Ando’s Shout: When Luke Hodge and Gary Ablett first met 23 years ago
Luke Hodge and Gary Ablett first met more than two decades ago at junior level and their incredible battles could have one final chapter later this season. Jon Anderson tracks their path to greatness.
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Twenty-three years ago a porky kid from Colac called “Hodgey” and a shy son of a gun known as “Gazza” met for the first time at the Australian U12 Primary School Football Championships.
How could they have known their careers would become intertwined, with the pair on target to meet in battle for possibly the last time when the Brisbane Lions host Geelong at the Gabba in Round 22.
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Following that U12 carnival in Geelong they met up again at Geelong Falcons in 2001 and later that year were both selected in the 2001 National Draft.
Today they remain the only two still playing from those selected in that year’s draft (Fremantle’s Aaron Sandilands was taken as a rookie).
Their relationship is respectful and friendly rather than close.
Their competitive urges ensure a fierce contest before a warm post-game embrace.
When their relationship began, it was as part of a side that featured a good number of boys who went on to AFL lists including the Selwood twins Adam and Troy plus Luke Ball.
For Hodge the pictorial evidence of the Melbourne-based carnival remains a source of ribbing.
“Not that picture again. That means I cop it from my teammates, my family — all because I was a bit of a porker back then with a bad crew cut that was starting to grow out,” he explained in 2015.
“The kid who stood out was Denni Burgoyne-Turnbull — his skills were unbelievable, way ahead of the rest of us. I did hear he got some injuries as a teenager that may have held him back. We all knew the Selwoods because they were twins, Gazza Ablett because of his name and Luke Ball because of the way he played.”
1996 AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS U12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Troy Selwood (Victorian teammate of Luke Hodge and Gary Ablett): “My twin brother Adam and I spent seven days in Melbourne for that carnival. Because our dad was originally from Colac we had a connection with the Hodge family, so I got to know Luke a bit.
“Even back then as an 11-year-old Hodgey had leadership stamped all over him. It was very much ‘come with me boys, I will show you the way’.
“Gary at the time was a shy, introverted sort of kid who hung around mainly with Nick Gieschen, whose father Jeff was an assistant coach at Geelong.
“You could sense that Gaz had the craftiness, the footy smarts.
“Gary probably really came of age when he went from 17-18 in the TAC Cup, whereas in that carnival Hodgey was one of the dominant players, along with Gavin Wanganeen’s cousin Denni Burgoyne-Turnbull and Luke Ball in the midfield.
“If you asked me now I would have to say Gaz is the best player I’ve seen. I played on him a few times and leading up I used to think: ‘I’ve probably got the hardest job in football this weekend.’
“I also played on Hodgey who beat the s--t out of me a few times. But as tough as he was during the game, he was always the first to shake hands after it.”
2001 GEELONG FALCONS
Damien Christensen (Falcons coach): “Luke had kicked six from centre half-forward for Colac in the Hampden League as a 16-year-old so we naturally brought him into our system. Luke was a lad and that would have been his only tripping point to his career.
“He was fortunate that his career ran alongside Alastair Clarkson’s. Gary situation was different and I can remember a meeting with Geelong where they were still curious as to how far he would go. I ended up playing him in a back pocket because he would get tagged every week due to his name.
“He was just a skinny kid who clearly knew how to play footy, but had so much development to go.
“It was a handy side (Matt Maguire, Dom Gleeson, Jimmy Bartel, Luke Molan, Tom Davidson, Joel Reynolds. Nick Maxwell, Brent Moloney and Sam Hunt were all drafted).
“I’m surprised Hodgey has been so durable given he played such a crash-and-bash style.
“Gary has evolved with the game. Being such a good reader of the play and such a good user of the ball, the game has suited him perfectly. That’s the brilliance of Gaz because the game has never gone past him.
“You could mount an argument to suggest they are the two smartest footballers of their era.
“Luke was someone who you could give a real spray to and he would always take it the way you hoped. I gave him one against the Dragons at Geelong one day and next thing he has cleaned a bloke up at a boundary stoppage and then kicked a goal from outside 50m.
“Gaz just enjoyed playing footy, he required a competitive outlet. I like them both as people. They aren’t any different now than then, always having time for others.”
2008 AFL GRAND FINAL
Jimmy Bartel (Geelong premiership team member): “I obviously played with them both in 2001 and had you told me then they would run first and second in a Norm Smith seven years later, it wouldn’t have shocked me, seeing them both up close, seeing how good they were.
“I played with Hodgey as 16-year-old in the Geelong Falcons 2000 premiership side and he was dominant back then in a Grand Final. I also played a lot of cricket with Hodgey as well. He was always destined for great things.
“With Gaz we didn’t ever use the comparison with his dad because we saw him in his first game for the Falcons up at Bendigo absolutely brain them, doing things that couldn’t be taught, his composure, stepping in and out of traffic.
“So for one to play in four premierships and win two Norm Smiths (Hodge) and the other to win every other award 100 times didn’t surprise me. It was so obvious in both of them.
“Gazza had emerged by that 2008 Grand Final as the best player in the game and Hodgey was at his absolute peak in that game. I always say Gary is the equal best player I’ve played with, alongside Matt Scarlett.
“I can’t believe there has been a better full-back than Matt Scarlett. And Hodge was one of the best I’ve ever played against. Both of them are driven animals in terms of competitiveness.
“I loved playing against Hodgey. He accidentally kneed me in my head one day and gave a pat on the back before moving on. There was nothing better than getting a kick against Hodgey.
“I love the fact they are both still playing and playing so well. We love measuring the great players when they get old, often unfairly.”
2008 NORM SMITH MEDAL VOTING
15: Luke Hodge (20 kicks, six handballs, 5 tackles, 11 contested possessions, 1 goal)
11: Gary Ablett (12 kicks, 22 handballs, 5 tackles, 12 contested, 2 goals)
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