The AFL world has again been plunged into mourning, after West Coast premiership player Adam Hunter died on Wednesday.
Hunter, 43, was found dead just after midnight in the Western Australia town of Bunbury, an Eagles spokesman confirmed to this masthead on Wednesday.
Glory days: Adam Hunter (right) at the 2006 AFL grand final. Credit: The Age
A clever utility, Hunter played 151 games for the Eagles between 2000 and 2009, memorably booting their last goal of the 2006 grand final to secure a one-point win over Sydney.
His strong form continued a year later when he kicked 29 goals and was second in the club’s best and fairest. However, knee and shoulder injuries cruelled his career and he retired after the ’09 season.
Born in Bunbury, Hunter’s football prowess was evident early. He played with the South Bunbury Football Club before being taken by the Eagles with pick No.29 in the 1999 national draft.
Hunter’s death adds to a week of heartbreak in the AFL industry after the deaths of former Brisbane Lions player Troy Selwood, 40, and Essendon senior assistant coach Dale Tapping, 59.
Selwood’s twin brother Adam was a premiership teammate of Hunter at West Coast, while Scott Selwood also spent two years at the Eagles alongside the pair.
Tapping, who had been due to coach Essendon’s VFL side this year, died on Tuesday from Myeloma, a blood cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2023.
He had continued working at the club until a few weeks ago.
More to come
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