Karmichael hunt stripped of Queensland Reds’ vice-captaincy in wake of drugs investigation
TAINTED Karmichael Hunt will be stripped of the Reds vice-captaincy in the fallout from the cocaine drama that is sending him to court.
TAINTED Karmichael Hunt will be stripped of the Reds vice-captaincy in the fallout from the cocaine drama that is sending him to court.
That is one call the Queensland Rugby Union will make regardless of which code Hunt was linked to last year at the time of his alleged offences.
The professional example he had set for the Reds younger players on the training field has been betrayed by his alleged actions off it.
Hunt captained the Reds for the final 22 minutes of his Super Rugby debut on February 13 after skipper James Slipper was replaced against the ACT Brumbies.
The QRU has planned further meetings, legal discussion and phone hook-ups early this week to thrash out where they stand on the recruit they had banked so heavily on.
Hunt was stood down from last night’s clash against the Western Force at Suncorp Stadium.
He seems certain to suffer the same fate for Friday night’s mission to Dunedin to face the Highlanders before his immediate future becomes clearer when he fronts Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday week.
Intercepted phone conversations and listening devices are two of the common surveillance methods used by Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission to gather evidence in drug-related operations.
Hunt’s four charges of allegedly arranging the supply of cocaine stemmed from the period between September 1 and October 3 last year when he was still contracted to AFL’s Gold Coast Suns.
How that might twist the sporting jurisdiction of this case will be one of the issues looked at by the QRU’s legal team.
QRU chief executive Jim Carmichael said the Hunt contract issue was intriguing and further advice would be sought.
“It’s an interesting question and one we are trying to reconcile in our minds,” Carmichael said.
“He wasn’t contracted to us in that period.”
So unexpectedly did the Hunt drama hit rugby just 48 hours before last night’s first home game of the season that a further exploration of where he stands is ahead.
“We can’t speculate on next week,” Carmichael said.
“There are more discussions to be had with lawyers, within Queensland rugby, the Australian Rugby Union and the Rugby Union Players’ Association.”
Hunt has remained in Brisbane where he has pondered his fall from grace and has spoken to his legal representatives.
Hunt, in team issue singlet, and coach Richard Graham spoke briefly to the Reds squad last Friday morning but it is unclear whether Hunt will be allowed to train with his team this week.
Originally published as Karmichael hunt stripped of Queensland Reds’ vice-captaincy in wake of drugs investigation