Hardwick inspiring Hunt, 13 years on from ‘that’ goal
Joel Gould and Murray Wenzel |
Karmichael Hunt has credited Damien Hardwick as an inspiration in his coaching journey, 13 years after the cross-code star’s after-the-siren heroics for Gold Coast almost killed the mentor’s career.
Foundation Suns signing Hunt will be cheering his old side’s maiden AFL finals appearance as he reflects without any regrets on his decision to join the fledgling club.
A huge fan of Suns coach Hardwick, the 38-year-old is hopeful Gold Coast’s away elimination final against Fremantle on Saturday – the club’s first in their 15th season – is just the start of a golden September run.
“It is fantastic what Dimma has done there in the short amount of time he has been at the club, to get them to taste finals footy,” Hunt told AAP.
“It is very exciting and long overdue, some people would say.”
Hunt lined up in the NRL, Super Rugby and AFL. He also played for Queensland in State of Origin and represented Australia in rugby league and rugby union.
He was one of the stars of the NRL for Brisbane, winning the 2006 title, before stunning the rugby league world when, still just 22, he signed with the Suns ahead of their 2011 AFL entry.
The highlight came in 2012 when Hunt kicked a goal after the siren to sink Hardwick’s Richmond and secure the Suns’ first win since the corresponding fixture a year earlier.
It was a low-point for the battling Tigers, whose enduring faith in their under-pressure coach was rewarded five years later with the first of three AFL premierships in four years.
Now coaching Souths Logan in the Queensland Cup and Cook Islands on the international scene, Hunt wants to be an NRL career coach and looks up to Hardwick.
“I love watching the way he talks about the team and footy. I am a young coach and always learning,” Hunt said.
“Dimma always seems so calm and collected, very sure about what he wants to do and the culture he is building.
“He’s proven it works at Richmond and now it is at the Suns, which is fantastic.”
As the Suns moved closer to their 2025 finals debut, that Hunt goal has got more exposure and airtime.
“Kayo whipped it up about a month ago and I am continually seeing it on social media,” Hunt said.
“It was an exciting moment. I still pinch myself that I was able to live it. That’s what kids dream of when they are growing up playing Aussie Rules.”
Hunt was an ambitious AFL marketing ploy, along with Israel Folau at the Giants, to get eyeballs on the code in rugby league states.
He played 44 games from 2011-2014, winning just six as he shared a midfield with Gary Ablett Jnr.
“We were in basic cubicles when I was at the Suns. It was a simple set-up,” said of the Suns’ original Carrara facility.
“There were huge challenges I faced, but I knew that going into it,” Hunt said.
“It was a tough old five years physically, while learning a new game, but I am glad I did it. I got exactly what I wanted out of it. It was a special time.
“I am still very close to one of my best mates, Jared Brennan, and I still speak to some of the older boys that I played with as well.
“Life is busy, being back in rugby league, but it is great to see them going well.”
AAP
