate depths as investigating juniors who already play Aussie rules. Where would the challenge be in the latter to keep recruiters interested? Incidentally, I should point out that in the case of harness racing, we would recruit the humans rather than the horses. However, if football recruiting continues to become even more innovative, we’ll no doubt be looking at the horses down the track as well.

Tony Perez, Forest Hill

[alwaysadog]

This just shows how desperate the media are for stories. The Bucks will you, won't you, won't you join the dance and now this story is bigger than the second coming. Bucks hasn't kicked a ball in anger for years and young Hunt hasn't kicked a ball at any level that counts. Why do we bother with games over the weekend when the media plays its own games like these?

One might think that this is this how Andy Pandy plans to beat Etihad into submission by doing away with games of football and playing media games instead.

[BulldogBelle]

Apparently he is getting a bucketload to play for GC [from the AFL] and they are getting an exemption from the salary cap to accommodate him and others. What a waste of money.

[bulldogtragic]

Gerard Whately on outsiders (Sunday) talked about 'media monitors', which as the name suggests monitor the media, TV, internet, radio and print and report back on themes and stories. We all know how big the Cousins saga was at boiling point with drugs, models and punch ups and sackings. At the height of that there were 500 media spots a day across the nation. Which is enormous figures. The Hunt defection got 1000 media spots for a few days, an unheard of figure, especially for sport.

They wanted media and to announce to Queensaladers that there was a new QLD AFL team. They got what they wanted. Now to secure big signing for the next 18 months and keep the momentum going and they have put together a brilliant media and marketing strategy. Hunt could be an OK player, but truth be told, the defection isn't about getting a brilliant player who will play 200 games and win a Brownlow.

[chef]

Apparently he is getting a bucketload to play for GC [from the AFL] and they are getting an exemption from the salary cap to accommodate him and others. What a waste of money.

The amount of exposure they have received is amazing. This is the biggest AFL story ever. In terms of marketing you couldn't by better.

[LostDoggy]

Did anyone see that quick clip of him kicking an AFL ball, he held it completely incorrectly.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Did anyone see that quick clip of him kicking an AFL ball, he held it completely incorrectly.

They'll fix that up in about 10 seconds though.

[AndrewP6]

They were keen on him when they saw him kick one ball to someone (Bucks, maybe?). So, if he gets one kick a game, he'll be considered a success! ;)