HAWTHORN fans and football fans alike revel in the courage, the determination and the will of Luke Hodge.
He lets his actions do the talking and leads not by rhetoric, but by example.
Only three weeks ago he was in surgery to repair a fractured thumb and many wondered how he could have an impact.
Fast forward three weeks and he has missed only one game and been best on ground in the other two, receiving the maximum 10 votes from the coaches in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award in each.
His importance to Hawthorn is unmeasurable, by virtue of his leadership and his pure footballing talent.
That was best illustrated on Saturday when he, in many ways, changed the momentum of the game based purely on his courage and leadership.
He gathered only 21 disposals, but was deemed by far the best man on the ground.
But it is not what he did with those 21 disposals, nor the 28 he gathered the week before against Collingwood that leaves fans in awe of his ability, but rather the leadership and direction he provides his teammates and more specifically, his defensive teammates that wins him the accolades.
In 2013, Hodge has played a role familiar to him and one that would evoke happy memories for Hawthorn fans.
He has been the general across half back, a role he so famously played in 2008 when he was awarded with the North Smith Medal in his team’s Grand Final win that year.
His performances and unprecedented selflessness leaves his peers in awe and is why he is one of the league’s most admired players.
That respect is strongest within the four walls of Hawthorn, where the permutations of his leadership and his will are best felt.
“He’s probably the best off the ball leader we’ve got at the Club, and he’s nearly the best off the ball leader I’ve ever seen in terms of instruction and marshalling the troops on where to stand if they’re not involved in the play,” Assistant Coach Brendon Bolton told hawthornfc.com.au
Momentum has always been a big thing in footy, and now more than ever it’s imperative to capitalise on it when the balance of the game is in your favour.
But just as important is your ability to win back that momentum and restrict your opposition’s ability to capitalise.
Sometimes it can take a brilliant goal against the flow, a chase down tackle, a shepherd or a courageous act by one of your players that makes your teammates walk taller by the selflessness of the act.
The willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team, to embody teamwork and the desire to sacrifice your own game for the greater good.
That is what Luke Hodge does.
“Some of the spirit lifting things Hodge does can often change the momentum one way or the other and you’ve got to cash in when it’s your term,” Bolton said.
“In footy now, the teams that can really capitalise on momentum and score quickly or hold an opposition team when they’ve got momentum usually win.”
So it is for those reasons his recognition as best afield against the Kangaroos in Hawthorn’s come from behind win is no surprise.
His spoil on Drew Petrie in the opening minutes of the third term showed his character to any person watching football for the first time.
It is no surprise Hawthorn scored a goal directly from that play from their Captain, a tale all too familiar at Hawthorn.
