Rex Hunt: The life and times of one of football’s most colourful and controversial characters
Legendary footballer and broadcaster Rex Hunt has been many things in a sporting and media career spanning more than 50 years. One thing he’s never been is boring.
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Ex-policeman. Former champion footballer. Fish-kissing conservationist. One-time undisputed king of AFL broadcasting. Flawed family man.
Rex Hunt has been many things in a sporting and media career spanning more than 50 years. One thing he’s never been is boring.
As Herald Sun journalist Jon Anderson wrote in 2015, at the height of his fame, the boy from Port Phillip was fond of declaring “I’m Rex Hunt and you’re not”.
But in 2010, after his media career was dealt a major blow - he was removed as 3AW’s No 1 caller after 20 years - his famous catchphrase changed to: “I used to be Rex Hunt”, which also said something about his larrikin nature.
Despite his lofty achievements on the footy field, behind the microphone and in front of the camera, Hunt’s personal indiscretions have at times overshadowed his professional achievements over the years.
Most recently Hunt was involved in a nasty road rage incident in 2022, and was back in the news in January 2023 after pulling over on the road of the Princes Highway on the way to Geelong and calling police for help after reportedly suffering a medical episode.
The Herald Sun later reported comments by former Footy Show star Sam Newman, a longtime friend of Hunt’s - who revealed Hunt was struggling with his mental health and was getting help.
In late February, 2023, Hunt was honoured for his contribution to the fishing industry with an award from the 10th World Recrational Fishing Conference dinner in Melbourne.
Hunt’s longtime friend John Locco said Hunt was “thrilled” to recive the award and was “doing well”.
In May, 2023, in an exclusive interview on Sam Newman’s You Cannot Be Serious podcast, Hunt broke his silence on the January incident, revealing he suffers from bipolar depression. Read the full story here.
We take a look back at the life and times of one of football’s most colourful figures.
EARLY YEARS
Hunt was born in Port Phillip on March 7, 1949 where he developed his love of the sea and fishing at an early age.
He joined the Victoria Police as a cadet in 1966 and, while balancing his job as a professional footballer, rose to the rank of Sergeant in 1979 - the same year his playing career ended.
Hunt’s parents hardworking working class people and in an interview with Hamish McLachlan in 2017, he told how the family lived from paycheck to paycheck.
“Middle class was upper class for our family,” he said.
“Bubble and squeak and hand-me-downs were the norm.
“My father worked very hard; he was a labourer.
“We had just enough money to live from week to week, and you know what, I appreciate it, because you never forget where you’ve come from.”
Hunt revealed he was not a champion sportsman from day one and often felt “inferior” to his high-achieving peers.
“I wouldn’t say (I was) bullied, but I was made to feel very ordinary and inferior to some of the smarties who could pass exams with their great memories. Or who could play football and cricket better than I could. I was always bottom of the class.
“Things changed in my mid-teens when I grew three or four inches taller in one year.
“I started to take these big marks, and I started to develop the two greatest things known to mankind: confidence and self-belief.
“I started to stand out with football and cricket, and then I really started to enjoy my life.”
VFL CAREER
A tall “strongly-built left-footer”, Hunt made his senior debut for the Tigers in Round 5 against South Melbourne, aged just 19.
He played 13 games for the club in an impressive debut season but had “a major impact” the following year, when Richmond took home the premiership trophy.
“Playing predominantly at full-forward, Hunt caused plenty of problems for opposing defenders due to his great aerial strength,” Tony Greenberg wrote in a 2014 profile on Hunt’s career for the Richmond FC website.
“He consistently used his powerful frame to gain the upper-hand in marking duels with opponents, and he quickly earned a reputation as one of the competition’s best marks.”
Hunt played a key role in a second Richmond flag in 1973 and finished his career at the Tigers with 113 games and 121 goals.
He was traded to Geelong where he played 32 games and kicked 44 goals before signing on with St Kilda where he played 57 games and kicked 111 goals before retiring from the top level competition in 1979. He was made a Richmond life member in 2013 and an AFL life member in 2018.
REX RETIRES FROM THE FORCE
The same year he said goodbye to football, Hunt also gave up his career on the force.
Asked by Hamish McLachlan why he walked away from policing, Hunt said “in the end, it was because I wasn’t mentally tough enough”.
He described a call-out as a Sergeant in St Kilda, in which a man died by suicide, as being one of many scarring moments that steered him towards his decision to leave.
“I remember I went home early that morning and my wife, Lynne, saw I was very upset,” Hunt said.
“She asked me what happened, and I said that I just didn’t want to talk about it.
“That same year I’d had a young boy die in my arms as a result of a swimming pool accident,” he said.
“I had to give a death message to parents of a young kid who was run over by a drunk.
“It was too much. Everything about my job dealt with people’s misfortunes. I had to get out.”
MEDIA CAREER
As good a footballer as he undeniably was, Hunt arguably was an even better broadcaster, dominating the calling of the AFL on radio in Melbourne for more than two decades.
Hunt also hosted several Sunday morning football panel shows on TV.
As Jon Anderson wrote in 2015: “When the microphone was live and the big moments needed to be captured, many agree Rex Hunt was the best.”
“He had a voice that didn’t suggest elocution, just a “take me as I am” style that took the game into lounge rooms across Australia.”
Hunt’s style was irreverent and theatrical and he became renowned for making up quirky nicknames for the players on the field.
For example YAAAABBBLLEEET for Cats star Gary Ablett and Yellow Brick Croad for Hawthorn’s Trent Croad.
But working with Hunt was sometimes challenging.
Fellow 3AW caller Tony Leonard described him as “always generous, if somewhat unpredictable”.
“There were days when working with him was the best day on the planet, when you left the box totally exhilarated, and then there were other days when I couldn’t wait for it to end.
“But the good ones far outweighed the bad,” Leonard said.
BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP
Hunt first joined 3AW as a football commentator in 1979, then moved to 3DB for several years where he hosted a show that reflected the other love of his life - fishing.
He went back to 3AW in 1989 and went on to become the station’s lead football caller for 21 years where he honed his unique style and consistently dominated in the ratings.
PAINFUL SPLIT FROM 3AW
In 2010, Hunt’s dream run came to an end when he was replaced as main caller by Brian Taylor from Triple M and rejected an offer to stay at the station in a reduced role.
Speaking to Jon Anderson in 2015, Hunt said it was for others to judge whether station manager Shane Healy made the right decision to replace him “but in my mind if he was judging me by my performance and ratings then he made the wrong decision”.
“I got, and still get, what I call red-light fever every Saturday when that button was pushed.
“It was the most exhilarating time of my life because I belonged there. I remain disappointed I didn’t get an opportunity to go out on my terms.”
Reflecting on his decision Healy said: “At his peak for passion, accuracy and entertainment he was the best, end of story. And there won’t be a caller like him again.
“I wanted him to remain with 3AW but the research was telling us Rex needed to recreate his act. I understand him not wanting to play second fiddle and believe me, I did not enjoy making that call.”
REX JOINS TRIPLE M
Wounded after being demoted by 3AW, Hunt signed on to call the football on Triple M alongside James Brayshaw and had an immediate impact.
As the Herald Sun reported, the new Triple M line-up, featuring Hunt’s inimitable brand of commentary, “thumped” the competition’s Saturday afternoon offering with an audience share of 12.2%, well ahead of 3AW on 9.4%.
Responding to the ratings, Hunt said “regrets and bitterness are waste emotions” but the ratings were something of a vindication of his abilities behind the microphone.
“It was rejection. I didn’t accept the fact that I was gone and would just fade away,” he said. “I think the result shows that I have something to give.”
Hunt announced his retirement from mainstream metropolitan football commentary in 2011 but continued to call games for Crocmedia’s (now SEN) AFL Live coverage in markets across Australia, excluding metro Melbourne. In 2015 he marked his 2000th broadcast of AFL games.
REX RETURNS TO 3AW
In 2017, Hunt returned to his beloved 3AW - not to call the footy, but for a post-match show designed to give fans a platform to have their say.
“When the phone rang I thought my goodness gracious me,” Hunt said on 3AW. “I can’t wait. I’m just absolutely delighted to be coming back. It’s a bit corny to say, but yes, I am coming home.”
“It’s for two years and if it is two years it will just be the pinnacle of what I have wanted to do, get out on my terms and complete 50 years at the top level either playing or broadcasting.”
ON-AIR MELTDOWN
Hunt’s new run at 3AW lasted more than four years.
But it came to an acrimonious end in 2021 after he launched an on-air tirade at the station’s head of football who had contacted Hunt when he missed an ad break during a chat with Hawthorn great Robert DiPierdomenico.
“I’ve got steam coming out of my ears,” Hunt said amid the outburst.
He later told The Herald Sun he was OK after the incident.
Some of his close friends said they were concerned about his welfare.
Hunt took leave but later the same month announced he and the station had finally parted ways.
“The reason is simple … you have your time, let the new breed come in and you move on,” he said in a Facebook post.
“To our listeners, the very soul of the station, I say thanks for one hell of a ride. It’s time for me to go,” Hunt wrote.
FISHING
A lifelong lover of angling, Hunt managed to carve out a career as a fishing broadcaster alongside his football commentary commitments.
Hunt hosted a long-running fishing show on 3DB, and then later 3AW, where it ran until he left the station in 2009.
His first TV show was called “Angling Action”, broadcast on Channel 10 in 1981-82.
In 1991, Rex Hunt’s Fishing World was broadcast on Channel 7 in Victoria.
In 1992, the show went national under the name Rex Hunt’s Fishing Adventures, running until 2004 and screening in over 160 countries.
Much like his career in football, Hunt was known for his colourful approach to fishing broadcasting, which spawned his now-famous catchphrase “yibbida, yibbida, that’s all folks” and his practice of kissing fish before tossing them back into the water.
Hunt told Hamish McLachlan both ideas came to him on the same day and changed his life and career forever.
“On that day that I said “yibbida yibbida”, I kissed the rainbow trout on the lips and put it back in the water. It launched my career internationally. It became my trademark. I believe it is a great gift to another angler by releasing a fish.”
Hunt has been recognised for his work to promote fishing in the community and fishing conservation projects.
Hunt was a vocal opponent of dredging by the scallop fishing industry in Port Phillip Bay in the late 1990s and in 1999 founded the non-profit charity The Futurefish Foundation to protect recreational fishing in Victoria.
CONTROVERSIES
Forks on a plane
In 2004, Hunt sparked a security scare and was labelled a “complete goat” by the Federal Transport Department after he smuggled several metal forks onto a Qantas flight
Hunt grabbed the forks from the Qantas lounge in Adelaide en route to Melbourne because he was angry that airport staff had, he claimed, made him pull his pants down during security check-in. “I was dacked.”
As AAP reported, Hunt told 3AW he “should have taken a breath and said they’re only doing their job, which they are”.
But instead, he said, “I went straight up to Qantas, got a handful of forks and said, I’ll just show how easy it is to infiltrate this tight security that I’ve just been through”.
Hunt was detained at Tullamarine Airport and questioned by authorities before being released without charge.
The airport denied Hunt’s claims, saying he was asked to remove his shoes and belt but instead he dropped his pants.
A spokesman for the Federal Transport Department said Hunt had acted like “a complete goat”. Hunt said he was acting out of frustration but admitted it was a “dumb thing to do”.
Alleged racial slur
In 2005, Hunt found himself in hot water while calling a match between Collingwood and Essendon.
Referring to Indigenous player Leon Davis, Hunt said: “Neon Leon hasn’t lit up tonight, he’s as black as a dog’s...”.
Hunt then trailed off before commenting that he was referring to the night sky being “as black as a dog, Oh, I stuffed it up, I’ll have a reset, I knew that was going to happen”.
Hunt said Davis eventually accepted his apology after a meeting was brokered.
“Then Eddie (McGuire) got Leon and I together, along with Michael Long, and after five minutes Leon said, ‘It’s a storm in a teacup, I see where you’re coming from’”, Hunt told Mike Sheahan on his Open Mike show in 2014.
Byron Bay incident
In 2005, Hunt angered Byron Bay business and community leaders after suggesting Bali was safer than their coastal town after he and son Matthew were attacked by a gang of youths.
The Hunts claimed they were beaten up by the gang of up to 15 people, who allegedly warned them they were not welcome in the town.
Matthew, 28, was repeatedly kicked in the head while his father was punched and slashed.
As The Herald Sun reported, one of the teenagers involved claimed he and his friends were walking down the street when Matthew told them to “f*** off” and threw the first punch.
But Hunt defended his son, calling the teen’s claims “a fabrication of the truth”.
“He (Matthew) was 10 metres in front of his mother and father and I know for a fact I certainly didn’t hear anything and the first contact that was made by the youth in the street was towards me”.
Hunt claimed attacks on visitors were “a regular occurrence”.
“If you’re a tourist in Byron, go there at your peril. I would think Bali is safer than Byron Bay at the moment.”
His comments angered locals, including the then Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham who called them “inflammatory and irresponsible”.
Then-Chamber of Commerce president Greg Owens said: “His comments are a nonsense and it’s pretty mischievous”.
In 2006, after the town reportedly suffered its worst tourism winter on record, Hunt said he was prepared to go back to Bryon Bay and offer whatever help he could.
“What happened to me is past,” he said.
Cheating scandal
Hunt’s personal life was turned upside down in 2006 when he confessed to cheating on wife Lynne by paying three women for sex over 15 years.
Lynne stood by him through the storm and a remorseful Hunt later told football journalist Mike Sheahan that without her, he would either be in jail or dead.
“I would never have done that if I had known the disgrace and discomfort it would bring to my family.
“But to have my wife stand in front of me on television and give her love and support to me, I will never forget it and I owe that to her for the rest of my life.”
Road rage attack on cyclist
In 2009, Hunt was ordered to work as a kitchenhand for the underprivileged after he launched a road rage attack on a cyclist.
Hunt was found guilty on one charge of recklessly causing injury over the 2008 attack which happened as Hunt was on his way to call an AFL match for 3AW.
The cyclist suffered a broken finger during the attack.
Hunt was sentenced to a 12-month community-based order without conviction.
He was order to complete 100 hours of unpaid community work.
Hunt said he could serve his time giving out meals to underprivileged children at a Sacred Heart Mission.
“I think it’s fantastic because it’s some good that’s come out of a pretty disappointing time in my life,” Hunt said at the time.
Daisy Pearce comments
In 2022, Hunt was widely condemned for a Facebook rant in response to Channel 7’s decision to replace Wayne Carey with champion Demons player Daisy Pearce on its Friday night coverage and move Carey to Saturday night.
Hunt called the decision “weak gutted” and made under “pressure to have equal genders everywhere”.
Contacted by The Herald Sun, Hunt defended his comments saying: “Daisy is terrific and she’ll go coaching and I understand you’ve got to have a lady there but which bright spark at Channel 7 thought to get rid of (Carey) – he or she is wrong.”
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