It’s a lifestyle that Hurn is mapping out for himself once his football career is over, with the hands-on work and flexible hours the biggest drawcards. “As soon as footy finishes, my aim is to try and go back and help out on the farm, whether that’s full time or I have something else outside that. I think it’s a fantastic lifestyle, especially if you’re bringing up kids - you can always be at home. It’s also about the lifestyle. If you want to wake up early, you wake up early, and then the cricket might be on in the afternoon, so you come in and watch the cricket for a few hours and then head back out and work till dark. In a nine-to-five job you don’t really have that luxury, so it’s just that outdoors lifestyle that I enjoy.”
The farm is not the only Hurn legacy that is likely to be passed on to Shannon. His nickname, ‘Bunga’, which has been passed on from his granddad to his dad, has stuck like mud at West Coast ever since he was drafted in 2005. “My granddad started it, but I’m not sure how it came along. Apparently it was something to do with a Weetbix eating competition. He went to Prince Alfred College, and it had something to do with that. It’s a bit of a family name, so I don’t mind it, it’s nice.”
With the demands of AFL football, Hurn won’t get back to the family farm until a week or so after the Eagles’ season is over, but he has found a release with good friend Mark LeCras. The pair escape into the country every two to three weeks to revel in a shared hobby. “I get along really well with Mark LeCras, and a couple of his uncles own farms, so we’ll get out there and do a bit of shooting and a fair bit of fishing as well. That’s my way of getting away from footy. One of his farms is about an hour-and-a-half away, north, so we can get there for the night and come back the next day. We try to do that as much as we can. You’re away from footy and you’re away from civilisation for a bit, and it's just great fun.”
The laid-back South Australian is also working closely with player services coordinator Ian Miller to find an agricultural pursuit during the season, but contributing to the family farm post-football is what he would ultimately like to do. “That would be the best thing to do and that’s the planning right now. Whether it happens or not, that’s a different story. It’d be nice to go back and help out on the family farm, but at the same time maybe do something different with it. Possibly a business either in Adelaide or the Barossa Valley in general, which I can work on for two or three days and then help out on the farm for two or three days. That’s ultimately how I’d like to go about it.”
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