Does anyone else not care about Karmichael Hunt in the slightest? The guy is average so say the least, all he has is the muscle which isn't even necessary in the modern game. Essentially he is there to say f you with the other codes. I hope that he fails to stick it to Andrew Demetriou and co. What a waste of money, that could be spent on players that are actually good at the game. What a joke.
Contrarily I think he's doing a great job. He reminds me of Harry O when he first started - very unpredictable, almost always stuffing up, but capable of flashes of brilliance. Well coached, I could see him doing similar to Harry. And that means All-Australian, yep that's right. But in the main yeah he is a big F U to other codes, but fair enough if you can do it why not? (If Hunt wasn't at GC, they may have taken Swan/Pendles/Thomas!)
I think it necessary to revisit this around the same time next year. Although at the beginning of the season he was awful, he has progressively improved and been able to offer GC, as a player, someone with the muscle and strength to compete with the bigger bodies from other sides. As much as is sounded strange, McKenna's +85kg comments were on the mark and next year they won't need to make those decisions because the team will be bigger, stronger and more conditioned to playing professional football week in week out. What Hunt has been able to achieve in the past 13 months (remember he only finished playing Union in France in May last year) has been nothing short of amazing and as he adapts to the speed of the game, begins to learns the tricks and gamesmanship of the highest level players, continues to improve his skills and gets himself more conditioned to deal with the endurance aspect of AFL, he will be selected on merit. The AFL is always looking to work with non-AFL players to get them into the game and Hunt has been better than many of them although admittedly in a pretty poor side. How long did it take Brogan to adapt from Basketball? And he still looks like he struggles with the instantaneous decision making skills that most Southern Australians grew up with and take for granted but are so required of AFL players. Yes, the money could have been spent elsewhere but taking a long term view of the Hunt deal, the AFL will look at this as a massive knife in the heart of NRL if and when he fulfills his contract and would surely be smiling every time that goal is played on TV in NSW and Qld, when they hear of NRL legends threatening to walk off TV sets because they are sick of hearing about 'former NRL star' K Hunt and his transition to AFL. 12 months is a long time in football but I hope he is part of the GC team next year and that he helps get more kids in Sth Qld into AFL so that the aims and ambitions of the AFL decision makers are achieved.
Ah, Khunt with a silent H.. His goal last week was the feel good story of the year, I had a smile of my face when I saw how excited he was. For someone who hasn't played AFL before he's doing a great job and will improve over time. His 10 week improvement so far has been phenomenal. When he knocked down Vardy and we saw him clap when he got back up, that said alot about Hunt. He is a good sport and someone who we should enjoy having in our league. I reckon Folau has a better body for AFL football, but we will just have to see how this experiment goes.
I agree Sainterz12, I think it's been a good story so far. To me the guy seems likable. His goal last week was a lot of fun to watch. There's been a lot of hype around him, but I don't think he's the one stoking it. I don't think Folau will work out as well. Khunt strikes me as more mentally resilient. I wonder if Folau will have the commitment to stick with it when things are going badly (which will be most of the season).
I live in rugby centric Qld and Harmichael has been worth every cent. Starved of AFL up here where any publicity or success is gold. He's noticeably improving each week and that goal was exciting. The success, coverage and evenness of the competition is better than ever and there have been so many close games this season. You have to keep investing in and expanding the competition in multiple ways to ensure its viability for the longterm. Folau doesn't seem as resilient however he's shown greater signs since his switch to the forward line. You have to give both time.
As cool as his mark was, the bit that really got me and my mates excited was when we out-marked Chappy, simply by reading the flight of the ball better. He's looking better and more confident every week.
Further to that, is he worth the money? Compared to a Pendlebury, no, but it's not his fault that he's been offered heaps-o-cash to play. To his credit he's taken a lot of criticism on board and is doing his best to prove them wrong.
Is he worth the money to GCS? I say no. Is he worth the money to the AFL? I think they would say yes.
Whats so different to him coming to play AFL and any of the Irish coming over to play? I dont see anyone bagging them. Or is it just the money side of things that gets up peoples noses? If someone came to you and offered you million dollars to change jobs, would you knock it back? I highly doubt it. If Gold Coast and AFL are happy to pay it, then you can blame Karmichael... Oh and he already is better then any of the Irish that have trying to make it into the AFL.
<blockquote>Quote from stkildathunda on June 4, 2011, 09:26 Whats so different to him coming to play AFL and any of the Irish coming over to play? I dont see anyone bagging them. Or is it just the money side of things that gets up peoples noses? If someone came to you and offered you million dollars to change jobs, would you knock it back? I highly doubt it. If Gold Coast and AFL are happy to pay it, then you can blame Karmichael... Oh and he already is better then any of the Irish that have trying to make it into the AFL. </blockquote> Karmichael > Jimmy Stynes ?
If you ask me Karmichael Hunt has been pretty good, he's definitely learnt alot about the game from the limited time he's been playing this sport (which is less than 2 years) and I think his kicking is getting better every week and he's taking strong marks. He deserves a week off (through suspension) and I dont mean he should've got suspended I mean McKenna has talked about giving him a rest for ages, and finally he gets one......give him a break, he's doing pretty well, but I do agree he shouldn't be arning more than Judd, Ablett, Brown etc.... but they wanted him to come and he came....