Karmichael Hunt to Gold Coast AFL...

[Coaster]

Lewis is a legend, slam him Wally!!!!

[helcam4]

how long before kellogs give him a sponsership after bruce macavaney pulls off his famous line,`that was special, K `

[Adelaide Titan]

this was pretty much the first bit of news a saw this morning and couldnt believe it. He's certaintly got the build for the AFL but lets see how his skill levels will be in less than 2 years time. It's an alert for the NRL for the future but i think this is just a rare case of a player switching from the NRL to the AFL. He's gonna have to behave though coz the umpires in the AFL are a bunch of pussies so he'll have to ease up on the tackling and not touch them at all. Good luck to him though and at least we'll be seeing a bit of rugby league in Adelaide....kinda

[karnage]

I ask myself what sort of message it sends to prospective players for the Gold Coast no-names.

They couldn't sign Riewoldt, Roughhead or a couple of other locals who would rather stay in the AFL heartland so they sign a Rugby League player. Could anybody take them seriously after all that??

Do established players now say 'you can give $1M to Hunt, so you can pay me 50% more than what I am worth in the regular market'??

When the Titans entered the NRL in 2007 their first signings were Preston Campbell, Luke Bailey and Scott Prince. Those names will mean nothing to people outside QLD or NSW but they are serious players who command respect and made players sit up and say that the Titans were a feasible club to sign with.

Compare that to the No-Names who have a bunch of kids playing some under-18 comp and a Rugby League player with a chequered disiplinary past!! Where is the credibility!?

How does Chris Judd or Riewoldt or Franklin or Ablett feel in 2010 knowing that they are the superstars of the game and getting paid less than a Rugby League player running around in front of friends and families in the second tier VFL.

Yes, this is a media stunt and yes the Gold Coast No-Names are getting their moment in the sun now but this whole stunt has the potential to go sour very quick.

I hope with all my heart that it does...

[Adelaide Titan]

they'll be picking up plenty of wooden spoons, and perhaps be worse than Fremantle...if thats possible.

Franklin and especially Ablett will remain loyal to their respective clubs and not make a move to GC for some extra cash. I dont think Roughead or Riewoldt will move either. Kurt Tippet...maybe.

[Paul]

I'm enjoying this

all this "QLD stick together no matter what" crap we've been hearing lately is being shown up during this thread/discussion in general.he decided to leave and all the Queenslanders on here are now calling him a Kiwi all of a sudden and slagging him off and disowning him,funny you didnt think that when he was in this winning origin side. What happened to this "mentality that NSW people don't and will never understand" crap? lol

It's not going to hurt RL one bit and in fairness to KHunt he has served his full contract with Brisbane and didn't do a runner mid contract like sonny Bill. Also while I think he obviously did it for the money when you think about it he has accomplished most things in RL already from playing internationals/winning state or origins,winning a grand final,winning a dally M rookie of the year.If the kid wants a new challenge then let him go without a fuss,he's done nothing wrong except choose to play the most pathetic,sh*tty sport on the planet

[DIEHARD]

I have been calling him a kiwi and disowning him since day dot. And I never wanted him selected for QLD or OZ over Matt Bowen or Billy Slater. On personal preference or form.

[DIEHARD]

I am also not attacking him for leaving. He can do what he wants, he was a free agent and he was lost to the game nearly certainly anyway. Doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Hunt is merely a chess piece. What I am concerned about is the hand that moved that piece into play and their overall strategy and intentions.

[Adelaide Titan]

I have nothing against Hunt, he's doing what he wants to do. It's the fact the the GC17 team are luring him with 700k a year and are posing a threat for NRL clubs. It's funny to see NRL players and coaches havin a joke about it and take the piss.

[titanstattman]

I stayed up to watch the start of the afl footy show just too see wat they said about it..... JOKE thats wat they all had to stay they not very happy about it... Funny ay......

[TitansFan]

It's a publicity stunt for sure.
I bet that Hunt will never play a single premiership game of AFL. When you think about it, by the time their first game comes around, they'll have a full roster of experienced AFL players and promising young players. How could a guy who's only played a few games at high school force his way into the team?
One thing really annoys me though.... some morons are suggesting that Hunt will have to improve his fitness to get through a game of AFL... what a joke!
This guy has played Origin games, getting smashed in tackles, putting his body on the line making tackles, constantly running up and back in defence and attack etc... for 40 minutes, then half time, then another 40 minutes.
In the AFL, the only thing that might test his fitness is constantly running on and off the field at the beginning and end of each tedious quarter. He'll never be on the recieving end of any serious physical collision, and most of the running he does on the field will probably be to keep warm while waiting for someone to kick the ball into his part of the cricket fields that they play on.
I don't see how a former NRL and Origin player would have to improve his fitness for that? Maybe I'm missing something?
Anyway, if that's what he wants, who cares? Rugby League will still be the greatest game without him.
AFL can go to hell. I wouldn't even turn my head to watch that garbage.

[DIEHARD]

One thing I absolutely do not want to see in rugby league is any type of ban against players defecting to other codes. Just as long as they were a free agent. I would support it for breaking contracts and behaviour issues.

I know this has been mooted around the place atm. But it would break my heart, for 100 years rugby league has had to put up with all types of bans by union on players giving our sport a go.

[Adelaide Titan]

Just watching One Week At A Time on One and Robert Walls is not happy with Karmichael Hunt going to GC17 and says he shouldnt be going to Japan while the rest of the team are in training basically saying he should be a part of it. And he says he'll be suprised when he does play.

Steven Quartermain however, says he cant wait to see him play and also gave the Titans a mention that they are doing well

[DIEHARD]

It's weird. In a lot of other situations, a club might loan a player to another team. But they can't let him play a year for any other AFL club, because it would ruin the impact of his 2011 debut.

On the other hand, what serious rugby union club would sign him for one year? It'd take that long to learn the game, let alone be good at it. And I'm sure GCAFL training and duties would further interfere.

[Adelaide Titan]

I would train with my AFL team over playing Union to develop and perfect basic skills before his first season on the AFL so he does have an impact and not look lost when he's playing in front of 50k at the MCG.