The 29-year-old had hoped to play out the final two years of his current contract but simply couldn’t ignore the mounting medical evidence that his his troublesome left knee could no longer endure the rigours of the NRL. It’s hardly a fitting end for one of the NRL’s most likeable characters but - while he has more than enough reasons to be dirty on the game - it says a lot about Hunt’s character that he expressed only gratitude to rugby league. 

‘‘Rugby league’s changed my life in the most positive way you could imagine,’’ Hunt said.

‘‘I never thought I’d play 150 games and do what I did in rugby league.

‘‘There’s times when you look at negatives and think ‘why me’ but, when you have a reality check, I look at what I’ve done and what I have, not what’s been taken away.

‘‘When you’re not in the bubble and you look back, to play for the St George Illawarra Dragons with the rich history the club has and to have the opportunity to go to those reunions for the rest of my life...it’s humbling and it brings a tear to your eye. To be part of this family is something I will cherish forever.’’

It’s the biggest decision most footballers ever make but - after re-injuring his knee at the Auckland Nines - Hunt said it was largely taken out of his hands by the list of surgeons urging him to call it quits.

‘‘I went and saw three surgeons and they ended up making a hard decision easy for me,’’ Hunt said.

‘‘I’ve been struggling with a knee injury for the last two or three years and it just got to the point where I couldn’t push through the pain anymore. They all told me to hang up the boots otherwise I’d struggle to get around post footy. I’d been playing with it and thought it was something I could push through for at least the rest of this contract but in the end you can’t ignore medical advice.’’

It’s one of the many ups and down Hunt’s traversed in his career in which he missed the club’s 2010 grand final victory and was robbed of rep jerseys by untimely injuries. The ups and downs were exacerbated by mental health battles but, after going public with his own bipolar diagnosis, Hunt says he has found his purpose post-retirement in player welfare roles with the Dragons and the NRL’s State of Mind initiative.

‘‘It’s not the fairytale ending you’d like but now that I’ve got my new role with the club and the NRL, I’m really really happy and I’ve got a new purpose," Hunt said.

‘‘People will have their opinions but I know that I’ve definitely generated something because players have come and spoken to me who have been struggling. To give those players that comfort and other people in the community...I’d do it all again.

‘‘The things I’ve been through with injuries and ups and down and mental health battles I feel I can give back to this generation coming through and teach them some processes and things I learned through my mistakes or what I went through. Through injuries, through contracts, through winning and losing, family stuff, financial burdens...these are all these things players struggle with. 

‘‘Sometimes they don’t feel comfortable asking for help or talking about it. If through my experiences I can give them that confidence to do that I’ll feel like I’m doing my job.’’