In Round 13 Gold Coast Football Club - as it was then known - played a home game at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns.

The game itself was only a part of an important visit north for the club, one designed to highlight the SUNS unyielding commitment to promote the sport and create opportunities for young, talent Queenslanders who want to play the game at the highest level.

As it turned out, the match at Cazaly’s proved to be something of a watershed in the club’s short, colourful history.

Against odds including a younger than usual playing squad, a last quarter headwind, and an Essendon-aligned opposition dotted with AFL-listed talent, the team managed to turn around a 40-point half time deficit to win by a behind when Zac Smith’s post siren shot on goal just managed to squeak over the line.

But although a high point, the victory was just one exciting aspect of what was a hugely successful promotional tour, and one that owed no small debt of gratitude to the club’s highest profile recruit, Karmichael Hunt.

Hunt, with SUNS Community programs Officer Corey Bell and Gold Coast Football Academy Manager Andrew Johnston, took a 7am flight north on the Thursday morning of game week with a robust schedule mapped out.

First stop was Townsville for three on air slots for local breakfast radio to discuss Hunt’s transition to AFL from rugby league and to promote Saturday’s game against Bendigo Bombers, an afternoon footy Superclinic organised by AFL Townsville, and a special Gold Coast Football Academy training session for the cream of FNQ’s emerging 14 to 18 year old talent. After that Hunt patiently waded his way through a series of press interviews before heading to a sold out invitation-only luncheon where he and Johnston were guest speakers.

At the lunch Johnston spoke passionately about the club’s desire to foster talent in FNQ.

“Purely and simply we’re here to promote the game, encourage people to take up the sport and give existing players the opportunity to play at the highest standard,” he said.

“Over the next three years GCFC can take five additional kids on its list each year without them having to go in the draft. Those kids will then have the opportunity to compete at the sport’s elite level without having to move interstate.”

Hunt was relaxed and chatty on his feet. He spoke about his journey to AFL, his awe at the talent already at the club’s disposal and his ruthless determination to become an integral part of the SUNS 2011 AFL line up. He also dropped in a few personal insights. One - that he rarely watches sport - highlighted Hunt’s natural affiliation for his occupation as a jack-of-all-trades sporting professional. And another – that his father had taken up veteran’s AFL in suburban Brisbane ‘so he knew what his son would be going through’ – perhaps spoke volumes about Hunt’s predisposition to try new things.

With lunch and a pre-arranged post-lunch press conference done and dusted it was off to Townsville’s impressive Tony Ireland Stadium for the afternoon clinic and Academy session.

The clinic was an eye-opener for a couple of reasons. First and foremost was the amazing turnout. Although it was tough to get a handle on the exact number of kids, 500 wouldn’t have been an over the top assessment. Second was the incredible popularity of Hunt, still well and truly one of the most recognisable sporting stars in FNQ despite his defection from the region’s most popular winter code.

AFL Townsville Regional Manager Peter Young was on deck. He said the afternoon was a roaring success.

“We’re obviously in a rugby community but we’ve been working extremely hard to promote AFL. It’s really gratifying to see we’re doing something right if you look at the numbers out there. This has been magnificent today.”

After the clinic, Hunt helped out with a few Academy drills before taking part in an impromptu post-training Q and A, one that morphed into a protracted photo shoot and autograph signing session for the hundred or so who’d stuck around.

Next morning the alarm went off at 4.45am in advance of the short flight to Cairns.

On arrival it was more press interviews, more radio slots and then back to the hotel to greet the rest of the team. Following a light afternoon training session, the entire squad signed literally hundreds of autographs for enthusiastic local kids and helped out with another junior clinic before heading back to the hotel for a team meeting and the commencement of pre-match preparations.

Game day was something else.

A bumper crowd of around 4000 footy lovers turned up to take in the match. And if the GCFC merchandise sales were anything to go by, most were there to see a newly adopted team. Initially though, many would have been querying their investment in scarves, beanies and caps as they watched the boys turn on a pretty dire first half effort. But when the local Cairns product Charlie Dixon started smashing packs, snagging big marks and slotting goals for his team the locals found their voice and did their bit to will the side home when for the most part all hope had seemed lost.

After the game the entire squad basked in the afterglow of its big win by patiently sitting through another autograph-signing before heading back to the hotel for some dinner and a much needed rest.

No rest for the coaching staff, though. They were busily locked away in a hotel room analysing video, talking match ups and working out what worked and what didn’t as they conducted their post-match review.

The next morning, the seemingly tireless promotions team was up early to roll the ‘Rise Up’ truck out of town and head south to Mackay for another Superclinic.

Meanwhile the team and coaching staff dusted themselves off, packed up, shipped out and started thinking about next week’s game.