‘Devastated’: Frenzy over AFL legend’s son comes to the surface

A storm brewing behind the scenes has been brought to the surface with Luke Hodge forced to face tough questions about his son.

Luke Hodge has been grilled as intrigue continues to swirl surrounding the future of 16-year-old son Cooper.

The Hawthorn premiership-winning captain was put on the spot on Tuesday night by the Channel 7 Agenda Setters panel when asked to indicate which football club his rising star son would like to play for.

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The situation has bubbled behind the scenes over the past two years with Cooper’s talent seeing him branded a future AFL player at the age of 15.

The Year 11 student is only eligible to register for the 2026 AFL Draft.

The drama came to the surface on Tuesday night when the 40-year-old Hawks champ was asked about his son’s links with Hawthorn as a possible father-son draft selection — and his son’s links with the Brisbane Lions as a product of the Queensland club’s junior academy.

Hodge finished his distinguished career with two final seasons at the Lions before his retirement in 2019.

Luke Hodge addressed the drama on Channel 7's Agenda Setters.

He moved into a leadership role at the club after hanging up his boots.

However, he will always be best remembered for the four premierships he won with the Hawks.

It’s why Cooper’s future has captured so much attention — despite the 2026 Draft still more than 15 months away.

Veteran AFL reporter Caroline Wilson on Tuesday told Hodge the Hawks would potentially be “devastated” if Cooper registered for the Draft categorised as a Next Generation Academy (NGA) prospect — something that would give the Lions first rights to select Cooper.

You can watch the exchange in the video player above.

NGA selections and father-son prospects have been widely criticised across the competition in recent years with suggestions from some AFL greats that the national draft has become compromised.

With all that swirling in the background, Hodge on Tuesday night insisted the family is not feeling any pressure to make a decision.

When asked for his “gut feel”, Hodge responded: “I couldn’t tell you. He’s still 13-15 months away”.

Wilson said she would “wager” that the Hawks would be “devastated” if Cooper chose Brisbane ahead of the 2026 draft, but Hodge disagreed.

“That’s not what they’ve told us,” he said.

Luke Hodge on the MCG with his sons Leo (left), Chase (white jumper) and Cooper (back). Pic: Michael Klein.

Cooper Hodge recreated his father Luke Hodge's pose from the 2014 Toyota AFL Grand Final. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos.

“So they have said, and we’ve had the same from both Brisbane and Hawthorn, that they just want to see him develop and achieve his goal.”

He went on to say: “There’s no way he would have developed as he has in the last 12 months if it wasn’t for the Lions academy.

“But then on the flip side, Hawthorn have also been great. They’ve had him down to the club a number of times.”

Agenda Setters co-host Kane Cornes seemed staggered that Hodge believed there was no pressure coming from either club.

Cooper has continued to attract attention this year with his performances for the Brisbane Lions Academy in the Coates Talent League.

A talent scout earlier this month told Fox Footy Hodge’s options to nominate for both clubs was “not a bad choice to have, considering where both teams are at right now.”

Cooper has been on a trajectory to play elite football ever since he was named in the under-15 All-Australian team.

Hodge has repeatedly been asked about the drama, but has done his best to avoid questions about it.

“My response to all that is, ‘He’s a 15-year-old kid’. He’s 15, he just wants to play football, he likes football, so much can happen in three years,” he told SEN in 2023.

“So much can happen in three years. He’s developed in 12 months.”

Originally published as ‘Devastated’: Frenzy over AFL legend’s son comes to the surface