From joke to Hodge joining up

IT was the joke text message that lured four-time premiership hero and Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge out of retirement to join this year’s wooden spooners the Brisbane Lions and rock the AFL world.

Brisbane’s Tasmanian coach Chris Fagan has told the Sunday Tasmanian that his initial approach to former Hawks skipper Hodge was innocent enough.

But the idea smouldered along until the end of the season before Hodge announced he would be moving north to restart his career after 305 games in brown and gold, including 125 as captain, with the Lions on a two-year contract.

“I’d always thought all year we needed a few more experienced heads out there on the oval, but I didn’t for one minute think it would be Hodgey,” said Fagan, the former Hawks football director.

“In fact, it was around his 300th game (Round 17 against Geelong) I sent him a text, ‘If you get to the end of the year and you feel like you want to keep going it is nice and warm up here mate. We need an onfield assistant coach type person’.

“I even gave it the old ‘ha ha’ at the end of it so just joking and a couple of weeks later he sent me a text saying he might be interested in chatting about that.”

Talks were put on hold until after the Hawks champ was chaired off into retirement after a win against the Western Bulldogs in Round 23.

“It turned out he was still interested so it transpired from there,” Fagan said.

“I must admit it happened pretty innocently in the first instance. It was more me having a bit of a joke.”

Brisbane hope to get 15 games out of Hodge next year, but it is more about his on and off field impact rather than kicks, marks and handballs.