"Got aspirations": Hunt opens up on NRL coaching desire

Karmichael Hunt has worn a lot of hats in his sporting career.

In his playing time, the now 39-year-old has appeared in three different sporting codes, including Rugby League, Australian Rules Football and Rugby Union, in which he represented Australia in both Rugby codes before retiring from all sports in 2021.

And in his coaching career, the wearing of multiple hats has been no different.

Currently, the former Bronco, Sun, Red, Waratah and Biarritz Olympique player is in his fourth season in charge of the South Logan Magpies in the QRL, as well as in the international space, having helped the Cook Islands national side qualify for this year’s Rugby League World Cup.

From his experiences as a player, the 10-time Maroon representative has been able to learn from plenty of coaches, including the master coach in Wayne Bennett during his first stint at Brisbane.

But Hunt acknowledges that he’s still figuring out how to be as successful as he can be.

“Oh, you definitely use what experience you've had under some of the greats,” Hunt explained on SENQ’s Grassroots to Glory.

“And some of the ones that have probably learned some tough lessons along their journey as well.

“You mentioned Wayne; he's definitely a mentor of mine and probably the most important coach that I've played under.

“For myself, I think back to the advice that Wayne gave me before I started the journey was just to get your fingernails dirty and figure out who you are as a coach, and that's what I'm doing.

“My story is a unique one. So, a lot of it comes into play in my coaching approach.

“But I'm still figuring out how to coach, to be honest (after) four years in at this level, which is a great part of the journey, is the learning at this level without having too much pressure on me at the moment."

Throughout his journey in the coaching realm, Hunt has expressed his aspirations in working in the NRL.

But for now, he is more than content working at the Magpies as they push for a second finals appearance in his tenure.

“I obviously got aspirations to move up top at some point, but I'm really enjoying the journey; it's definitely a different side to footy but no less rewarding,” he added.

With five games to go, South Logan are 11th and find themselves two points away from eighth place.

They take on the fifth-placed Northern Pride this Saturday at Callender Park in Innisfail.