Western Bulldogs In his debut year, Hunter played predominantly as a half-forward, usually named on the
interchange. Hunter made his debut in Round 13,
2013, against at
Etihad Stadium. Before his debut, then Bulldogs coach
Brendan McCartney stated "He’s very creative, he just understands the game and when the ball is near him, good things happen – so we are looking forward to him debuting and going from there." In his debut game, Hunter collected 19 disposals, 5 marks, 2 behinds and kicked one goal with just his second kick in his AFL career. Hunter then played in all the remaining games for the season, except in the Bulldogs' 4- and 28-point victories over and in Rounds 15 and 20. Hunter received a
Mark of the Year nomination in the 21st round of the season after he took a
Spectacular mark over teammate
Tom Campbell and player
Ben Rutten. He finished the season with a disposal efficiency of 75.6% and an average of 13.2 disposals and 2.9 inside 50s per game. Hunter signed a contract extension that kept him at the club until 2016 in December 2013. Hunter had another consistent season in
2014, playing 14 games. He had his best game for the season in the first round of the season in the ' 65-point loss to , kicking 2 goals and a behind, as well as collecting 24 disposals, 5 marks and 4 tackles. Hunter received his second
Mark of the Year nomination for his career, after his mark on
Todd Goldstein in the ' 29-point loss to in the 2nd round of the
2014 AFL season. Hunter finished the season averaging 14 disposals a game, with coach
Brendan McCartney stating "He has displayed a range of admirable qualities in his short time at the Club and although Lachie’s best footy is still to come, we are pleased with the way he is tracking." Hunter was given the Number 7
guernsey, swapping his previous number, 26. After a shaky start to the
2015 season, Hunter rapidly improved to secure a spot in the ' finals team. Hunter received a club-imposed ban for being late to club training, resulting in him missing many of the opening rounds of the season. Hunter was moved to the wing towards the late end of the season and he quickly became central to the team's efforts, averaging 30 disposals from Round 17 to Round 23 when he made the move to the wing. In that game he was also named as
best on ground, as he broke his career record for most disposals by 8, reaching a new record of 32. He also collected 1 goal, 10 marks and 10 scoring involvements, as well as 516 metres gained. He was named as one of the Bulldogs'
best on ground. Hunter enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2016, cementing his place in the Bulldogs' senior team and enhancing a reputation as one of the league's most prolific wingmen. He played every game for the Bulldogs and at one stage in the season was considered in the running to make the
All-Australian team. Hunter got his first above-40 disposal count, collecting 44 in the ' 16-point loss to in the 10th round of the
2016 season, after he had to make up for the losses of important backmen
Bob Murphy,
Matthew Suckling and
Jason Johannisen. Hunter also took 6 marks and made 4 clearances. An illegal tackle from player
Lindsay Thomas saw Hunter go to hospital after the game with concussion-like symptoms, but he recovered in time for the next round. He also had good games in rounds 2 and 11, where he collected 35 and 38 disposals, and kicked a goal in both games. Hunter collected 85 disposals over the course of the
2016 AFL finals series, averaging around 21 disposals a game. He played in the ' 62 year premiership drought-breaking team, collecting 19 disposals, 1 behind, 4 tackles and 1 mark. He finished the season as the club's leading disposal getter with 719 in total, averaging nearly 28 disposals per game, ranking him sixth overall in the AFL. He was ranked as the number one uncontested ball winner in the
AFL, Hunter also came second at the club for inside 50s and equal third for goal assists. Hunter was recognized for his achievement when he finished third in the club's
best and fairest count, winning the Gary Dempsey Medal. He also received 13
Brownlow votes. Hunter played every game in the
2017 season, proving himself as one of the ' key players. Hunter signed a new contract in April which kept him at the Bulldogs until the end of 2019. He had one of his best games for the season in the ' 16-point loss to in the 3rd round of the season, where he kicked the first 3 goals for the Bulldogs, collected 26 disposals, took 6 marks and had 4 inside-50s. He had a similarly good game in the ' 14-point win against in round 1 of the season, where he kicked 3 goals, collected 21 disposals, and took 6 marks and 2 tackles. He was named as one of the ' best on ground. Hunter finished the season in 6th place in the
Charles Sutton Medal count, gathering 125 votes, 60 votes behind first-placed
Marcus Bontempelli. In November of that year, Hunter was elevated to the leadership group of the Bulldogs, alongside
Jordan Roughead,
Jack Redpath and
Jason Johannisen. The
2018 AFL season saw Hunter have one of his best seasons yet, obtaining the club's
best and fairest award. In round 7, Hunter captained the Bulldogs in their 9-point win over in an AFL match, filling in for the injured captain and vice-captain
Easton Wood and Marcus Bontempelli. Hunter, alongside
Jack Macrae and
Jason Johannisen, was named as best on ground for the Bulldogs, Hunter played his 100th game in the Bulldogs' 54-point loss to in the 18th round of the
2018 AFL season. He collected 28 disposals, took 5 marks and laid 4 tackles, named as one of the team's best on ground in the big loss. Hunter tied his career record for most disposals in a game in a standout performance in the Bulldogs' 7-point win over in round 21, getting 44 disposals. Hunter was rewarded with the
Charles Sutton Medal at the end of the season. He collected 191 votes, just 1 vote ahead of second-placed
Jack Macrae. Hunter led the club in marks and disposals for the total season, getting 117 and 626 respectively. 2019 was another consistent season for Hunter in his second year as a member of the team's leadership group, playing every game of the season, including the Bulldogs' elimination final loss to . Hunter signed a major 5-year contract extension on 12 March 2019, tying him to the club until 2024. Hunter stated that "I’ve clearly wanted to play for this club my whole life, and to be able to do that over an extended period now is a really good feeling," getting named in the Bulldogs' best for the game. Hunter also bolstered the Bulldogs' effort against in Round 6 of the season, collecting 32 disposals, 8 marks and a goal. He was named as the Bulldogs' best on ground. Hunter finished in 6th place in the
Charles Sutton Medal count, 138 votes behind first-placed Marcus Bontempelli. This made it his fourth consecutive year in a row getting named in the Top 10 of the
best and fairest voting. In December 2019, Hunter was appointed the vice-captain of the Western Bulldogs, after previous vice-captain Marcus Bontempelli stepped up to the role of captaincy. The
2020 AFL season was a chaotic one for Hunter, with drink-driving offences and personal issues pushing him out of the team, reducing him to a total of just 10 games played in the
COVID-19 affected season. Hunter only vice-captained the Bulldogs for one game, the team's 52-point loss to in the opening round of the season. In April 2020, after a drunk driving offence, he was suspended for four games and voluntarily relinquished the vice captaincy. He was also fined $5000 for drink driving and given suspended fines for offences involving breaching of social distancing. Hunter came back into the team for Rounds 6 and 7, and averaged 26.5 disposals and 4 marks per game, but then took a break for personal reasons, missing the next five rounds. Hunter had one of his best games for the season in his return to the team in Round 12, collecting 29 disposals, a goal and 6 marks in a game where he ruled out rumours of a trade, after grabbing his Bulldogs jumper in celebration at kicking a goal. Hunter was praised as one of the team's best players in the match. He had his best game for the season in the Bulldogs' season-defining 5-goal win over in the final round of the home and away season, which saw the team obtain a place in the finals series. In this game, he collected 35 disposals, kicked 1 goal and 3 behinds, and took 7 marks. He was named the second best player for the Bulldogs, behind
Tom Liberatore. Despite missing nearly half of the season, Hunter finished 9th in the
Charles Sutton Medal voting at the conclusion of the season, with a total of 84 votes, 121 behind first-placed
Caleb Daniel. being lauded by teammate
Josh Bruce and coach
Luke Beveridge for his courage. He had surgery on his hand in the wake of his injury. Hunter was traded to the
Melbourne Football Club at the end of the
2022 AFL season.
Melbourne Hunter made his debut with Melbourne in round 1 of the
2023 season, and went on to play 24 out of a possible 25 games in his first season at the club. However, Hunter only managed two senior games in 2024, and announced his retirement on the 26th of September 2024. Hunter ended his career on 199 AFL matches, across both clubs he played for. ==Personal life==