Alastair Clarkson pays tribute to Luke Hodge as he looks set to join Brisbane Lions

HAWKS coach Alastair Clarkson says “it’s ripping my guts out” that Luke Hodge won’t retire as a Hawthorn player but he will head to Brisbane “with our blessing”.

(from left) Grant Birchall, Luke Hodge and Jack Gunston at the Hawthorn best-and-fairest. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson says the thought of seeing Luke Hodge is a Brisbane jumper next year is tearing him apart but the Hawks wish their champion player and former captain all the best in his future endeavours.

Hodge on Thursday officially requested a trade to the Lions, back-flipping on plans announced in July to retire at the end of this year.

The four-time Hawks premiership player has spent 16 seasons at the club since being selected at Pick 1 in the 2001 National Draft.

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Speaking at Hawthorn’s best-and-fairest at Crown Palladium last night, Clarkson said Hodge would head to Brisbane “with our blessing” despite the emotional pain the decision had caused him.

“It’s ripping my guts out in a sense that he’s not going to play his whole career at Hawthorn but what flips against that is what’s best for him, what’s best for his wife and what’s best three boys,” Clarkson said in an uplifting speech after a week of turmoil for the Hawks.

“Whilst we’d all like Hodgey to retire as a Hawthorn player, we can’t be that selfish about it because there’s so much more to this decision. There’s his wife, there’s his three boys and there’s his potential coaching future.

Luke Hodge announces his retirement next to coach Alastair Clarkson in July.

“He may not coach beyond this time he has at Brisbane but the important thing is he’ll know.”

Hodge played 19 games this season to take his career tally to 305 matches and said an injection of youth in the second half of the season had given him a new lease of life and put the idea of coaching on the agenda for the first time.

“You talk about when the young guys come into the football club, they give energy,” Hodge said.

“I felt like a young guy just the fact I was running around with these young guys, just helping them and giving them a little bit of knowledge that I’ve learnt over my career.

“I always thought, ‘Look at Clarko, you’ve got to be crazy to be a coach’. I never really thought that way but then I started to enjoy the teaching and the developing that’s when Fages (Brisbane coach Chris Fagan) said, ‘You reckon you’ve got a little bit of football left?’.”

Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson addresses the Hawthorn best-and-fairest. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Hodge said he had not considered playing on with Hawthorn because of Clarkson’s long-standing motto that the club had to come before any individual and he felt he would be unfairly keeping a younger player in the VFL at Box Hill if he did continue at the club.

“I reckon that’s going to limit their development. So that’s the reason I couldn’t stay at Hawthorn and ultimately that’s the reason why I retired,” he said.

Hodge said telling Clarkson of his Brisbane plans was the hardest part because he felt he was going “against Hawthorn”, a club so dear to his heart.

“His conversation was you pretty much need to take the emotion out of the decision,” Hodge said.

“What’s best for you, what’s best for your family and your future going forward. Once I wrestled with that and the emotion was taken out we believed - Lauren and myself and the kids - it was the best thing for us moving forward.”

Originally published as Alastair Clarkson pays tribute to Luke Hodge as he looks set to join Brisbane Lions