DRUG-TAINTED Karmichael Hunt is out of isolation after a personal overture from Quade Cooper and will make a club comeback for Souths on the Gold Coast.

Souths club president Tony Shepley was admirable honest when he said the decision to have Hunt link with the Magpies was “not met with 100 per cent approval” within the club and he expected “a polarising reaction”.

After a long limbo, Hunt’s return to play has happened quickly this week after legal letters were sent to the Queensland Rugby Union and the player made his own request that he wanted to return to work.

Hunt’s club Norths took a strong stance by vetoing an approach to return but received a document on Thursday from Souths notifying that Hunt would be registered there.

media_camera Karmichael Hunt after having his drugs charge dropped in February. Picture: AAP

Former Wallaby Cooper made the initial approach to Souths coach Elia Tuqiri on Thursday when asking if Hunt could come down to training that night.

Hunt appeared, ran for the full session in a variety of backline positions, dealt with contact without a problem and gave advice to younger players.

“It was a bit of shock having Karmichael there but it was no issue with me after Quade asked and said he was just thinking about his wellbeing,” Tuqiri said.

“He was not necessarily looking for a game but just to get involved as part of a group because he’s been in isolation for a long while.

“I’m not making any judgment on a person’s past and he’s obviously suffered consequences for his actions.”

Hunt’s career has been in limbo since late December when he was arrested in a Fortitude Valley car park in Brisbane where cocaine was discovered, according to police, on the ground.

media_camera Quade Cooper pictured on the sideline during Wests v Souths rugby at Toowong, Brisbane 29th of April 2018. (AAP Image/Josh Woning)

The six-Test Wallaby had cocaine possession charges dropped because of lack of evidence at a February court appearance.

A subsequent Rugby Australia Integrity Unit investigation delivered a $10,000 fine and a retrospective four-match ban for a code of conduct breach.

Hunt has largely dropped off the map this season. There was no welcome mat at the Reds where head coach Brad Thorn’s strong stance on cultural change for the squad made it a poor fit for a player banned for cocaine possession in 2015 and caught up in further allegations in the off-season.

Fourteen Reds games have been and gone without Hunt plus three Tests in June since his last match seven-and-a-half months ago when he was a replacement against Scotland in Edinburgh.

Tuqiri said Hunt’s physical condition indicated he’d been doing plenty of private work to stay in shape.

media_camera Karmichael Hunt shares a joke with Michael Cheika last November. Picture: Getty Images

“He did all the training, full contact, and filled in wherever needed in the centres or on the wing,” Tuqiri said.

“To me, he looked in great shape and still looked a player at a level above club footy.”

The audition went well enough for Hunt to be brought on to the bench to act as a replacement for the second-placed Magpies against Bond University at Bond Uni on Saturday.

“There are some real pros and real cons to this and we are thinking about his wellbeing as much as anything,” Shepley said.

“There’ll be some pushback, no doubt.

“Our major concern is around our juniors but my view is ‘give the guy a go’ because how long do you let it (the stand-off) go on.”

Shepley is a club sponsor so he has made his call on two levels.

He said he contacted the QRU when the Hunt request to train was made.

“The QRU’s view was that it was a club decision and they weren’t in a position to block it or want to,” Shepley said.

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Originally published as Cooper’s call brought Hunt in from the cold