Luke Hodge Explains His Decision To Play On At Brisbane

'It started with a couple of...'


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Former Hawthorn champ - and current Brisbane player - Luke Hodge has explained his decision to play on, saying he will relish the opportunity to coach the young Lions on the field.

Hodge said the decision spurred from a couple of text messages from Chris Fagan, who implanted the idea in Hodge's head.

"The more I spoke with Fages the more intrigued I became," he wrote on playersvoice.com.au.

"I used to think, ‘Look at Clarko, you’ve got to be crazy to be a coach’. But I had started to enjoy teaching and helping to develop the young players. That’s when Fages said, ‘You reckon you’ve got a little bit of football left?’

"He explained how the Lions had an exciting group of young defenders who would develop a lot faster with an older head to guide them...it’s invaluable the feedback someone like me could offer them out on the ground during the game."

He wrote that his role will essentially be as an on-field coach, knowing he can still compete at AFL level.

He also said he was reluctant to do the same at Hawthorn, knowing the club had defenders returning from injury, and that he would likely be keeping a good, young player out.

"Playing with Brisbane is not about being best-on-ground or getting a heap of the ball, it is all about developing these kids to be the best players they can be as soon as possible," he wrote.

"I’d enjoyed a similar role with Hawthorn this season, which had helped fuelled my interest in the teaching side of the game and obviously, by extension, coaching."

Ethan Meldrum

19 October 2017

Article by:

Ethan Meldrum




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