Luke Hodge 2008

[ChisBlues]

Anyone who under-rates Hodge obviously is a troll or doesn't understand the game.

The OP is just joining a long list of Hawthorn posters who lack confidence and need everyone saying great stuff about everything Hawthorn.

There are some Hawk Posters who need to toughen the F*ck up.
You know who you are.

Very well said.
There are plenty of posts from Hawks trying to convince everyone that Hodge is better than Judd, overtaken Judd etc.
They seem to still be scarred by the 2001 draft when hawthorn could have picked Judd.
However Hodge is a great player & is critical to Hawthorn so how can Hawk posters complain or try to belittle Judd ??
It reminds me of Gibbs & Selwood. I am rapt in Gibbs and he is more versatile than Selwood. Selwood may end up being the better midfielder but I don't care. Gibbs will be a very special player & a great player at Carlton & as much as those who want to compare them, it doesn't really matter. The clubs that have Hodge, Judd, Gibbs & Selwood will benefit greatly.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

Just looked up champion data. Over his last two games where he has played entirely in defense his direct oponnents have kicked a grand total of 1 point. Hardly unaccountable.

Will be a better player than Ablett, Judd, etc until they can prove that they can also play in defence as well as the midfield.

 

[saj_21]

He is a super player great skills and courage to match. He zones off his oppponent a lot like Harley, he only leaves his man when the ball is in the air and quite often marks or kills the contest.

Maybe clubs should do two things to quell Hodge in their forward line. Make sure the players use his opponent when coming into the forward line or play a very good payer on him. I have not seen his match ups over the last few weeks when he has been in the backline i rekon Hawthorn would try and get him on the 6th forward or the least damaging forward.

On GF day cats should send steve Johnson to him andmake him accountable that way and try to quell his influence on games.

 

[Mervyn Beasley]

Hodge should be AA captain.
Nuff said.

 

[pup23]

hodge is just a superstar would be one of the top 5 players in the comp

 

[tazhawk]

Best player in the league.

Absolute gun. Love him.

There you have it folks............. and from a non-Hawk supporter.

 

[Siege]

This is becoming a joke... Luke Hodge is a soft player who gathers cheap kicks along the half back line.

Couldn't agree more

 

[Mervyn Beasley]

Cheap kicks!!

Cheap kicks that travel fast and low and straight over 50+ metres to the chest of a power forward.

If thats what they are i'll have them any day.

 

[QuietB]

Hodge is a victim of his own versatility.

The hawks have Mitchell, Sewell & Lewis who are all excellent ball winning midfielders. None of them could do what Hodge does in the backline (or the forward line for that matter).

Hodge is Hawthorns most important and best player by a street including the big fella in #23.

 

[Neville Bartos]

Andrew McCleod who I rate as one of the best midfielders of the last decade played at HBF and no-one ever called him a cheap kick sweeper.

I think he could be considered an A-Grade midfielder. Watch his game against St Kilda earlier this year, or his game against Collingwood before he injured his hammy. His first half in that game was probably only beaten by some of Gary Ablett's freak performances this year and Judd's last quarter against the Bulldogs (I think it was them). He's right up there with the best

 

[Johnny_Segment]

Obviously the simplicity of the post went over your head. Hodge doesn't dominate the midfield. If he had he'd get more brownlow votes and AAs there. He can play there, and play it well, but he is not an AA midfielder. If he was teamed up against Ablett he would be torn to shreds.

Are you really that simple? If you actually knew anything about football you would have realised that just as Hodge has spent the majority of this year in the backline, he has spent whole years in the midfield as well. Before Sewell took off, Bateman got consistency and Ellis finished school, Hodge was our number 2 midfielder to Mitchell. In 2005 he was named All Australian half back, despite playing predominately as a midfielder. In this year he averaged 28 touches a game and finished 7th in the Brownlow, equal with Judd. In 2007, he again played predominately in the midfield and averaged 23 touches a game and finished 11th in the Brownlow, again equal with Judd.

EDIT: and surely being a Carlton supporter, you shouldn't be commenting on hodge not getting Brownlow votes when has has manage to secure votes of 2,3,1,0,3 in his last 5 games against your mob. Plus a game of 32 touches, 8 marks and a goal in the game this year.

 

[Brent24]

He's no Heath Shaw.

But nah, he's a great player, only getting better too.

 

[SirJimi05]

It's no coincidence that we've, once again, started on our winning ways since he's been moved down back. He covers an (the) obvious weakness in our line-up.

People seem to forget how dominant he was earlier this season in the midfield and up forward.

Ummm no he wasn't. His form was very average earlier in the season when he was playing in the mid. Did you think people would forget about his early season form when you posted this?

 

[SirJimi05]

Just looked up champion data. Over his last two games where he has played entirely in defense his direct oponnents have kicked a grand total of 1 point. Hardly unaccountable.

Will be a better player than Ablett, Judd, etc until they can prove that they can also play in defence as well as the midfield.

No that just makes them less versatile.

 

[Johnny_Segment]

Ummm no he wasn't. His form was very average earlier in the season when he was playing in the mid. Did you think people would forget about his early season form when you posted this?

Umm, yes he was. After his first 10 games this year he was averaging 22 touches a game (24 if you take out the game where he tore his hamstring before half time and had already had 15 touches to his name) and had kicked 15 goals, more than Judd, Ablett and Harvey.

 

[jonoman89]

Are you really that simple? If you actually knew anything about football you would have realised that just as Hodge has spent the majority of this year in the backline, he has spent whole years in the midfield as well. Before Sewell took off, Bateman got consistency and Ellis finished school, Hodge was our number 2 midfielder to Mitchell. In 2005 he was named All Australian half back, despite playing predominately as a midfielder. In this year he averaged 28 touches a game and finished 7th in the Brownlow, equal with Judd. In 2007, he again played predominately in the midfield and averaged 23 touches a game and finished 11th in the Brownlow, again equal with Judd.

EDIT: and surely being a Carlton supporter, you shouldn't be commenting on hodge not getting Brownlow votes when has has manage to secure votes of 2,3,1,0,3 in his last 5 games against your mob. Plus a game of 32 touches, 8 marks and a goal in the game this year.

I fail to see how anyone can call him a midfielder when he hasn't played 22 (or a majority of) games there. He is naturally a versatile player, and if i was you i'd still keep him at HB.

If you don't play predominantly in the midfield and dont get AAs there or finish top 5 in the brownlow, well you aren't an A grade midfielder in my opinion.

He could be if he played there more often, but he doesn't. That's why it's useless to compare him to midfielders.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

No that just makes them less versatile.

Well if he is as good in the midfield as Judd, Ablett, Bartel, etc then the fact he is also more versatile than them makes him a better FOOTBALLER.

 

[Johnny_Segment]

I fail to see how anyone can call him a midfielder when he hasn't played 22 (or a majority of) games there. He is naturally a versatile player, and if i was you i'd still keep him at HB.

If you don't play predominantly in the midfield and dont get AAs there or finish top 5 in the brownlow, well you aren't an A grade midfielder in my opinion.

He could be if he played there more often, but he doesn't. That's why it's useless to compare him to midfielders.

1. He has played entire seasons as a midfielder, namely 2005, 2006. Plus 85% of 2007. In these season he averaged 27, 24 & 24 posessions a game.

2. In 2005 he got an AA playing in the midfield, but was named half back because that was where he had played his previous 2 years, and he was not going to take the place of Cousins, West etc. In 2007, he was named in the AA squad as a midfielder.

3. He has had 2 top 10 finishes in the Brownlow. In 2005 he finished 1 vote out of the top 5.

4. In his last 4 years, he has played 3 years as a dedicated midfielder. In 2008 he played 60-40 between backline and midfield so as to sure up a position that every opposition supporter deems to be our weakspot.

Is there anything else you wish to get blatantly wrong?

 

[MinerBoy]

Ummm no he wasn't. His form was very average earlier in the season when he was playing in the mid. Did you think people would forget about his early season form when you posted this?

No, it wasn't.

He missed some games through injury and suspension, but has been outstanding all season when playing.

 

[SirJimi05]

Umm, yes he was. After his first 10 games this year he was averaging 22 touches a game (24 if you take out the game where he tore his hamstring before half time and had already had 15 touches to his name) and had kicked 15 goals, more than Judd, Ablett and Harvey.

Hodges early season form was very sketchy.

Even your fellow Hawks posters were saying how he needed to lift earlier on in the season.

His first 5-6 games were very average except for one game where he was pretty good.

I like the way how you included his stats up until round 11 to try and make an argument. I said early on in the season NOT the first half of the season.

 

[SirJimi05]

Well if he is as good in the midfield as Judd, Ablett, Bartel, etc then the fact he is also more versatile than them makes him a better FOOTBALLER.

He isn't. Gun player but let's not get carried away.

 

[monday-expert]

Hodge is a victim of his own versatility.

The hawks have Mitchell, Sewell & Lewis who are all excellent ball winning midfielders. None of them could do what Hodge does in the backline (or the forward line for that matter).

Hodge is Hawthorns most important and best player by a street including the big fella in #23.

Spot on

 

[Johnny_Segment]

Hodges early season form was very sketchy.

Even your fellow Hawks posters were saying how he needed to lift earlier on in the season.

His first 5-6 games were very average except for one game where he was pretty good.

I like the way how you included his stats up until round 11 to try and make an argument. I said early on in the season NOT the first half of the season.

I don't know whether you watched the games or if you just looked up his stats, but he was never "very average" as you say. His first 6 games saw him get 19, 17, 25, 18, 31 & 15 as well as kick 6 goals and have 30 tackles. The game of 15, he tore his hamstring before half time. He was also running at 91% kicking efficiancy. As any informed football fan should know, he doesn't have to have 30+ touches to be really damaging. As his game against the bullies showed, he can have only 16 touches and stilll be best afield (well 2nd best in that game to Buddy). We also won every one of those first 6 games, so i can't see many supporters whingeing that our vice captain needed to lift.

 

[Johnny_Segment]

Maybe you should take your own advice, son.

I watched all the games.

His early season form was very sketchy.

Well you can keep saying that till your arse falls of mate, but the fact is that i too saw every one of those games, as did the majority of Hawthorn fans on here, and I would hazard a guess that most, if not all, would have had him n the best 5-6 for nearly all those games.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Maybe you should take your own advice, son.

I watched all the games.

His early season form was very sketchy.

Hodge has been very good-to-dominant this season. I think you'll find he started off very good, but some of the supporters were looking for Hodge to step up another gear and produce the dominant performances he has in the past.

He did.

I do see/understand what you're getting at though.