Luke Hodge is a professional Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er with the Hawthorn Football Club

Hawthorn Football Club

The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL). Hodge is the current captain of the club after Sam Mitchell

Sam Mitchell (footballer)

Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Debut season :...

 handed over the captaincy prior to the 2010 Peter Crimmins Medal count.

In 2011, Hodge competed in the third season of the Channel Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 television series Australia's Greatest Athlete

Australia's Greatest Athlete (season 3)

The third season of Australia's Greatest Athlete was broadcast on the Seven Network and was hosted by Mark Beretta, with last season's competitor Wendell Sailor...

.

Early life

Luke Hodge was born in the Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

n town of Colac

Colac, Victoria

Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...

.

Career

Hodge plays half-back flanker and midfield. Recruited from the Geelong Falcons

Geelong Falcons

The Geelong Falcons are a junior Australian rules football representative club in the TAC Cup competition, Victoria, Australia.The club takes in talented junior players from the Geelong, Colac and Warrnambool regions in order to groom them for AFL selection...

 Under 18 team, Hodge made his debut in 2002 and has been nicknamed, 'The General'.

Hodge was recruited from the Geelong Falcons Under 18 Football Club, and in 2001 nominated for the 2001 AFL Draft

2001 AFL Draft

The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie 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 Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83...

. He was the number one draft choice of Hawthorn Football Club (taken from Fremantle

Fremantle Football Club

The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...

 for Trent Croad

Trent Croad

Trent Eric Croad is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League .During his 222 game AFL career, he achieved some of the Australian Football League's highest honours including an AFL premiership medallion, All-Australian selection, representing...

 and Luke McPharlin

Luke McPharlin

Luke McPharlin is an Australian rules football player for the Fremantle Football Club. McPharlin was educated at Christ Church Grammar School, graduating in 1999. McPharlin is both a key back and a key forward....

). He was named in the 2008 All-Australian team

All-Australian Team

The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....

 and in International Rules

International rules football

International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players....

 team for Australia. Hodge was named sole vice-captain of the Hawthorn Football Club in October 2007.

Hodge won the Norm Smith Medal

Norm Smith Medal

The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...

 for being the best player on the ground during the 2008 AFL Grand Final

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 the 27th of September 2008...

. He is also the last No. 1 draft pick to win a premiership, to date.

Reception

External links