Welcome to Hawthorn Joel Garner
I was watching this couple of youtube clips on Joel Garner and i was thinking about how much he remains me of Hodge with the way he goes about it!
Than i come across this nice little read.
Garner is left-footed, supremely tough, is the traffic conductor at half-back and may as well have the word ‘leadership’ tattooed’ across his forehead.
Remind you of anyone?
Yep, Garner has been compared to Luke Hodge for a reason and you only have to watch him for five minutes to work out why.
He patrols contests, goes hard when he needs to but above all is never flustered and rarely rushed. He also tackles to hurt.
At quarter-time and three quarter-time, Garner addressed the players before coach Jason Broadbear did, further illustrating his leadership credentials.
“The fact Joel joined us in year 10 means he has made a big impression in a relative short period of time,” Scotch’s head of indigenous programs Rob Smith told Leader newspapers recently.
“He makes people feel valuable.”
It was noteworthy that Garner played almost exclusively in defence.
Maybe that’s where the team needed him, but more likely that’s his long-term future.
Either way, the Melbourne Grammar forwards let him run wherever he pleased.
At 183cm and 81kgs, he still has some filling out to do but his legs are sturdy and he has a distinctive pigeon-toed gait.
Garner also possesses lightning quick hands and terrific balance, which means he rarely gets caught with the ball.
Late in the third quarter he harnessed his inner Hodge, picking the ball up at half-back and banging it on his boot for a perfect torpedo.
There are plenty of players to watch in this year’s crop and Garner is undoubtedly one of them.
Our next young Hodge would be nice, if only somehow we can make this happen I'll be very happy