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Amid the controversy surrounding Nat Fyfe’s late charge on North Melbourne’s Ben Jacobs – and whether or not the AFL would fine the Brownlow medal favourite – something may have got lost in the furore: the reputation of Luke Hodge.
Yet the story of Fyfe and Hodge are somewhat connected. Both were the subjects of poor, recidivist behaviour on the weekend, and both had something to lose.
For Fyfe, the chance to win the highest individual honour the AFL has to bestow on any player. Pretty high stakes in anyone’s book.
Yet for Hodge there may have been more on the line. His suspension – the second for the season – may have left question marks over his reputation.
Yes, Hodge has always been an inspiring leader. When the Hawks need a lift, he marshals his troops, is the first to the ball, and physically wills his team on.
But can a leader still be inspiring when, through his own reckless and at times belligerent actions, he is suspended for five matches in the one year? That’s almost a quarter of the season where the leader is powerless come game day.
Hodge’s latest indiscretion – his bump on Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard – has left the Hawks without their captain for the last two weeks of the home-and-away season.
In real time, the incident looked innocuous at best, and negligent at worst. But the replays showed the bump to be sickening, with the vision of Wingard’s neck wrapping around the goal post, as he became sandwiched between Hodge and the white padding, impossible to look at without wincing.
Was it Hodge’s intention to endanger Wingard in such a manner? Probably not. But Hodge’s physicality – the trait that has earned him the reputation of being one of the toughest footballers to ever play the game – has led him to become a repeat offender at the tribunal.
Hodge’s elbow to North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow earlier this year left the Hawks skipper on the sidelines for three weeks, and went some way in provoking the label of the ‘unsociable’ Hawks that has defined his club’s season.
Like most footballers who find themselves in trouble, Hodge conceded that he had a “brain fade” when he elbowed Swallow. In the aftermath of Hodge’s latest indiscretion, that same descriptor – “brain fade” – was bandied around to excuse the Hawthorn captain.
Because Hodgey is a really good guy, deified and loved by all. Even Wingard was caught up in the Hodge mystique in a post-match interview, saying he admired Hodge’s aggressive style, and had no problem with the incident.
But how many brain fades can one player have before they amount to a bad character record? Even if that player carries the same status as Hodge?
When Chris Judd retired this season, among the glowing praise the dual Brownlow medal winner received was the acknowledgment that Judd had a propensity to play dirty.
Judd was banned for four matches in 2012 for his chicken wing tackle on North Melbourne’s Leigh Adams, and in 2009 he was involved in an eye-gouging incident on Brisbane’s Michael Rischitelli. At the time, Judd described his actions as a “dumb thing to do”.
But it wasn’t an isolated incident. Indeed, in 2007 Hawthorn’s Campbell Brown lied to the tribunal when Judd eye gouged him to protect the then West Coast captain from suspension.
While these indiscretions didn’t define Judd, they belied his highly decorated career.
Hopefully Hodge’s own brain fades won’t supersede his reputation as a leader because he remains inspiring, belligerent or not.
But the Hawthorn captain owes his team one come September.
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