Hodgey, Croady do our club proud ....

Gary Shadforth

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Luke along with the Dog's Daniel Giansiracusa, were, IMO, Australia's outstanding players in last night's versus Ireland test match.

What an athlete Luke is. As a 21-y-o he is so magnificent - so mature.

I cast my mind back over the last couple of seasons when there was comment by critics that he lacked pace and did not have sufficient physical capabilities to give a solid 100 minutes in a game. If there is ever a test of a player's speed and fitness, not to mention agility, it is the hybrid game of International Rules.

And as for our Trent my blood tingled whenever he went near the ball. He has
followed his dad (NZ RU All Blacks) as an international rep.

As a Hawks fan I'm feeling so proud this morning.


Our Trent.
 

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Mr.Likeable

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#2
I liked what I saw of Croad; though I didn't watch for very long.

Luke Hodge: just how good is he? That's not a rhetorical question.

There's never been any question that he is a very capable player setting out on a "likely" career. But he has rather amazed me this year, and it continued into the International game last night.

Most interestingly, he gets a lot of the ball moving from half back and arcing right through the middle of the ground to deliver long and to good position in the forward line. If the arc is not available, he gives it off very intelligently and often brings less experienced players into the game - and he's only 21 himself. What excites me most is how often he makes that arc available to him - the space just appears before him.

I'm not sure I can remember a player who could make that particular move so regularly, and seemingly without effort.
 

Adelaide Hawk

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#3
Mr.Likeable said:
Luke Hodge: just how good is he?

Most interestingly, he gets a lot of the ball moving from half back and arcing right through the middle of the ground to deliver long and to good position in the forward line. If the arc is not available, he gives it off very intelligently and often brings less experienced players into the game
Clever and accurate disposal of the ball will always be the thing that sets him apart from others more "flashy" and favoured in the media. While some still question his Number 1 draft selection status, the more I watch him the more I am convinced Hawthorn made absolutely the correct choice.

As for Croad, I was wrong about him, and never been more happy to get something wrong :)
 

Binxy

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#4
Gary Shadforth said:
What an athlete Luke is. As a 21-y-o he is so magnificent - so mature.
As a recent QLD resident, I experienced for the first time last night, the joys of waiting until 1am for the game to start. One of the things I love, and have always loved about Hodgey is that he's an absolute prick. He gives it to anyone - whether it be Archer, Voss or an international player, he doesn't care. Looking forward to him, Lewis, Browny and Osborne next year. Let's hope they teach a bit of that to Roughy and Buddy.
 

Books

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#5
After the emotional turmoil of 2001 when Croad left, to have him and Hodge both at Hawthorn, both in the AA side and both actually representing our country with distiction is just amazing.
There IS a God! :)
 

Main Man

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#7
Looked to me like Hodgey was the one calling the shots out there last night, looked like he was the one leading the team...

Absolute gun, we have a lot to look forward to over the next ten years!
 

cosby

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#8
Binxy said:
As a recent QLD resident, I experienced for the first time last night, the joys of waiting until 1am for the game to start. One of the things I love, and have always loved about Hodgey is that he's an absolute prick. He gives it to anyone - whether it be Archer, Voss or an international player, he doesn't care. Looking forward to him, Lewis, Browny and Osborne next year. Let's hope they teach a bit of that to Roughy and Buddy.
i loved watching hodgey tackle harass and intimidate the irish last night. he loved every minute of it.
future aussie captain in the making.[/gloating]
 

OneEyedHawk

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#9
Main Man said:
Looked to me like Hodgey was the one calling the shots out there last night, looked like he was the one leading the team...

Absolute gun, we have a lot to look forward to over the next ten years!
I noticed that too.

Just like at Hawthorn, he just oozed leadership. Very rarely do you catch him standing still, is always directing traffic, or having a word (good and bad) into the ear of his team-mates. I remember him having a crack at Crawf in the Essendon Round 22(?) game I think, when Crawf hadn't filled the hole or something of the like. His value, in this area alone, is enormous to Hawthorn.

Looked a born leader even in the midst of a "best of" team last night.
 

Gary Shadforth

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Binxy said:
As a recent QLD resident, I experienced for the first time last night, the joys of waiting until 1am for the game to start. One of the things I love, and have always loved about Hodgey is that he's an absolute prick. He gives it to anyone - whether it be Archer, Voss or an international player, he doesn't care. Looking forward to him, Lewis, Browny and Osborne next year. Let's hope they teach a bit of that to Roughy and Buddy.
Yes, Binxy. And what I like about his aggressiveness is that it appears to rub off on the kids, e.g: Buddy standing up to the Essendon thug king-hitmens' filth.

Our youngsters are relishing the leadership qualities of Hodgey.
 

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