Prior to his radio and television career, Hunt played 202 VFL games for Richmond, Geelong, and St Kilda between 1968 and 1978, earning two premierships with the Tigers. He was a hard-hitting defender who often led by example and was a member of three championship teams. Hunt's father, Jack, played eight games for Melbourne in the 1950s while his uncles, Roy and Ray, both played for Melbourne and St Kilda respectively. His mother, Irene, was a champion tennis player who won the Australian Open girls' doubles title in 1945. She went on to become one of the nation's leading players before retiring from competition due to an injury. The family lived in poverty during World War II, when Jack served in the army before becoming employed at 3KZ Radio in Melbourne. He later became chief announcer at the station before moving to Richmond where he took up a role with the club as an assistant coach. He died in 1982 after fighting cancer for several years. In 1961, at the age of 15, Hunt fell into a swimming pool at a party school where he was attending lessons, breaking his back. This caused him to miss most of the following season but he made a full recovery in time for him to play in Richmond's first ever game against Carlton on March 24, 1968.