Karmichael Hunt went AWOL following arrest

Queensland Reds and Wallaby fullback Karmichael Hunt has reportedly been awol since being caught up in his court case following his arrest for drug possession, with the QRU and his club side Norths not hearing from him for 11 weeks.

Hunt has not appeared around the Norths club during the pre-season during his suspension by the QRU, with contact between Hunt and his employers ‘absent’.

The QRU’s first meeting with the embattled former NRL star this week has left his playing future unresolved, with no further clarity on whether he will play again in Australia.

“We are ants in rugby’s food chain and imagine there is a screening process with the QRU and a return-to-play protocol so Karmichael won’t be selected this weekend,” Norths club president Kieran Prideaux said.

“We can’t be disruptive to any of those processes and we have not been advised of any time frames.”

It appears that patience with Hunt’s off field issues in Queensland has finally run out, with eight of the local nine clubs involved in Queensland Premier Club rugby voting that he is not worthy of donning the Reds jersey again.

A QRU spokesman advised media that “discussions between QRU and Karmichael have begun as we work through the implications of Rugby Australia’s decisions.”