Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge has said he’s confident the Hawks’ younger players can continue the club’s era of success.
Speaking on 1116 SEN’s The Run Home yesterday, the four-time premiership star said that although some of Hawthorn’s more experienced players were missing, it presents opportunities to younger players.
‘If you look back at 2014, we had Sam Mitchell, Brian Lake, Josh Gibson and Cyril Rioli all miss anywhere from 4-8 weeks at the same time, there were blokes like Will Langford who came in, found his spot and ended up playing in a Grand Final,’ he said.
‘Angus Litherland played his 10 or 12 games as well, so we’ve slowly blooded these young guys for the last three or four years.
‘Now through a few injuries, they (young players) can get half a season or a full season if they take their opportunity, to ensure our success continues.’
Hodge was also complimentary of the Western Bulldogs and the way they have started the season.
‘They (the Western Bulldogs) are a high-intensity, quick ball-moving team who work hard,’ he said.
‘It’s hard to pick holes in their side because they have so many young players coming through that you’re trying to understand their strengths and weaknesses.’
Hodge, now a two-time Norm Smith Medallist, also touched on Hawthorn’s new membership video – revealing that his wife was a big fan.
‘My wife saw it last night and she enjoyed it – she thought it was a great idea and it was good to see the boys not taking themselves too seriously,’ he said.
‘I think you need to come up with something where it sticks in people’s memory, and the more people that sign up the less they’ll hear that song’ he laughed.
‘To all the members out there, thank you very much, if we can get to 73,000 we won’t have to hear that song ever again.’