Luke Hodge (born 15 June 1984) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

player who played with the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...

and the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(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. As of 2023, Hodge has played the most VFL/AFL games of any number-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).

Early life

Hodge was born in the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

n town of Colac. He supported

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

during his childhood, with his favourite player being Matthew Richardson.

AFL career

Hawthorn (2002–2017)

Hodge played as a half-back flanker and midfielder during his playing career. Recruited from the

Geelong Falcons The Geelong Falcons is a youth Australian rules football representative club in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition in Victoria, Australia. The club takes in talented junior players from the Geelong, Colac and Warr ...

Under 18 team, Hodge made his debut in 2002. Hodge was recruited from the Geelong Falcons Under-18 Football Club, and in 2001 nominated for the

2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL draft consisted of a state draft, a body draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Austr ...

. He was the number-one draft choice of Hawthorn Football Club (which had been traded from

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

for

Trent Croad Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). During his 222-game AFL career, he achieve ...

and

Luke McPharlin Luke McPharlin (born 1 December 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Fremantle Football Club between 2002 and 2015, after two seasons with the Hawthorn Football C ...

). Throughout his career he was often compared with

Chris Judd Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is regarded as one of the grea ...

, who was chosen with the third selection in the same

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

. 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 2005

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

and in the

International Rules International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international represe ...

team for Australia. Hodge was named sole vice-captain of the Hawthorn Football Club in October 2007. He was named in the 2008 All-Australian team and in the International Rules team for Australia. Hodge won the

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...

for being the best player on the ground during the

2008 AFL Grand Final The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual AFL Gran ...

. Hodge became the captain of the club after Sam Mitchell handed over the captaincy prior to the 2010 Peter Crimmins Medal count. Luke Hodge 2017

Hodge played only eight home and away games in 2012 due to a

Posterior cruciate ligament The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the Medial condyl ...

injury. Returning after a brief illness that kept him out of the preliminary final, he led his side in the

2012 AFL Grand Final The 2012 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012. It was the 117th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

but didn't have a major influence on the result. 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's

Peter Crimmins Medal The Peter Crimmins Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the player(s) from the Hawthorn Football Club deemed best and fairest for the season. Peter Crimmins was a rover for Hawthorn, playing from 1966 to 1975. He died of cancer j ...

award. Hodge played in the

2013 AFL Grand Final The 2013 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2013. It concluded the 118th season of the Australian Football Le ...

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 (after

Gary Ayres Gary James Ayres (born 28 September 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently the senior coach for the Montrose Football Club in the Eastern ...

and

Andrew McLeod Andrew Luke McLeod (born 4 August 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games. ...

) to win two Norm Smith Medals, and captained the side to his third premiership; his second as captain. Hodge was suspended for two weeks in round 21, 2015 by the Match Review Panel (MRP) for an incident in which made contact with

Chad Wingard Chad Jordan Wingard (born 29 July 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted to Port Adelaide ...

in close proximity to the behind post. Hodge's history of strong performances in finals, in particular during Hawthorn's run of three consecutive premierships in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

has led to members of the media, including commentator

Bruce McAvaney Bruce William McAvaney (born 22 June 1953) is an Australian sports broadcaster with the Seven Network. McAvaney has presented high-profile events including the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, Australian Open, Test cricket and both Winter and S ...

, to dub him "Mister September", after the month in which AFL finals traditionally take place. Hodge announced in July 2017 that he would retire at the end of the season. In Hodge's last game for Hawthorn, he had 14 disposals in a 9-point win over the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

Brisbane Lions (2018–2019)

In October 2017, Hawthorn confirmed media speculation that Hodge would seek a move to in the forthcoming trade period. He was officially traded Brisbane during the trade period. 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.

Statistics

, - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , , , 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 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , , , 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 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , , , 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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , , , 15 , 21 , , 9 , , 15 , , 347 , , 234 , , 581 , , 112 , , 59 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF, 16.5† , , 11.1 , , 27.7 , , 5.3 , , 2.8 , , 15 , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , , , 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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , , , 15 , 24 , , 23 , , 14 , , 319 , , 222 , , 541 , , 130 , , 96 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 13.3 , , 9.3 , , 22.5 , , 5.4 , , 4.0 , , 16 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

^# , , , , 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 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , , , 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 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, , , , 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 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, , , , 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, , , , 15 , 10 , , 9 , , 6 , , 121 , , 70 , , 191 , , 44 , , 18 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 12.1 , , 7.0 , , 19.1 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , 2 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 15 , 23 , , 11 , , 11 , , 349 , , 152 , , 501 , , 115 , , 81 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 15.2 , , 6.6 , , 21.8 , , 5.0 , , 3.5 , , 15 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 15 , 22 , , 12 , , 9 , , 370 , , 181 , , 551 , , 130 , , 79 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 16.8 , , 8.2 , , 25.0 , , 5.9 , , 3.6 , , 12 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, , , , 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, , , , 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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, , , , 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 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, , , , 2 , 22 , , 0 , , 2 , , 278 , , 94 , , 372 , , 128 , , 39 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 12.6 , , 4.3 , , 16.9 , , 5.8 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 346 !! 194 !! 150 !! 4834 !! 2755 !! 7589 !! 1757 !! 1146 !! 0.6 !! 0.4 !! 14.0 !! 8.0 !! 21.9 !! 5.1 !! 3.3 !! 131

Honours and achievements

Team *4× AFL premiership player ():

*2×

Minor premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

():

* TAC Cup Premiership (

): 2000 Individual *3× AFL premiership captain:

*2×

*3×

: 2005,

captain:

* Hawthorn captain: 2011–2016 *2×

: 2005, 2010 *AFLPA Best Captain Award: 2014 *AFLPA Madden Medal: 2019 *3×

Australian international rules football team The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in International rules football, a hybrid sport derived from Australian rules football and Gaelic football. The current team is solely made up of player ...

Jim Stynes medal The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a ...

* AFL Rising Star nominee:

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi (27 February 1936 – 16 September 2023) was an Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the greatest and most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player ...

Medal (MVP in U18 IR Series): 2001 * U18 International Rules Representative: 2001 *

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

/ AIS Academy: 2001 *

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

inductee: 2025 * Hall of Fame inductee: 2024

Personal life

Hodge married long-time girlfriend since high school, Lauren Kirkman, in 2009 and has four sons, Cooper, Chase, Leo and Tanner. He earned the nickname 'The General' (which would later be the title of his 2017 autobiography) for his leadership abilities both on and off the field. On 9 February 2020, Hodge participated in the ten-overs-a-side Bushfire Cricket Bash. Playing for

Ricky Ponting Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and is the most successful captain in international cricket history, ...

'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 of

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and List of Australia national cricket captains, captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-h ...

's XI's innings, and bowled Gilchrist with his second delivery, finishing with 1/8.

Media career

Luke Hodge appears regularly on a Melbourne radio station segment during the football season. In 2011, Hodge competed in the third season of the Channel Seven television series

Australia's Greatest Athlete ''Australia's Greatest Athlete'' is an Australian television program that debuted in 2009. The first season was broadcast on the Nine Network and was hosted by Andrew Voss and Michael Slater, with Ricky Ponting as a sideline commentator. The sec ...

. He also made special guest appearances on Channel 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Luke 1984 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Brisbane Lions players Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club premiership players Peter Crimmins Medal winners Norm Smith Medal winners Geelong Falcons players Colac Football Club players Box Hill Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Colac, Victoria Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players 21st-century Australian sportsmen Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees