YOUNG GUN HUNT SNAFFLED BY FORCE

Friday, 31 July 2009 5:36pm
Chris Pike - Sportal

Stefano Hunt in action (pic courtesy Nudgee College)The Emirates Western Force has secured another exciting junior in Stefano Hunt and the Super 14 club is looking forward to him learning from veteran backs Andre Pretorius, Sam Harris and Mark Bartholomeusz.

The 17-year-old flyhalf might currently be best known for being the cousin of Brisbane Broncos NRL fullback and newly-signed Gold Coast AFL player Karmichael Hunt, but he is a future star in the making and in coming to the Force is also reuniting with James O'Connor.

The pair formed a dynamic midfield pairing in schoolboys rugby back in Queensland at Nudgee College.

The chance to play with O'Connor again, get out of the fish bowl in Brisbane given his name and to learn from some quality experienced backs, all saw Hunt sign a rookie contact with the Force for the 2010 Investec Super 14 season.

"Stefano Hunt played his schoolboy rugby with young James O'Connor over there in Brisbane and is a real talent. He has come under the radar a little after playing Australian schools last year, is a versatile player and just started playing senior rugby," said Mitch Hardy, RugbyWA general manager, rugby.

"He turns 18 next month and is one of those young players that we have taken a little bit of a gamble on, but he has been prepared to commit to the Force and we are hoping he is another bright star of the future that we can develop through the program and compliment our other young players."

Hardy acknowledges that it's unlikely Hunt will make his Super 14 debut in 2010 as he continues to learn and develop inside the Force, but with those he can learn off and his natural ability, he is an exciting future prospect.

"Stefano has very good footwork, has excellent understanding of the game and good vision, which is very rare for a young player. If you had to, you could compare him to James O'Connor and I know the two are very good mates after coming through the schoolboy program. I'd like to think that his vision for the game and footwork will be his key attributes," he said.

"It will very much be a development year for him and obviously with the likes of Mark Bartholomeusz and Sam Harris coming on board in those 10 and 12 positions, they will have a lot to offer young Stefano. Our expectations are for him to develop as a player over the next 12 months and then really come onto the scene in 2011."

Hardy knows that the focus will be on Hunt having a cousin that is already a massively decorated NRL player, but now a national celebrity after signing on to play AFL from 2011, however, the move to Perth could be the best thing for him.

"He'll always have to carry around the tag of his name, but he'll have his own opportunity to carve his own niche in sport in the country, and we'd like to give him that opportunity," he said.

"I'd like to think that here in Perth it will be less of a distraction than it would be in Brisbane, so it's probably a good career move for him."

The Force already have a great track record of developing young talent, including the likes of David Pocock, Richard Brown, Matt Hodgson, Pek Cowan and O'Connor, just to name a few, and Hardy is confident the Force have got the signing of Hunt right too.

"Occasionally you get kids that come through who everybody says has all the goods, and he has more ticks than crosses in the boxes," he said.

"He's a very good character, the family are supportive of his move to Perth and you have a gamble from time to time on young prospects, but we have a good strike rate so far and we'd like to continue that."

Hardy and the Force also took a keen interest in Karmichael's defection to the AFL and while they aren’t worried about their players crossing codes, it has peaked their interest to try to snaffle up some juniors that have previously gone straight into Australian Rules.

"The whole Karmichael Hunt thing is an interesting saga between the codes, but a rugby union player going off to play AFL would be a rare commodity in itself. We are after the short little blokes who can run fast, rather than too much about the kicking side of things," he said.

"It's not ironic that most players coming through the school system here that are quite tall or athletic get snapped up by the WAFL clubs. But certainly to tap into that talent pool of tall athletic players who can catch and kick would be beneficial for rugby, and the Force if we can pinch a few in the years to come."


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