By Jon Pierik
John Worsfold’s lasting memories of 2006 premiership player Adam Hunter are of a player who simply loved playing footy with his mates “more than any player I’ve seen”.
A day after former Brisbane Lion Troy Selwood, 40, was found dead in his Geelong home, the AFL establishment was plunged into further mourning when Hunter, 43, died just after midnight on Wednesday in the Western Australia town of Bunbury, south of Perth.
Glory days: Adam Hunter (right) at the 2006 AFL grand final. Credit: The Age
Worsfold, who coached West Coast to that 2006 flag, which Hunter helped seal by famously kicking the Eagles’ last goal of that match, led tributes to Hunter.
Hunter’s death adds to a week of heartbreak in the AFL industry after the deaths of Selwood and Essendon senior assistant coach Dale Tapping, 59.
Tapping, who had been due to coach Essendon’s VFL side this year, died on Tuesday from myeloma, a blood cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2023.
Selwood’s twin brother Adam was a premiership teammate of Hunter at West Coast, while Scott Selwood also spent two years at the Eagles alongside the pair.
The Eagles wore black armbands and held a minute’s silence in honour of Hunter before training on Wednesday, with his image displayed on the big screen at the ground as the players gathered.
“I was lucky enough to coach ‘Hunts’ for a long time and he was just one of those players who put in 100 per cent everything he did at the club,” said Worsfold, who is West Coast’s current head of football.
“All he wanted to do was play footy with his mates and share success with them.
“I know a lot of his teammates are reflecting on what he brought to them as a group and as footballers.
“Out of all my time in footy, which is a long time now, he’s probably the player that loved the game more than any player I’ve seen.
“I understand that he went to footy training last night and had a kick for South Bunbury, because that’s just what he does.
“It makes me smile inside to know that one of the last things he did was he went to footy training, and he would’ve loved it I can guarantee that.”
Worsfold also expressed his sympathy for the Selwood and Tapping families.
“In times like these, unfortunately I’ve been through it a couple of times, it just reinforces how tight-knit the footy world is,” Worsfold said.
“We know that two past players of this footy club in Adam and Scott Selwood lost their brother 24 or 48 hours ago. We feel for them as well.”
Hunter was a key figure in the club’s consecutive grand finals against the Swans, the Eagles losing by four points in 2005 but rebounding to win by the narrowest of margins a year later, with Hunter memorably booting the Eagles’ last goal of the 2006 grand final to secure a one-point win over Sydney.
“One of the iconic moments in this club’s history is the goal he kicks in that grand final, and that just sums up who he was. He didn’t seek any recognition, even from that goal,” Worsfold said.
Jude Bolton, the Swans great and an opponent of Hunter’s in those grand finals, summed up the devastated mood of the football world, which has been rocked by the three deaths this week.
“Such a sad couple of days across the entire footy industry. Bloody awful,” Bolton said on X.
South West Football League club South Bunbury, where Hunter was playing up until his death, also paid tribute.
“It is with very heavy hearts this morning that we mourn the passing of Adam Hunter,” the club said on Facebook.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to Adam’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
West Australian police confirmed a 43-year-old man had been found dead in Bunbury.
“About 12.20am (AWDT) this morning, 5 February 2025, police and St John ambulance were called to a residence in Withers upon report of a non-responsive male,” police said.
“Upon arrival, paramedics immediately commenced first aid. However, the man could not be revived. The 43-year-old man was declared deceased at the scene. The death is being considered non-suspicious, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”
Details surrounding the circumstances of the death are not yet known.
A spokeswoman for St John Ambulance in Perth said three crews had been sent to a property in the Bunbury suburb of Withers overnight to attend a man in his 40s. The spokeswoman said ambulance staff had done all they could to help the man.
A talented swingman, Hunter played 151 games between 2000 and 2009.
Born in Bunbury, Hunter’s football prowess was evident early. He played with the South Bunbury Football Club before being taken by the Eagles with pick No.29 in the 1999 national draft.
In the Eagles’ premiership year in 2006, he kicked 29 goals and the next year was second in the club’s best and fairest to Darren Glass. However, knee and shoulder injuries cruelled his career and he retired after the ’09 season.
Hunter battled legal issues after his AFL career and was fined $400 for possessing cocaine when stopped by West Australian police in 2014.
Serious domestic violence charges against Hunter were dropped in 2021, when prosecutors told the Perth Magistrates Court there were “no longer reasonable prospects of conviction”.
With AAP
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