Luke Hodge 2008

[Digby_from_Dingley]

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.

The Hawks didnt have an extra man in defense from what I can recall at the ground. Cross dropped back and left Lewis as the loose man in the midfield, not defence. Lewis had 11 posessions in the first quarter and cross didnt go back much after that.

Having said that, it is likely that against St Klida both teams will play a loose man in defense.

 

[Digby_from_Dingley]

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...

If you want to go by stats, (which you shoudlnt) he gets in the AA team ahead of Cooney.

 

[MinerBoy]

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.

Hodge had an opponent all game against the Dogs. He just completely pantsed him. I sat level 2 right behind the goals at the city end. A beautiful view of the whole playing arena.

You look like an idiot when you make such strong remarks that are just completely fasle.

 

[The Rat]

When this bloke does play in the middle he can match it with anybody in the league.

We haven't seen it much this year but in the elim final last year he absolutely scared the ball out of the packs and he did it with half a leg, I suppose it slipped peoples mind coz some bloke bagged 7 snaggers as well as the winning goal.

This year he has been playing off half back but not as a half back flanker, he actually sends more footballs into the forward 50 than rebounds them out of the back 50, I don't know if anybody has played the position like that before, this is why he plays there and not in the centre, Sewell, Lewis or Mitch can all get the ball out of the middle at an expectable level but only one bloke (in the entire comp) can cut a ball off in defence, carry it 20 then left foot it to a marking forward’s chest inside our fifty, all done while switching play.

The day will come when big Clint will fill our rebounding defender role and Hodgey will be once more released to the middle, then you will see how the position is meant to be played.

 

[SirJimi05]

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

This would have to be the dumbest post i have ever seen on BF.

Surely you jest?

Round 1 - suspended.
Round 2 - Below par.
Round 3 - Below par.
Round 4 - Good game.
Round 5 - Below par.
Round 6 - Very good game.
Round 7 - played a half of footy.

= Career best form??? WTF!

 

[BUBBALOUIS]

He played loose man in defence against the bulldogs.

bull, he played on Mitch Hahn and tore him a new one ...

But dont let the truth stop you perpetuating rubbish

 

[Traffic Light]

If you want to go by stats, (which you shoudlnt) he gets in the AA team ahead of Cooney.

But Cooney played every game, he didn't miss 25% of the season like Hodge.

Cooney actually beat Hodge in most statistics, not sure where you got that rubbish line from.

Keep trying!

 

[lopozop]

Our most important player, closely followed by Buddy and Mitchell.

When I came back from the final against the Dogs I turned the TV on only to be told by the commentator that Luke Hodge had had 16 touches. I couldn't believe it - he seemed so dominant the entire game. Hodge is one of those players who doesn't need a great deal of possessions to stamp himself upon the game.

He was manning a couple of different Bulldogs players during the game but he left them by themselves a lot because he plays as an offensive half-back as opposed to a defensive half-back and was able to read the play better than them.

And for the uninformed, every single proposed AA team whether it be in the papers or on the telly had Hodge. I watched the awards last night and the introduction said that Luke Hodge's selection was a "formality". But all the ex-footy players and experts have no idea obviously.

 

[macdaddio]

I dont know what most you you Hodge baggers are talking about, with Hodge you get a leader on the ground, he was the one reason why we came from 30 points down in the first final againts the Crows in 07 and he was injured he came of the bench when we were getting belted and from the get go he got us back in the game, coz you guys have seen him play a different role this year and its only coz we lost Joel Smith and we need some direction and smarts in our back line i have no doubt he play a role in th middle again and it wont surprise me if he starts this weekend..

 

[toomanysquibs]

But Cooney played every game, he didn't miss 25% of the season like Hodge.

Cooney actually beat Hodge in most statistics, not sure where you got that rubbish line from.

Keep trying!

Take a look at champion data rankings. Maybe he's alluding to that - though stats are tosh.

Fact is, Cooney's a couple of years behind Hodge. At this point Hodge is better.

 

[lopozop]

This would have to be the dumbest post i have ever seen on BF.

Surely you jest?

Round 1 - suspended.
Round 2 - Below par.
Round 3 - Below par.
Round 4 - Good game.
Round 5 - Below par.
Round 6 - Very good game.
Round 7 - played a half of footy.

= Career best form??? WTF!

Yes unlike you I actually go to every game (or close enough to) and watch what happens off the ball as well as on the ball. I don't count round 1 for obvious reasons. The game against Brisbane he was not below par. Provide some proof with regards to that.

In the round 7 game he was widely considered BOG even though he only played a half.

Round 4-7 he was our best player and in the best form of his career. So I stand by my earlier statement because 4 games of great footy overrules 2 games of not so great footy.

But of course every player in the competition plays well every single week. Remind me how did Chris Judd go in his first half of the year? Yet no one disputes that he should be in the AA (and rightfully so). And Riewoldt he was on fire too, wasn't he? Adam Cooney had some very ordinary games in the second half of the year as well.

Even champions are allowed to have a couple of off games (by their own standards anyway).

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Unfortunately in his HBF role, you have to class him as a downhill skiier.

When he played Geelong, his skills were rubbish all night long, and his opponent actually hurt the other way because Geelong are good enough to use him.

Easy to do it against a clearly overwhelmed and overawed Bulldogs.

 

[Beckers]

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.

Finish top 5 in the BROWNLOW???????? Whats that got to do with anything? Its an umpires award for the umpires favourite players!

YOUR OPINION obvously counts for FA! MVP or media awards mean so much more!

 

[BUBBALOUIS]

Unfortunately in his HBF role, you have to class him as a downhill skiier.

When he played Geelong, his skills were rubbish all night long, and his opponent actually hurt the other way because Geelong are good enough to use him.

Easy to do it against a clearly overwhelmed and overawed Bulldogs.

Yeah right, so taking contested marks in front of the likes of Jonathan Brown is downhill skiing .....

His disposal against Geelong was ordinary, but please to question his courage and attack on the footy s just plain dumb, suggests to me you dont actually watch much footy with both eyes

 

[macdaddio]

Unfortunately in his HBF role, you have to class him as a downhill skiier.

When he played Geelong, his skills were rubbish all night long, and his opponent actually hurt the other way because Geelong are good enough to use him.

Easy to do it against a clearly overwhelmed and overawed Bulldogs.

Every body knows he had his wife giving birth to his 1st born that same night, he shouldnt had played his mind wasnt with it, but that is his olny bad game and has nothing to do with Geelong and their abilty to use him, in that last quarter had he kicked it to a hawk player we would of won and it would had been thanks to him....

 

[badius]

Unfortunately in his HBF role, you have to class him as a downhill skiier.

When he played Geelong, his skills were rubbish all night long, and his opponent actually hurt the other way because Geelong are good enough to use him.

Easy to do it against a clearly overwhelmed and overawed Bulldogs.

He was playing on 3 hours sleep due to the fact his missus was about to give birth to the 2030 Hawthorn Captain.

I really hope we get a Geelong-Hawthorn granny so I can plonk some hard earned on Hodge for the Norm Smith...will be a shoe in.

 

[eros]

This would have to be the dumbest post i have ever seen on BF.

Surely you jest?

Round 1 - suspended.
Round 2 - Below par.
Round 3 - Below par.
Round 4 - Good game.
Round 5 - Below par.
Round 6 - Very good game.
Round 7 - played a half of footy.

= Career best form??? WTF!

I do hope you are looking at more than raw statistics to make your assessment. (I suspect you aren't because if you were you wouldn't have called the round 5 game against Brisbane below par - he was great that night.) In the Qualifying Final he had under twenty possessions -Cross had the pill nearly twice as often as Hodge did - but who had the better game?

And just because he didn't play the second half of the game against Collingwood, should not mean you can discount the dominance of his first half... he was on course to be BOG that day.

So, while it took him until the end of round 3 to ramp up, it is perfectly reasonable to say that his form in rounds 4-7 was excellent.

 

[SirJimi05]

. The game against Brisbane he was not below par. Provide some proof with regards to that.

Provide some proof that he wasn't.

In the round 7 game he was widely considered BOG even though he only played a half.

Stop speaking utter nonsense.

Round 4-7 he was our best player and in the best form of his career. So I stand by my earlier statement because 4 games of great footy overrules 2 games of not so great footy.

Hawthorn won all 3 games. He was your best player so we can expect to see him recieve 9 Brownlow votes for these games? Bookmarked.

But of course every player in the competition plays well every single week.

No they don't.

Remind me how did Chris Judd go in his first half of the year? Yet no one disputes that he should be in the AA (and rightfully so).

Judd had a couple of off games but only missed one game for the season. You do realise that the number of games played are taken into consideration when choosing the AA team?

Even champions are allowed to have a couple of off games (by their own standards anyway)

.

Of course they are. The difference is Hodge had some off games and also missed 25% of the season.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Yeah right, so taking contested marks in front of the likes of Jonathan Brown is downhill skiing .....

His disposal against Geelong was ordinary, but please to question his courage and attack on the footy s just plain dumb, suggests to me you dont actually watch much footy with both eyes

No, I wasn't questioning his courage. More his ability under serious pressure.

 

[Traffic Light]

Take a look at champion data rankings. Maybe he's alluding to that - though stats are tosh.

Fact is, Cooney's a couple of years behind Hodge. At this point Hodge is better.

This is the problem. It's not a contest between Hodge and Cooney as who's better overall, it's AA selection. You can only judge a player on what he's done in that year. Hodge is a great player, but he didn't set the world on fire this season probably due to injury more than anything else.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Every body knows he had his wife giving birth to his 1st born that same night, he shouldnt had played his mind wasnt with it, but that is his olny bad game and has nothing to do with Geelong and their abilty to use him, in that last quarter had he kicked it to a hawk player we would of won and it would had been thanks to him....

Nice sentence.

That's a pretty long bow to draw matey. You still had to kick a goal.

If Gamble had not kicked into the man on the mark from 10m out, we would have won by more. If Mooney had not have given away a 100m penalty, we would have won by more. etc.

Following your statement to it's logical conclusion, that means you lost the game because of him?

 

[N i B]

No, I wasn't questioning his courage. More his ability under serious pressure.

2007 Elimination Final

Hawks v Crows

Watch it and try to post that again with conviction

 

[spartan hawks]

Great player and leader and glad he is playing for hawthorn.Any idiot that thinks hodge is soft should start following another sport because it shows they have no idea about our sport.Hodgey your a gun we love you and all other 15 teams would love to have you.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

2007 Elimination Final

Hawks v Crows

Watch it and try to post that again with conviction

Yeah fair enough, there were extenuating circumstances in Rd 17 as well.

 

[MinerBoy]

2007 Elimination Final

Hawks v Crows

Watch it and try to post that again with conviction

Not to bad under pressure is he? Just like Buddy, they have both played only 3 finals and have shared BOG honours in 2 of them. That's a reasonably impressive record in pressure games by any measure.