With Karmichael Hunt set to make his NRL return, we take a look back at where it all began Karmichael Hunt in action for the Broncos. Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau made national headlines when they defected from the NRL to AFL in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Folau finished a difficult, though lucrative, stint in the AFL in 2012 and is now one of Rugby union's top draw cards. Hunt, meanwhile, is reportedly poised to make the switch back to the NRL and the Broncos in time for the 2014 season. We take a look at Hunt's three-code journey as he prepares to return to where it all began. Rugby league Hunt was one of rugby league's brightest lights at the time of his defection to the AFL. The former Dally M rookie of the year had scored 53 tries from 125 games for the Broncos and, in the process, had become the youngest player in premiership history to reach 100 games. Karmichael Hunt is tacked during the World Club Challenge in 2007. Hunt was a pivotal member of the Broncos' grand final winning team in 2006, starting the grand final on the wing at the tender age of 19. That same season, he made his State of Origin debut for Queensland and earned his first Test cap for the Kangaroos (having rebuffed approaches from his country of birth, New Zealand). He played 10 Origin encounters and 11 Tests, including the 2008 World Cup. From the centres, to the halves, to fullback, to wing, Hunt was an incredibly versatile player blessed with pace and deft ball-handling skills. The improved fitness, kicking and catching skills from his AFL stint will presumably serve him well should he return to the NRL for a second spell. Rugby union Hunt headed to Europe for a short stint prior to embarking on his AFL career. His time in the 15-man code began in the unlikely setting of Belgium as part of a French Barbarians side in 2009 prior to linking with Biarritz Olympique in France's Top 14 competition. Hunt had a short stint in Rugby union before he embarked on his AFL career. It proved an eventful sojourn. Despite having never previously played rugby, Hunt fitted in seamlessly during his 15-game stint as Biarritz advanced to the Heineken Cup final following victories over Munster and Ospreys. Hunt, starting at inside centre, scored the only try of the final before almost 80,000 fans at Stade de France. But he could not save Biarritz from a 21-19 defeat to champions Toulouse. Hunt made a $3 million dollar switch to Aussie Rules football. Hunt stunned the rugby league community when he announced he had signed a three-year $3 million contract with the fledgling Gold Coast Suns. Critics slammed the move as a PR-stunt as the AFL looked to establish a foothold on the Gold Coast, but Hunt's first season exceeded most expectations. He started at centre half-back in the Suns' debut game in round two of the 2011 season and established himself as a solid defensive presence. Hunt evolved from a defender to a midfielder over his first two seasons, highlighted by an after-the-siren goal against Richmond in round 16 in 2012 that ended Gold Coast's horrendous 14-game losing streak. While fellow code-jumper Folau struggled in the AFL and switched to rugby, Hunt opted to remain with AFL and signed a new two-year deal with the Suns at the end of 2012. Hamstring and calf injuries restricted him to just nine games in 2013, however, and pundits have suggested he may no longer be an automatic senior selection in 2014 against the likes of Dion Prestia, Jaeger O'Meara, Jarrod Harbrow and Danny Stanley in the midfield. Hunt has kicked six goals across 43 senior games for the Suns.