AFL team!!! hahahahaha
that was the news just on the radio 5 mins ago.The afl team has announced a press conference for this morning
Surely it's a gimmick or a promotional role,Imagine him playing afl? lol
AFL team!!! hahahahaha
that was the news just on the radio 5 mins ago.The afl team has announced a press conference for this morning
Surely it's a gimmick or a promotional role,Imagine him playing afl? lol
Yeah this is crazy news. They don't enter the comp til 2011 so he can spend all of 2010 learning how to play I guess.
July 29th, 2009
KARMICHAEL Hunt, star of the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team, is set to announce his signing with the Gold Coast AFL club, according to early reports on Channel Nine.
On the Today Show this morning, reports said Hunt, a State of Origin and Kangaroos sensation, will announce his switch to the Aussie rules code with the fledgling Gold Coast club.
It has been confirmed that there will be a press conference at the Gold Coast Arts Centre at 10.30am today at which it is believed Hunt will make the shock announcement.
More details as they become available
www.goldcoast.com.au
Damn Dougie, you beat me to it
Oh well. At least he's not playing for the Broncos. I'd say it's not a very smart move.. but, each to their own..
I just read he played afl at high school and had afl scouts after him then so maybe it'll be a good move for him. He's tall,can jump,can catch a ball well
he'll just have to learn to bump chests and slap others like real afl players LOL
BRISBANE Broncos NRL star Karmichael Hunt has shocked the football world by crossing codes to AFL to sign with the Gold Coast Football Club.
In an unprecedented cross-code switch, Hunt will be on the Coast this morning to announce that he is signing with the GCFC, which will join the AFL in 2011.
Hunt is expected to hone his trade by playing with the club in VFL next year before the club's entrance into the big league a year later.
It is the first time a rugby league international has switched to play Australian Rules. The move will intensify the fierce turf war between the strongest football codes in Australia, with rugby league in danger of suffering further raids on its most talented players, especially if Hunt makes a successful transition.
Fellow Test players Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Israel Folau are other obvious targets for AFL clubs.
Hunt played some Australian Rules as a schoolboy in Brisbane, attracting the attention of Queensland AFL scouts, before joining the Broncos as a 17-year-old in 2004.
The Auckland-born fullback has since played 10 State of Origin matches for Queensland and 11 Tests for Australia.
With Hunt's contract with the Broncos up at the end of the 2009 NRL season, the 22-year-old's future has been a hot topic in recent months.
He knocked back a $1.2 million three-year deal from the Broncos earlier this year and his manager David Riolo has been overseas looking at his options.
There had been speculation he could move to Japan to play rugby, but Hunt will make his shock code-switch announcement at media conference at the Gold Coast Arts Centre at 10.30am today.
He will be joined at the media conference by GCFC hierarchy, including coach Guy McKenna, chief executive Travis Auld and recruiting manager Scott Clayton.
www.goldcoast.com.au
It sounds like a deadset April Fool's joke. I just find it hard to fathom how a rugby league player would enjoy playing AFL.
But they will spin this into a spear and attempt to throw it at our heart. That even rugby league players are jumping ship and that their grand game is of such overwhelming national signifigance that all elite quality Australian....sorry Kiwi athletes are attracted.
It'll even fuel more ridiculous poaching rumours.
But it does give our game a bloody nose. We are losing a Premiership winning Maroon and Kangaroo. And he is at the top of the game. Also it actually gives GCAFL some profile.
AFL are playing for keeps.
OMG footage from the press conference, I can not believe this is real. Broncos fans would be spewing! Especially as their Finals campaign is nearly on the rocks.
But rugby league, will as always, weather the storm.
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Look at this from the prespective of a real AFL fan from the Gold Coast. Surely they won't be too happy. They hate RL and we hate Aussie Rules - it is a 2 way street so they won't want a leaguie running around. I remember my old man being furious when we signed Rogers cos he was a Union player then - he has obviously softened his stance since but that is for a guy that grew up in our code, not an out and out interloper.
This is a dead set publicity stunt similar to what Rugby Union did around the time of their World Cup. There would be less than 5 players who could realistically be seen as possible AFL players and there are so many young kids coming through the AFL system that Karmichael will be forgotten long before the GCFC kick a ball in the top flight.
Enjoy kicking your Sherrin next year K while ALL the talk in QLD is about Rugby League and State of Origin.
This just gives me another reason to deathride the Gold Coast no-namers and I will be doing it full-throttle now!!
You are bang on karnage, I was coming on here jsut to say the very thing.
It is an almighty publicity stunt. Just like union did during their World Cup. People are going to be watching GCAFL's first matches, just out of curiousity in the least. Obviously the AFL would like these viewers and atendees to stick.
I don't think they will, much like the union example. Back then you had the ARU saying rugby league would be dead and union would be the 2nd sport in Australia.
But they will get their money's worth in publicity, even if he flops. And with them getting underwritten by HQ to such an extent, they can afford to have money fights ala Mr Burns and Smithers. But there is a difference between having the money and having a model tha makes money. And I doubt their business model wholeheartedly.
Hey maybe Hunt can captain the New Zealand AFL international team?
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PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Very surprising but I think he can make a go of it. I know a young player GCFC have on contract who was recruited from Rugby Union.
I guess now they'll be chasing people like Mark Viduka, Shane Heal, Craig Lowndes etc. so they can have all sports covered.
I say it was probably the thought of having to deal with Moi Moi & the likes thats turned him to the Chicks game but he could only be signed with the hope that they may steal a few RL Fans as i doubt other than watching a 5 minute highlight package that too many people would go out of their way to watch him
I honestly couldn't name 3 AFL Players if i tried so i'm curious if many AFL supporters know who he is
Well atleast he'll still be close to his Bonco/Origin drinking Buddys
#itaintweaktospeak
I think the AFL have shot themselves in the foot.
They must believe this will attract RL supporters and in my case it is exactly the opposite. There credibility just smashed into 0, if a half kiwi inbred can walk into there sport with little to no background, it shows me how little skill is involved in the game.
Hunt should #### off now, and should be shunned from the whole RL community, to go to Union for the cash is one thing, to be used as a vessel to try and hurt the game itself for no other reason then his own self interests is pitiful and disgusting, and the scumbag should do himself a favor and go to Melbourne, because if i see the weak pr*ck on the street i will spit in his face.
Brisbane Broncos rugby league star Karmichael Hunt is switching codes to play Australian rules after joining the Gold Coast Football Club, which joins the AFL competition in 2011.
He is expected to play rugby union and return to the Gold Coast in May 2010 to commence his development program with the Club.
It is the first time a rugby league international has switched to play Australian Rules.
Hunt said he wanted to stay playing sport at the highest level in Queensland.
?If I had to leave Brisbane then I preferred to change codes rather than change teams as I did not want to play against the Brisbane Broncos,? he said.
?For me this is about the challenge of playing AFL at the highest level. The Gold Coast Football Club has given me a great opportunity to be part of its journey to AFL in 2011.'
Hunt also said he isn't expecting any backlash from Broncos teammates and agreed his decision would shock many people.
"They'll be surprised, everyone will be surprised, even I was surprised," said Hunt.
Hunt sent text messages to his Broncos teammates and coach Ivan Henjak before dropping the bombshell news at a Gold Coast media conference on Wednesday. The 22-year-old also sent a text to former Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.
"I don't think there will be any backlash," said Hunt.
"They are all my mates and they'll still be my mates.
"I haven't done everything in rugby league but I've done everything I've wanted to do in the game, including playing 11 Tests, Origins and winning a grand final."
Gold Coast Football Club Chief Executive Officer Travis Auld said the recruitment of Hunt is a great coup for the football club.
?Karmichael Hunt is one of the most exciting sportsmen in Australian sport and a natural-born AFL footballer. We think he can be one of the elite players of the AFL. His potential to play the game has been confirmed by our recruiting staff led by Scott Clayton and the AFL?s talent division,? Auld said.
Hunt played some Australian Rules as a schoolboy in Brisbane, attracting the attention of Queensland AFL scouts, before joining the Broncos as a 17-year-old in 2004.
GCFC Coach Guy McKenna said he was very excited and impressed with what he has seen of Hunt.
?I?ve followed State of Origin, I know it?s not AFL football, but seeing how he moves, seeing how he hits, he?s going to bring another dimension to an AFL football team,? he said.
?Powerful, strong, quick and probably averages 23 tackles in a game. We?re lucky to average 40 in a whole side. He?s built for that, built for the physical demands of AFL football.
?Technically we are going to have do some work with him but that?s no different to some of the Irish players who have crossed over. We are probably at an advantage given he played competitive AFL football as a teenager, so he?s someone with a history in the game," McKenna said.
The move will intensify the fierce turf war between the strongest football codes in Australia, with rugby league in danger of suffering further raids on its most talented players, especially if Hunt makes a successful transition.
Fellow Test players Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Israel Folau are other obvious targets for AFL clubs.
The Auckland-born fullback has since played 10 State of Origin matches for Queensland and 11 Tests for Australia.
With Hunt's contract with the Broncos up at the end of the 2009 NRL season, the 22-year-old's future has been a hot topic in recent months.
He knocked back a $1.2 million three-year deal from the Broncos earlier this year and his manager David Riolo has been overseas looking at his options.
Brisbane Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen says he's shocked to hear of star player Hunt's switch.
Cullen told ABC radio he had only heard media reports of the switch and Hunt's management had not been on touch with him.
"I was quite shocked," he said.
"We've had him since he was 15 and he's been playing with the club for the last five seasons.
"He's a 100-game player now. He's played Origin, he played for Australia, so he's been a success story in a very short period of time."
Cullen said it was a "coup" for the AFL.
"Good luck to them - they've snared a fine athlete," he said.
Cullen said he did not believe it would take fans away from league in Brisbane.
"With all due respect, someone will come along and take his place - they may not be immediately as good, but it's two different codes and I think (the fans) will stick with the codes," he said.
"He's someone who will be very attractive."
Cullen said there would be a Broncos position available for Hunt if the AFL did not work out.
with AAP
www.foxsports.com.au