Luke Hodge - where is he at?

[detox]

Hate to be a party pooper but even with Hodgey finding the footy as well as anytime in his career, I fear that age is catching up with him at an alarming rate. The most glaring example is how his disposal effectiveness has dropped off. Because he has lost a yard of pace he is constantly under pressure and rushed when disposing of the footy particularly as he is winning it in close more often. He simply cannot get any separation from his opponents due to his lack of speed and agility. For one who's been know as a Gun kick all his career it is sad to see him now become just an average user of the footy. Sure he is still capable of the odd bit of wizardry with his boot but those days are now few and far between. Don't get me wrong Hodgey is still going to play a massive part during our premiership defence but I fear the end is coming nearer ever so quickly for our champion skipper.

Average post.

Was hitting players on the tit, and firing pin point handpasses over his shoulder on Saturday. Whilst he has lost a yard or two, he is still clearly one of our most important player. Of the players from the 01 draft, the only one that is currently out performing Luke Hodge is probably the greatest ever. Most of them are cooked.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Average post.

Was hitting players on the tit, and firing pin point handpasses over his shoulder on Saturday. Whilst he has lost a yard or two, he is still clearly one of our most important player. Of the players from the 01 draft, the only one that is currently out performing Luke Hodge is probably the greatest ever. Most of them are cooked.

Perhaps you need to re-visit the 2001 Draft again!

 

[detox]

Perhaps you need to re-visit the 2001 Draft again!

I did.

Ablett is still a freak.

Judd & Ball are basically cooked. Swan has had an average season. Montagna - inconsistent / Injured. Mitchell - Injured for a lot of the season so can't really compare.

Players still playing well - Bartel / Dal Santo / Kelly to a degree and Stevie J, who has been brilliant in patches, absolutely piss poor in patches.

Hodges Last few games.

28 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal
26 disposals 2 marks, 7 tackles
28 disposals 6 marks 5 tackles.
26 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 3 goals
26 disposals 10 marks 2 tackles
21 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles
28 disposals, 4 marks, 7 tackles, 1 goal

He is flying under the radar. Has been better than Bartel, Dal Santo and Stevie J, who would be the only competitors for second place.

 

[Taskmaster]

Hate to be a party pooper but even with Hodgey finding the footy as well as anytime in his career, I fear that age is catching up with him at an alarming rate. The most glaring example is how his disposal effectiveness has dropped off. Because he has lost a yard of pace he is constantly under pressure and rushed when disposing of the footy particularly as he is winning it in close more often. He simply cannot get any separation from his opponents due to his lack of speed and agility. For one who's been know as a Gun kick all his career it is sad to see him now become just an average user of the footy. Sure he is still capable of the odd bit of wizardry with his boot but those days are now few and far between. Don't get me wrong Hodgey is still going to play a massive part during our premiership defence but I fear the end is coming nearer ever so quickly for our champion skipper.

Turn it up sunshine. Bloody hell. Its not all about being The Flash. Shit if it was not for Hodgey we would not be where we are at this point of the season. And that old bloke you call Hodge, he will be remembered as a hard, uncompromising, team orientated, premiership Captain, 3-4 time premiership player of our great club!!

 

[Procrastinator35]

I did.

Ablett is still a freak.

Judd & Ball are basically cooked. Swan has had an average season. Montagna - inconsistent / Injured. Mitchell - Injured for a lot of the season so can't really compare.

Players still playing well - Bartel / Dal Santo / Kelly to a degree and Stevie J, who has been brilliant in patches, absolutely piss poor in patches.

Hodges Last few games.

28 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal
26 disposals 2 marks, 7 tackles
28 disposals 6 marks 5 tackles.
26 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 3 goals
26 disposals 10 marks 2 tackles
21 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles
28 disposals, 4 marks, 7 tackles, 1 goal

He is flying under the radar. Has been better than Bartel, Dal Santo and Stevie J, who would be the only competitors for second place.

Those are sum impressive stats & proof of why Hodge needs to be playing in the Guts most of the time to maximise his ability to impact the game.... Not sure you give Sam Mitchell enuf credit though, 3 games back & it's like he has never missed a beat!....I'd say that when it comes to consistency though, Sammy has pretty much every player on our list covered & also has everyone you mentioned here (barr Ablett) covered too!

 

[detox]

Those are sum impressive stats & proof of why Hodge needs to be playing in the Guts most of the time to maximise his ability to impact the game.... Not sure you give Sam Mitchell enuf credit though, 3 games back & it's like he has never missed a beat!....I'd say that when it comes to consistency though, Sammy has pretty much every player on our list covered & also has everyone you mentioned here (barr Ablett) covered too!

Yep no agree, Sammy has Hodge (and pretty much everyone) covered for consistency. Didn't include him as he's been out injured for a lot of the season. IN saying that though After a slow start, Hodge has been sensational for 7/8 weeks straight now and getting no kudus for it.

 

[MinerBoy]

Hodge, like Lewis, has sacrificed personal glory for team goals over the years and it has affected his standing in the eyes of many external to the club at least and sadly, some who follow our great club.

He is a modern great. No doubt about it. One of the best leaders of his era and a gun player. If we'd had the luxury of not having him play as the backline general, and sometimes surrogate CHB and ruckman against massively bigger opponents, he would be considered right up there amongst the top echelon of on ballers of the past 10 years. Whenever he has had extended periods in there he has proven he is one of the best.

I sometimes think he is considered an 'Archer type'. A great heart and soul player with all the courage in the world. He certainly is that and that in and of itself is a wonderful thing. But it sells him short massively and without any disrespect to Glen Archer (who I played rep footy with as a junior ...brag) he is on a completely different level as a footballer.

He is a star. A Hawthorn and AFL champion. A Hawthorn legend. I've watched many greats in my time following the Hawks and there have been some better players than Hodge but not many, if any, that I admire more. IMO is the No.1 player from 2000 onwards in making us the team we are now. Mitch might be more consistent. Buddy more brilliant. Hodge is the heart that the entire body has functioned around.

 

[Main Man]

Hodge, like Lewis, has sacrificed personal glory for team goals over the years and it has affected his standing in the eyes of many external to the club at least and sadly, some who follow our great club.

He is a modern great. No doubt about it. One of the best leaders of his era and a gun player. If we'd had the luxury of not having him play as the backline general, and sometimes surrogate CHB and ruckman against massively bigger opponents, he would be considered right up there amongst the top echelon of on ballers of the past 10 years. Whenever he has had extended periods in there he has proven he is one of the best.

I sometimes think he is considered an 'Archer type'. A great heart and soul player with all the courage in the world. He certainly is that and that in and of itself is a wonderful thing. But it sells him short massively and without any disrespect to Glen Archer (who I played rep footy with as a junior ...brag) he is on a completely different level as a footballer.

He is a star. A Hawthorn and AFL champion. A Hawthorn legend. I've watched many greats in my time following the Hawks and there have been some better players than Hodge but not many, if any, that I admire more. IMO is the No.1 player from 2000 onwards in making us the team we are now. Mitch might be more consistent. Buddy more brilliant. Hodge is the heart that the entire body has functioned around.

This is 100% correct, the fact that he is so brilliant in a variety of roles such as the quarterback he has had to sacrifice his own glory for the sake of the team, it has prevented him from coming one of the great midfielders of the past 10-15 years.

When Hodge plays midfield he impacts games like no many can, he finds plenty of it, hits the scoreboard, is strong in the air and has a physical impact around the contest that can not be measured by statistics, much like his leadership.

I think back to the 2005-7 period where ha played predominantly midfield, was there a better sight in football than Hodge steaming out of the centre (did it regularly) and hitting a 50M bullet pass to a leading forward or better yet kicking a goal from outside the 50M arc.

He is an absolute superstar.

 

[QuietB]

Average post.

Was hitting players on the tit, and firing pin point handpasses over his shoulder on Saturday. Whilst he has lost a yard or two, he is still clearly one of our most important player. Of the players from the 01 draft, the only one that is currently out performing Luke Hodge is probably the greatest ever. Most of them are cooked.

Mitchell?

 

[smeltitdeltit]

Mitchell?

David Hale?

 

[Davo23]

David Hale?

Brian Lake?

 

[smeltitdeltit]

Brian Lake?

holy shit. your right. thats 4 players from the 2001m draft playing for us. uncanny

 

[Rushed_Behind]

As of 6.15pm today...................


In my supercoach team.

 

[millereski]

Playing very good footy at present, making a lot of contests and looking fit. Good signs.

 

[BobHawk]

Killing it. From what I have seen this year the B&F will be a close call between Lewis and Hodge.

 

[hawkstars]

When he went the spoil against Griffen and hit him hard I knew that was a rev up

 

[Agent Smith]

When he went the spoil against Griffen and hit him hard I knew that was a rev up

Game changer.

 

[MadDawg]

When he went the spoil against Griffen and hit him hard I knew that was a rev up

I loved how Libba tried to get into him after the play and he couldn't even move him with all his might.

Hodge will probably realize he was there when he watches the replay.

 

[hawks_time]

Anybody else hear him call Liberatore a soft**** after he went at Hodgey after the Griffin hit? You can hear it on the highlights video on the AFL website.

 

[JustKickIt]

Average post.

Was hitting players on the tit, and firing pin point handpasses over his shoulder on Saturday. Whilst he has lost a yard or two, he is still clearly one of our most important player. Of the players from the 01 draft, the only one that is currently out performing Luke Hodge is probably the greatest ever. Most of them are cooked.

He is also, basically, a playing coach.

 

[macdaddio]

Mitchell?

The forgotten one

 

[macdaddio]

As of 6.15pm today...................
The Dees and GWS are doing better than my super coach team

In my supercoach team.

 

[crazywildhorse]

Anybody else hear him call Liberatore a soft**** after he went at Hodgey after the Griffin hit? You can hear it on the highlights video on the AFL website.

At least they have something for that.

 

[Procrastinator35]

At least they have something for that.

A Carltank Jumper?!

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Mitchell the other day said Hodge is the best player on the field he has ever seen when the ball is not on his hand.

He does a lot for our team that is not picked up by the stats men.