By Jason Phelan

Karmichael Hunt lived out every AFL players' dream when he kicked a goal after the siren to hand his team a thrilling win on Saturday and he revealed some timely words from skipper Gary Ablett helped calm his nerves as he lined up for the shot.

Hunt marked Brandon Matera's kick from the boundary line with just seconds remaining and his team four points down against Richmond in Cairns.

As the siren sounded the rugby league convert could have been forgiven for a few anxious moments as he lined up for the biggest kick of his 31-game career.

Gaz came up to me and said … 'If you miss it, don't worry about it', Hunt said.

"I took the pressure off myself, went back to the top of my run, remembered a few things the coaches have been working on with kicking goals and rocked up and slotted it through.

"I didn't have much time to think to be honest. I've dreamed about situations like that and you've just got to keep it as simple as possible."

The goal saw the SUNS notch their first win of the season and Hunt mobbed by jubilant teammates.

Coach Guy McKenna paid tribute to Hunt's ability to convert under such intense pressure and snap a losing streak that stood at 22 games from last season.

While the results haven't been coming for the SUNS, McKenna felt the team had been taking small steps in the right direction with each game.

"Of course we're losing [games], but it's actually teaching us how to win," McKenna said.

"Teaching these boys that if you hang on a bit harder, tackle a bit harder, compete a bit harder and actually put the opposition in some pressure situations we might have a chance [to win].

"We smelled a bit of that last week [against Geelong] and I thought they carried that into the game this week."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs