Adam Hunter: The journey of a prodigious football talent from South Bunbury to the AFL and back again

From an early age, the talents of Adam Hunter were obvious to all at South Bunbury Football Club. Hunter first started with the Tigers at the age of seven and was a consistent standout as he progressed through the club’s junior ranks, winning a number of best and fairest awards. WAFL club Swan Districts quickly took heed of his ability and he first wore the black and white stripes as part of their under-13 development program, continuing with the club through to their league side. Even in his junior days, Hunter was a noted swingman capable of excelling at both ends of the ground, a role he would go on to play with brilliant success at the top level. Having played much of his junior football for the Tigers as a ruckman, he eventually settled into a role as a forward, kicking 45 goals for the club’s league side as a teenager in 1998. He showed his ability to play both as a forward and in defence in WA’s national carnival-winning under-18 side in 1999, moving to centre-half-back for the final win over Victoria Metro having played as a forward in earlier games. On WAFL league debut for Swans in the same year, Hunter started the day in the back half but was swung into attack in the final term, kicking a goal which proved to be the sealer in a win against Claremont. His journey reached a high point he was selected by West Coast with pick 29 of the 1999 national draft. After calling time on his 10-year, 151-game AFL career in 2009 due to persistent injuries, Hunter was able to return to South Bunbury at the end of the 2010 season, playing seven games. Having held an assistant coaching role with Swan Districts during the year, he made a comeback at WAFL level in 2011, playing seven league games for the club to go with three in the reserves. While making intermittent appearances for the Tigers, he played for a number of other clubs over the rest of the 2010s, including Boulder City in the Goldfields Football League, Chapman Valley in the Great Northern Football League and and Perth Football League sides Whitford and Carlisle. But he spent his final footballing years back where it all started, showing off his talents even in his 40s. His finest moment back with South Bunbury came in 2022, when he spearheaded a reserves premiership. In the 10.4 (64) to 8.7 (55) grand final victory over Augusta-Margaret River, Hunter kicked the first two goals of the day and five for the match. He returned to the club’s league team in the back half of 2023, kicking 15 goals in the final 12 games with the Tigers exiting at the preliminary final stage. Hunter had played for the club as recently as the 2024 season, featuring in five reserves games, including two finals.