The AFL’s licensed work of art to commemorate the career of Luke Hodge features the Hawthorn veteran’s steely-eyes staring back into the face of the viewer. Even inanimate Hodge is the alpha, goading the onlooker to avert their gaze. There’s no way he’s blinking first.
In the portrait Hodge stands with his arms wide, palms down, reminiscent of a hawk in flight. Behind him, from wingtip to wingtip are four premiership cups. Around his neck hang four premiership medallions and, for good measure, two Norm Smiths. Above him, the unambiguous title spells greatness.
Ever since Hodge was chosen as the pick of the best ever bunch back in 2001, greatness has not burdened him. In the 16 years and 299 games since he has given his all and led from the front. On Monday, days before his milestone 300th appearance in brown and gold, the 33-year old announced he would retire at the end of the season. “The decision to finish my playing career at the end of the season is something I’ve thought long and hard about. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right decision for both the club and I,” Hodge said.
Hodge will depart with a CV to rival any in the game’s history, and one that only improves on closer inspection. His biggest moments have come in the biggest games. Be it threading the needle in 2015, dominating in 2008, or sealing 2014 with a kiss; the grander the occasion the more impressively he rose.
But Hodge’s career could never be reduced to a chain of isolated highlights. Some of his most important work has been done in the spaces between, helping rebuild his football club in his own image and implementing the vision of his relentless coach. When people wonder how Hawthorn could become so bloody good and remain so bloody good for so bloody long, it’s because of individuals like Hodge, hawkeyed, letting nothing slide, on or off the ground, raising standards and holding everyone to account. He’s revered in his country Victorian hometown of Colac not just for being an impressive footballer, but for being an impressive bloke.
In 2004 he was the youngest man to help his team draw a line in the sand against Essendon. Eleven years later he became the first man in Hawthorn’s illustrious history to captain a hat-trick of consecutive premierships. Leigh Matthews regards him as one of the all-time great leaders but Hodge only officially skippered his club through six seasons, the rest of the time he didn’t require the title to set the tone.
According to Alastair Clarkson, “Hodgey’s greatest attribute has been his capacity to commit to sacrificial acts that help his team-mates, coaches and club. In that regard, he is a once in a generation type of player.”
While any praise of Hodge will begin with character, his career’s foundation is footballing excellence. Strong overhead with a left foot the sweetness of cliché he reads the game like it’s unfolding to his design. His toughness is the stuff of legend.
Hodge was first scouted as a centre half-forward in an absurdly talented Geelong Falcons troupe. “But to us, the fact he was a hard bastard and he was a leader was as important as how naturally gifted he was as a player,” Hawthorn recruiting manager John Turnbull told The Australian in 2008. At that age he was already “directing traffic like a copper at an intersection,” a sight that would become Hodge’s trademark. Pointing, barking orders, making sure there was a place for everyone, and everyone in his place.
This ability to influence whenever, wherever provided Clarkson the flexibility to station his general wherever the game most needed affecting: forward, back or on the ball. On official team lists the line on which Hodge was nominally positioned often bore little relevance to where he impacted a game, and he inevitably made an impact.
No account of Hodge’s career can avoid the misdemeanours. In recent seasons Chad Wingard and Andrew Swallow have been high profile victims of Hodge’s unsociable football, while a drink driving offence on the eve of the 2015 finals series and a club-imposed suspension for round one of this season have received their share of scrutiny.
But such rough edges are unlikely to prevent an auction for his talents once he hangs up his boots. Already an accomplished media performer, a career as a coach beckons. Imbued with Hawthorn’s multiple premiership-winning IP and blessed with an intuitive ability to lead men, we may only be approaching the halfway mark of what is already one of Australian football’s most impressive stories.
