Gillon McLachlan says Karmichael Hunt’s contribution to the AFL won’t be forgotten

GILLON McLachlan says the AFL won’t forget Karmichael Hunt’s contribution as the AFL watches to see if any other players are caught up in Queensland’s drug scandal.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan pictured speaking to the media on a visit to Metricon Stadium and meeting with the Gold Coast Suns Pic by David Clark

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan says the league has no intention of distancing itself from former Gold Coast Sun Karmichael Hunt.

McLachlan said Hunt’s contribution to the game should never be forgotten, despite the three-code star being dragged into the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation that is currently rocking Queensland sport.

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Hunt has been suspended indefinitely from the Queensland Reds and will appear in court on March 5 for allegedly supplying cocaine.

“It’s a disappointing situation for Karmichael,” McLachlan said.

“He played a significant role in the formation of the Suns and I don’t want to downplay that but I’m not here to put distance between us and Karmichael.

“He has made seemingly a mistake and I don’t have all the details and as I said I don’t have any information of any links to the Suns.

“He has made a significant contribution to our industry and the Suns and I’m not going to walk away from it.”

Hunt played 44 games in four seasons at Gold Coast before joining the Reds.

“We can only ask the questions we can of the appropriate people we’ve done that,” McLachlan said.

“We don’t have any information at the moment which is negative or alarming but I don’t have any assurances of any broader implications.

“We have a watching brief I don’t have any information one way at the moment.”

McLachlan confirmed the AFL had been in contact with the QCCC.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan. Picture: David Clark

“Our integrity department is in contact with the relevant bodies they’ve been given a level of information which is appropriate and we don’t have any information beyond that,” McLachlan said.

The AFL boss also denied the affair was an embarrassment to the code.

“I don’t think so,” McLachlan said.

“People make mistakes and have issues. He’s not with the Suns anymore but I’m not going to play that game of distance because he was an influential leader at the club and made a significant contribution. What he has done will play out but I’m not going to be piling in with everyone else to diminish what he did.

“I’m not nervous, the reality is there may be implications (for the AFL) but I don’t have any visibility of it now. I have no information which says there is a problem at the Gold Coast Suns.”

The Suns have become caught up in a cloud of suspicion surrounding the Hunt charges which McLachlan says he finds difficult to deal with.

“The vast majority of athletes in Australia are role models and are fabulous professionals.

“It’s challenging as the leader of a sport in reconciling the two.”

Originally published as Gillon McLachlan says Karmichael Hunt’s contribution to the AFL won’t be forgotten