page_title: Karmichael Hunt
section_title: Debut season
hierarchical_section_title: Karmichael Hunt / Rugby League career / Brisbane Broncos (2004–2009) / Debut season
caption_attribution_description: Brisbane Broncos
context_page_description: Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt, nicknamed K, is a New Zealand-born Australian rugby union footballer who plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition. He previously played for the Queensland Reds. Having also played professional rugby league and Australian rules football, Hunt was the second person in Australia to reach an elite professional level in three different football codes. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has represented Australia in both rugby codes after his family emigrated there when he was aged 11.
  Hunt made his debut for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League in 2004 and won the Dally M Rookie of the Year award. Primarily a fullback, he played for Brisbane until 2009 and was part of the Broncos team which won the Grand Final in 2006. In a controversial move, Hunt chose to play for Australia instead of his native New Zealand, citing a lifelong dream of playing for Queensland in the State of Origin series. Hunt's performance in the 2006 NRL season resulted in his selection for Queensland and Australia in 2006.
context_section_description: Hunt's 2001 scholarship came to fruition when he joined the Brisbane Broncos' main squad at the end of the 2003 season. He participated in the team's off-season training in early 2004, under the guidance of Broncos' coach Wayne Bennett, and was selected to participate in the Broncos' pre-season trial games in February. Hunt had expected to play most of the 2004 season in the Queensland Cup, the second-tier rugby league competition in Queensland. However, after Darren Lockyer's shift to the five-eighth position and Hunt playing both trial games on the wing and scoring a try in the first game against the Melbourne Storm, he was selected to make his National Rugby League (NRL) debut for the Broncos in the first round of the 2004 season against the New Zealand Warriors, making him the youngest ever Bronco at seventeen. Coach Bennett's decision to name Hunt as the starting fullback was somewhat surprising, due to Hunt's original selection, the week before the match, on the interchange bench. He replaced Motu Tony in the fullback position.
  Hunt described Bennett and Broncos teammate Darren Lockyer as the greatest influences on his league career. With Lockyer's move from fullback to five-eighth, Hunt had large shoes to fill in the position. Hunt proved to be a success for the Broncos; he played every game in 2004, missing just four minutes in total, and was the team's top try-scorer. Bennett remarked of him that "Karmichael has an attitude just like Darren Lockyer where he can make a mistake and kiss it off and just get on with the game, It's a wonderful quality to have and you'd like every player to have it. A lot of guys dwell on mistakes and it stays with them too long."
  Hunt drew criticism for his style of returning the football; upon receiving the ball, he would run straight at opposition players rather than attempting to evade them. As a result, he received several high tackles, causing the Broncos to ask the NRL to protect Hunt by punishing opposition players more severely. The referees' board supported this position, and stated that fullbacks such as Hunt needed to be protected due to greater risk of injury.
  The performance of the 2004 NRL rookies, including Hunt, had been much anticipated. After a few games, his peers and the media singled Hunt out as the next superstar of the game. To minimise the impact of excessive media pressure on Hunt's performance, Bennett banned him from speaking to the media. Hunt scored four tries in the Round 17 clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, equalling the team record. His form earned him the Brisbane Broncos and Dally M Rookie of the Year awards.
caption: Hunt in action in 2004, his debut NRL season.
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