Anyone else see this.
Disgruntled Brisbane Broncos full-back Karmichael Hunt has dropped a bombshell with the news that he will switch codes and play for Gold Coast when it enters the AFL in 2011.
The AFL's 17th team unveiled its first major signing on Wednesday morning on the Gold Coast, with the 22-year-old shocking the NRL with the announcement that he will switch codes to Australia's indigenous game rather than to rugby union as had been expected.
Hunt won't immediately join Gold Coast when his Broncos commitments come to an end, with the club admitting he may still play rugby union for up to six months before starting his commitments with the new club in May next year.
Hunt earlier this season rejected a new contract with the Broncos reportedly worth $1.2 million over three years, prompting the club to withdraw the offer and forcing Hunt to look elsewhere.
But while a move to either Japan or Europe to play rugby, which he also played as a teenager, had been his expected destination, Hunt has instead opted to remain in his home state of Queensland by signing a three-year contract.
"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," Hunt 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."
"I played AFL as a teenager and I am really excited by the challenge to change codes and still play at the elite level and for a Queensland team in a national competition. I can't wait."
Hunt's decision has caught the Broncos on the hop, with chief executive Bruno Cullen admitting on Wednesday morning that neither Hunt or his management had advised the club of his intentions before the news became public.
"I was quite shocked," Cullen told ABC Radio. "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."
At 186cm and 92kg Auckland-born Hunt, who has spent the bulk of his career at full-back, is known for his fearless approach to the game but has not played AFL since his early teens.
But Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna is delighted with the signing of Hunt, who made his NRL debut in 2004 as a 17-year-old and has played 11 Tests for Australia and 10 Origin matches for Queensland.
"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," McKenna 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."
"We will sit down and map out his next 18 months and work out from a physical point of view and a technical side of things a program but I can't wait to get my hands on him."
http://sportal.com.au/afl-news-display/hunt-switches-to-afl-74892It's one of the last places I would have looked for an AFL player.
