Paul Hunter (born 9 February 1993) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who for played the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL).

Early life

Hunter was raised in

Redhead Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive alle ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, near

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. Hunter began playing football for Warners Bay Football club. In 2013, Hunter moved to Queensland to play with Redland in south east

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who competed in the NEAFL. Hunter won the NEAFL Rising Star award in 2014 and was also awarded Redland's Best and Fairest, drawing the attention of AFL recruiters.

AFL career

Adelaide Crows

Hunter was drafted as a 22-year-old in the 2016 AFL Rookie Draft at pick number 13 overall. He spent three years on the Crows' rookie list, but was unable to break into the senior side with Sam Jacobs and

Reilly O'Brien Reilly O'Brien (born 20 August 1995) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A Malcolm Blight Medal winner in 2020 AFL season, 2020, he is currently Adelaide's first-cho ...

preferred by the Crows. He was redrafted by the Crows with pick 24 in the 2018 Rookie Draft, but again failed to earn senior selection. He was again delisted at the conclusion of the 2019 season.

South Adelaide (SANFL)

Hunter signed with VFL side Williamstown in early 2020, but the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He quickly moved to South Australia where he joined

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL) side South Adelaide. Playing alongside future St Kilda teammate Tom Highmore, Hunter had a prolific season and was named in the SANFL Team of the Year.

St Kilda

Hunter was given a second chance at AFL level by St Kilda, which selected him for the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection period in February 2021. He was invited to play in an intraclub game where he impressed in the absence of injured players

Rowan Marshall Rowan Marshall (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by St Kilda with their first selection and tenth overall in the ...

Paddy Ryder Patrick Ryder (born 14 March 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the , and St Kilda Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ryder was noted for his speed, agility and leap for someone of his size and i ...

and Shaun McKernan. Hunter's performance earned him a contract at his second AFL club. He played in the Saints' two pre-season practice matches against North Melbourne and Carlton. With regular ruckmen Marshall and Ryder unavailable, he finally made his AFL debut at age 28 in the Saints' Round 1 game against the

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...

in Sydney. In October 2021, Hunter was delisted by St Kilda.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Paul St Kilda Football Club players 1993 births Living people Australian rules footballers from New South Wales South Adelaide Football Club players Redland Football Club players Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Sandringham Football Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen