Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt reckons if anyone can handle the tricky transition from an NRL halfback to a rugby union flyhalf, it’s Cooper Cronk.

Hunt warned his former State of Origin teammate against the difficulties of code-hopping amid talk of a possible Super Rugby switch next year, but said he was a tremendous player who would make a success of it if he wanted to.

Cronk, 33, will leave the Melbourne Storm at the end of the season to join his Sydney-based fiance, Fox Sports presenter Tara Rushton, but is yet to decide if he will continue playing.

He is considered more likely to sign for another NRL club or retire altogether than take up the 15-man code, particularly after the NSW Waratahs ruled out making a move for him on Thursday.

But Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is convinced Cronk could make it work and so too is Hunt, who played French rugby immediately after leaving the NRL in 2009 and then signed for the Reds after five years in the AFL.

“You never doubt a champion, I say. And he’s a champion through and through,” Hunt said on Friday.

“My ears pricked up (when I heard about it). I’m not too sure if he’s played it before.

“I’ve played with Cooper before, I understand how great he is with rugby league.”

However, Hunt said rugby union was a “different game” and that Cronk would need to be patient, particularly if he was to remain a playmaker.

“The way I speak to Quade (Cooper) and the way he sees the game and talks about footy, it’s totally different compared to what Locky (Darren Lockyer) used to talk about it,” Hunt said.

“Even though it’s the same kind of football – you tackle, you pass backwards – the game is a little bit different.

“It might take him a little time to adjust.

“(But) I’m not going to say it’s unrealistic, because anything’s possible if you put your mind to it.”