Rampant Hawks crush Kangaroos

TASMANIA said farewell to Luke Hodge in style yesterday as Hawthorn disposed of North Melbourne in a show of force that will make the top-eight sides glad the Hawks won’t be around next month.

Hodge was at his brilliant best off half-back in the 18.8 (116) to 14.5 (89) win and it wasn’t difficult to know when he had the ball as the crowd rode every kick.

In his record 46th and final game in Launceston, Hodge (29 possessions) played his trademark role of general in defence alongside the man most likely to take his place next year.

Reassigned forward Jack Gunston (27 disposals and 11 marks) was brilliant as the spare in the Hawks’ back half, racking up almost as many possessions as the midfielders.

When he hangs up the boots in two weeks, Hodge said he would leave Hawthorn’s backline in good shape.

“The best part about our group is we’ve had so many young players step up over the past eight or 10 weeks,” he said.