| Luke Hodge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hodge in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Luke Hodge | ||
| Nickname | The General | ||
| Born | (1984-06-15)15 June 1984 (age 41) Colac, Victoria,Australia | ||
| Original team | Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 1(PP),2001 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 5, 2002,Hawthorn vs.Richmond, atMelbourne Cricket Ground | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 92 kg (203 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder /defender | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2002–2017 | Hawthorn | 305 (193) | |
| 2018–2019 | Brisbane Lions | 41(1) | |
| Total | 346 (194) | ||
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2005–2015 | Australia | 4 (0) | |
| Career highlights | |||
Signature  | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Luke Hodge (born 15 June 1984) is a formerAustralian rules football player who played with theHawthorn Football Club and theBrisbane Lions in theAustralian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2002 to 2017, captaining the club from 2011 to 2016. In 2018, Hodge moved to the Brisbane Lions, before retiring in 2019.
Hodge started his career playing on the half-back flank but as his career progressed he has been known to push up into the midfield. He is a four-time premiership player, three-time premiership captain and a two-time Norm Smith Medallist. Hodge is widely regarded as one of the most respected players, in particular as a captain, to have ever participated in the sport.[1][2]
As of 2023, Hodge has played the most VFL/AFL games of anynumber-one draft pick (346 games played), is the only number-one draft pick to win a Norm Smith Medal, is one of just three number-one draft picks to have won a premiership, and has won the most premierships of any number-one draft pick (4).
Hodge was born in theVictorian town ofColac. He supportedRichmond during his childhood, with his favourite player beingMatthew Richardson.[3]
Hodge played as ahalf-back flanker and midfielder during his playing career.[4] Recruited from theGeelong Falcons Under 18 team, Hodge made his debut in 2002.[5][6]
Hodge was recruited from the Geelong Falcons Under-18 Football Club, and in 2001 nominated for the2001 AFL draft.[5][6] He was the number-one draft choice of Hawthorn Football Club (which had been traded fromFremantle forTrent Croad andLuke McPharlin). Throughout his career he was often compared withChris Judd, who was chosen with the third selection in the samedraft.[7]
Hodge made his debut in 2002 alongside mature age recruit Sam Mitchell from the Box Hill Hawks, who got traded to Fremantle alongside Luke in return for Trent Croad and Luke McPharlin
He was named in the 2005All-Australian team[8] and in theInternational Rules team for Australia.[9]
Hodge was named sole vice-captain of the Hawthorn Football Club in October 2007.[10]
He was named in the 2008 All-Australian team and in the International Rules team for Australia.
Hodge won theNorm Smith Medal for being the best player on the ground during the2008 AFL Grand Final.[11]
Hodge became the captain of the club afterSam Mitchell handed over the captaincy prior to the 2010 Peter Crimmins Medal count.[12]
Hodge played only eight home and away games in 2012 due to aPosterior cruciate ligament injury.[13] Returning after a brief illness that kept him out of the preliminary final, he led his side in the2012 AFL Grand Final but didn't have a major influence on the result.[14]
More post-season surgery followed and he missed the first game of the 2013 season, but he played the majority of the season finishing fifth in the club'sPeter Crimmins Medal award. Hodge played in the2013 AFL Grand Final against Fremantle Dockers and was listed as one of his team's best players on the day. Hawthorn's victory allowed him to claim his second Premiership and his first Premiership as a captain.
Hodge had another consistent year in 2014. He played his 250th career game in the Grand Final, with the Hawks defeating the Sydney Swans to win their 12th premiership. In the game, Hodge became only the third player (afterGary Ayres andAndrew McLeod) to win two Norm Smith Medals, and captained the side to his third premiership; his second as captain.
When the Hawks devoted the first choice in the 2001 NAB AFL National Draft to Luke Hodge they got not just a great player but a great leader, too.
Hodge was suspended for two weeks in round 21, 2015 by the Match Review Panel (MRP) for an incident in which made contact withChad Wingard in close proximity to the behind post.[16]
Hodge's history of strong performances in finals, in particular duringHawthorn's run of three consecutive premierships in2013,2014 and2015 has led to members of the media, including commentatorBruce McAvaney, to dub him "Mister September", after the month in which AFL finals traditionally take place.[17]
Hodge announced in July 2017 that he would retire at the end of the season.[18] In Hodge's last game for Hawthorn, he had 14 disposals in a 9-point win over theWestern Bulldogs.
In October 2017, Hawthorn confirmed media speculation that Hodge would seek a move toBrisbane Lions in the forthcomingtrade period.[19] He was officially traded Brisbane during the trade period.[20]
After an impressive 2018 season participating in 19 senior matches, averaging just below 20 disposals and an 80% disposal efficiency with no reported injuries apart from a minor calf injury, it was confirmed that Hodge would play on in 2019. He has received much praise from teammates, staff of the club, and media alike for his significant impact on the team, noting his outstanding leadership both on and off the field continuing on from his time at Hawthorn.[21][22][23]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
# | Played in that season's premiership team | † | Led the league for the season |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2002 | Hawthorn | 15 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 157 | 76 | 233 | 57 | 24 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 10.5 | 5.1 | 15.5 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 1 |
| 2003 | Hawthorn | 15 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 121 | 73 | 194 | 55 | 39 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 8.1 | 4.9 | 12.9 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 4 |
| 2004 | Hawthorn | 15 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 159 | 76 | 235 | 62 | 56 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 10.6 | 5.1 | 15.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4 |
| 2005 | Hawthorn | 15 | 21 | 9 | 15 | 347 | 234 | 581 | 112 | 59 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 16.5† | 11.1 | 27.7 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 15 |
| 2006 | Hawthorn | 15 | 22 | 6 | 9 | 313 | 199 | 512 | 89 | 90 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 14.2 | 9.0 | 23.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4 |
| 2007 | Hawthorn | 15 | 24 | 23 | 14 | 319 | 222 | 541 | 130 | 96 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 13.3 | 9.3 | 22.5 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 16 |
| 2008# | Hawthorn | 15 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 290 | 171 | 461 | 114 | 70 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 14.5 | 8.6 | 23.1 | 5.7 | 3.5 | 2 |
| 2009 | Hawthorn | 15 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 234 | 190 | 424 | 71 | 68 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 12.3 | 10.0 | 22.3 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 7 |
| 2010 | Hawthorn | 15 | 22 | 15 | 12 | 335 | 209 | 544 | 89 | 125 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 15.2 | 9.5 | 24.7 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 16 |
| 2011 | Hawthorn | 15 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 325 | 209 | 534 | 106 | 76 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 14.8 | 9.5 | 24.3 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 17 |
| 2012 | Hawthorn | 15 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 121 | 70 | 191 | 44 | 18 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 12.1 | 7.0 | 19.1 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 2 |
| 2013# | Hawthorn | 15 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 349 | 152 | 501 | 115 | 81 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 15.2 | 6.6 | 21.8 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 15 |
| 2014# | Hawthorn | 15 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 370 | 181 | 551 | 130 | 79 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 16.8 | 8.2 | 25.0 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 12 |
| 2015# | Hawthorn | 15 | 21 | 21 | 8 | 366 | 196 | 562 | 130 | 93 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 17.4 | 9.3 | 26.8 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 13 |
| 2016 | Hawthorn | 15 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 226 | 117 | 343 | 85 | 48 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 15.1 | 7.8 | 22.9 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 3 |
| 2017 | Hawthorn | 15 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 276 | 164 | 440 | 119 | 47 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 14.5 | 8.6 | 23.2 | 6.3 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 2018 | Brisbane Lions | 2 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 248 | 122 | 370 | 121 | 38 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 13.1 | 6.4 | 19.5 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Brisbane Lions | 2 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 278 | 94 | 372 | 128 | 39 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 12.6 | 4.3 | 16.9 | 5.8 | 1.8 | 0 |
| Career[24] | 346 | 194 | 150 | 4834 | 2755 | 7589 | 1757 | 1146 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 14.0 | 8.0 | 21.9 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 131 | ||
Team
Individual
Hodge married long-time girlfriend since high school, Lauren Kirkman, in 2009 and has four sons, Cooper, Chase, Leo and Tanner.[3]
He earned the nickname 'The General' (which would later be the title of his 2017 autobiography[25]) for his leadership abilities both on and off the field.[26]
On 9 February 2020, Hodge participated in the ten-overs-a-side Bushfire Cricket Bash. Playing forRicky Ponting's XI, Hodge scored 11* from 4 balls batting at seven, hitting two boundaries off the final over (which was bowled by golfer Cameron Smith). He then bowled the fourth and sixth overs ofAdam Gilchrist's XI's innings, and bowled Gilchrist with his second delivery, finishing with 1/8.[27]
Luke Hodge appears regularly on a Melbourne radio station segment during the football season. In 2011, Hodge competed inthe third season of theChannel Seven television seriesAustralia's Greatest Athlete.[28] He also made special guest appearances onChannel Seven's Football coverage while still playing as a special comments commentator from the 2016 season onward. From the 2020 season, he joined the network's Friday night commentary team on a permanent basis while remaining based in Brisbane.[29]
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Coach:Clarkson | ||