And nimble midfielder Scott Harding should know.
The 23-year-old played Australian Rules with Hunt at Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar School – the only exposure the international rugby league star has had to the game before making his stunning code switch on Wednesday.
Harding, whose sister Emma is Hunt’s girlfriend, said the Brisbane Broncos fullback had spoken to him during his recent deliberations.
"We talked a couple of times over the last couple of months when he first started to think about it," Harding said.
"I told him a few things, kind of opened his eyes a bit. Just the main things, obviously different game styles, more endurance or whatever.
"I definitely encouraged him. Obviously, I love AFL. To get someone across from league in itself is amazing. I wasn’t surprised. Because I’ve played with him it was a little different, and I remember back in the day when he was playing, the recruits around Brisbane were trying to get him to play AFL."
Harding said it was tough to keep the news to himself once Hunt had made his decision.
He believed with some work on his endurance, the State of Origin star had all the attributes to makes the transition a success.
At school Hunt was "one of the bigger guys" who played key positions, but Harding saw a defensive post with a possible move into the midfield as his calling.
"He’s such a defensive player in league," he said.
"That’s one thing he’ll bring to AFL and the Gold Coast. He makes 20-plus, 30-plus tackles a game, maybe more, and if you have six or eight tackles a game in AFL you’re doing well. Obviously he’s pretty hard to tackle as well.
"It’s going to be important for the Gold Coast to train him properly when it comes to some of the long distance stuff. He’s obviously not going to be an endurance athlete naturally.
"That’s slowly starting to change in AFL in itself, with rotations and that, you can kind of get away with [less endurance] a little bit.
"But I think the little things, like the awareness, the 360-degree awareness, those little things that AFL demands, that will probably be the toughest thing."
Harding, who has played 43 games for the Lions, described his mate as "naturally gifted" and expected him to pick up the kicking skills easily.
He also said the media scrutiny on Hunt would be of little concern.
"He’s dealt with the media more than anyone over the last couple of years so I’m sure he’ll be fine," he said.
"I think it’s great already. I don’t think Karmichael has that much expectation on himself to dominate or anything.
"He’s obviously achieved the most at league level, so whatever he does, whether he plays a few games or goes on to be a great in AFL as well, it’s a win no matter what for AFL."
