Luke Hodge 2008

[SirJimi05]

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.

Maybe you should take your own advice, son.

I watched all the games.

His early season form was very sketchy.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

WTH, how did SirJim's post that two of us quoted somehow get placed after our responses?

 

[SirJimi05]

No, it wasn't.

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

You would think a Hawks supporter would at least know about their players.

Firstly, it should be singular and not plural.

Secondly, he wasn't injured at all. The one game he missed in the first 5-6 games was due to suspension.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

You would think a Hawks supporter would at least know about their players.

Firstly, it should be singular and not plural.

Secondly, he wasn't injured at all. The one game he missed in the first 5-6 games was due to suspension.

Hahaha.

So that hammy he did halfway through the Collingwood game never happened?

We were lucky we had a weeks break after the game, from memory.

But he still missed round 8, 9 and 10.

 

[Bollox]

Looks like another backslapping contest going on.

Pointless talking about him coz unless u say he's perfect in every way the cheerleaders just get upset.

 

[SirJimi05]

Looks like another backslapping contest going on.

Pointless talking about him coz unless u say he's perfect in every way the cheerleaders just get upset.

Just about sums up this thread.

I can clearly recall a heap of Hawks supporters, early in the season going on about what a great position the Hawks are in because they were winning their games without Hodge really having any effect or playing as well as he should be playing.

Come the end of the season all is forgotten and he has dominated from start to finish. It's BF at it's finest.

 

[MinerBoy]

You would think a Hawks supporter would at least know about their players.

Firstly, it should be singular and not plural.

Secondly, he wasn't injured at all. The one game he missed in the first 5-6 games was due to suspension.

So what YOU'RE saying is that he might have had a quiet ONE during the opening 5 or 6 games.

I call Rounds 1-11 early part of season and 12-22 the latter part. He hasn't dominated every game but has been a damn fine player all season, including early.

 

[SirJimi05]

Hahaha.

So that hammy he did halfway through the Collingwood game never happened?

We were lucky we had a weeks break after the game, from memory.

But he still missed round 8, 9 and 10.

Let me spell this out for you.

In my first post i said that his form was sketchy for the first 5-6 rounds.

He had no injuries in the first 5-6 rounds.

He missed round one because he was suspended.

He injured himself in round 7.

Are you starting to catch up?

 

[SirJimi05]

So what YOU'RE saying is that he might have had a quiet ONE during the opening 5 or 6 games.

I call Rounds 1-11 early part of season and 12-22 the latter part. He hasn't dominated every game but has been a damn fine player all season, including early.

Ok let's do it your way.

I can recall Hodge having 2 really good games in the first half of the season (rounds 1-11). Not really up to his lofty standards if you ask me.

The rest of the first half he was average.

The only questionable decision in the AA lineup in my opinion.

I guess he can count himself lucky that he had such a slow start to the season and not a poor end because it would have been fresh in the selectors memories.

 

[SA Blue]

One of the best cheap half back flankers around.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

Ok let's do it your way.

I can recall Hodge having 2 really good games in the first half of the season (rounds 1-11). Not really up to his lofty standards if you ask me.

The rest of the first half he was average.

The only questionable decision in the AA lineup in my opinion.

I guess he can count himself lucky that he had such a slow start to the season and not a poor end because it would have been fresh in the selectors memories.

He missed ROund 1, was quiet in round 2 and 3, had very good games in Round 4 and 6 and half a very good game before injurying himself in Round 7. Nothing like the slow start that Riewoldt had. Hardly anything different to the 2-3 quiet games that every All Australian (including Buddy, Bartel and Scalett) has throughout the year.

 

[SirJimi05]

He missed ROund 1, was quiet in round 2 and 3, had very good games in Round 4 and 6 and half a very good game before injurying himself in Round 7. Nothing like the slow start that Riewoldt had. Hardly anything different to the 2-3 quiet games that every All Australian (including Buddy) has throughout the year.

So he had 2 very good games for one half of the season.

Now we are getting somewhere.

So he got the nod in the AA team for having a great second half of the season (minus an absolute stinker against Geelong and a quiet game against the Swans) and 2 good games in the first half.

Pretty lucky if you ask me.

 

[Mr Lizard]

You are all from the past

This thread is weird. I think it is from the past.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

So he had 2 very good games for one half of the season.

Now we are getting somewhere.

So he got the nod in the AA team for having a great second half of the season (minus an absolute stinker against Geelong and a quiet game against the Swans) and 2 good games in the first half.

Pretty lucky if you ask me.

Umm, no, last time I checked Round 11 is in the first half of the season.

So he had 4 good games in the first half of the season, missed 4 games, and had 3 average games. Checkmate.

 

[Neville Bartos]

Watch this:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=pWh1HneaJg8

 

[sharpie]

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

Very few say he is a soft player, in fact I think he goes overboard the otherway - but he does rack up cheap stats in the backline. And he gets tough ones as well.

It is easy to fetter your stats when you don't have an opponent though.

That's not his fault - just how he is played.

He is very good as loose man in defence, and it is fast becoming a specialist role.

He could play midfield, but as a midfielder I don't think he'd be as good as those named in this year's AA midfield.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

Very few say he is a soft player, in fact I think he goes overboard the otherway - but he does rack up cheap stats in the backline. And he gets tough ones as well.

It is easy to fetter your stats when you don't have an opponent though.

That's not his fault - just how he is played.

He is very good as loose man in defence, and it is fast becoming a specialist role.

He could play midfield, but as a midfielder I don't think he'd be as good as those named in this year's AA midfield.

Not sure if you are trying to stir things up or not but he has not once played as a loose man in defense this year. He either picks up an oponent (Minson, Cloke, predominantly the last two weeks) or is picked up by an opponent (K Johnson).

 

[sharpie]

Not sure if you are trying to stir things up or not but he has not once played as a loose man in defense this year. He either picks up an oponent (Minson, Cloke, predominantly the last two weeks) or is picked up by an opponent (K Johnson).

He played loose man in defence against the bulldogs.

And how is what I wrote likely to stir anything up - it isn't inflammatory nor derogatory

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

He played loose man in defence against the bulldogs.

And how is what I wrote likely to stir anything up - it isn't inflammatory nor derogatory

It might be hard to pick up on TV but he had an opponent for the whole game. It was Wil Minson when he was in the forward line and a variety of other players when Minson went into the middle.

 

[Mr Lizard]

He played loose man in defence against the bulldogs.

And how is what I wrote likely to stir anything up - it isn't inflammatory nor derogatory

He started on Mitch Hahn, then took Will Minson.

He doesn't take the opposition's best forward, but neither does he play 'loose', it's just he backs his judgement to read the ball better, and plays away from his man.


Watching on the TV, it might look like he has no opponent, whereas at the game, you can see his opponent has been sitting idly in the forward pocket while Hodge wins the ball on the half-back line. To generalise.

 

[macdaddio]

Hodge tears sides apart with his courage and smarts wether he is up foward, back or in the middle he is the usnung heroe of the Hawthorn football club.

 

[Traffic Light]

You have to question whether playing 17 games and having very average stats really justify an AA selection?

He's a great player, no doubt, but he hasn't had an amazing season by anyones standard.

Sometimes I wonder if AA is picked on reputation with Judd, Hodge and Pavlich all selected...

 

[lopozop]

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?

Yes. Yes he was. Until he injured his hamstring against the Pies he was in the best form of his career...

 

[sharpie]

Gee - I can't wait for Hodge to cure cancer.

The camera angle on the bulldogs forward line was very broad in many cases.

In a vast majority of cases there was one extra hawks player, and that loose player was Luke Hodge.

I don't deny he took Minson and Hahn at times, but from what I saw, he played loose the majority of the game - and played it beautifully well.

Cross played loose at the other end (so that makes sure that one hawks player is free - surprise - that was hodge) - Cross played loose man appallingly and Hodge played superbly - it made a significant difference to the game.

To deny Hodge plays loose is a fallacy, but similarly to say this detracts from his as a player is equally ridiculous.

 

[MinerBoy]

You have to question whether playing 17 games and having very average stats really justify an AA selection?

He's a great player, no doubt, but he hasn't had an amazing season by anyones standard.

Sometimes I wonder if AA is picked on reputation with Judd, Hodge and Pavlich all selected...

I would think he will go top 2 or 3 in our B&F from those 17 games. Considering we sat comfortably 2nd after H&A season, I would say that's a fairly good season by anyone's standard.