Luke Hodge’s son, 16-year-old Cooper Hodge, has spent time training with the Hawks this offseason and is hoping to follow in his old man’s footsteps. He trained at their Waverley Park base. His impact on the field has generated plenty of headlines, as he is projected to be one of the top picks in next year’s AFL draft. The young prodigy, who today is a member of Brisbane’s academies program, has the opportunity to choose Hawthorn as a father-son selection.
At his two-day training period, Cooper held his own against established talent and was able to impress both Hawthorn and Brisbane. The training sessions served as a great introduction. They made possible a historic move that allowed him to connect with a club that means so much to his own family’s history. Luke Hodge emphasized the importance of this opportunity for his son, stating, “No, listen, it’s a good experience for him. He’s a 16-year-old kid who gets the opportunity to go down and spend two days.”
Cooper Hodge now lives in Brisbane with his family. While in Melbourne, he lived with his old teammate Jarryd Roughead. This is the kind of arrangement that’s worked well for the family. As Hodge described, “He lived with us, but that makes sense because we had no family in Melbourne, we lived there. My brother’s living down in Geelong, so the simplest thing was to get him to crash at Roughy’s.
As Cooper heads into a pivotal winter deciding on his possible footballing future, both national programs are intently watching his progress. Should he choose to come to Hawthorn, that means the club gets priority access to him during the draft. It’s predicated on the same situation in which the son of former Swans player John Blakey, Nick Blakey, found himself. Luke Hodge acknowledged the interest surrounding his son’s potential decision: “I 100 per cent understand (the level of interest in this), but the only thing is he’s a 16-year-old kid who has the flexibility or he’s been lucky enough to spend two days at Hawthorn.”
In a humorous aside, Brownlow medalist Luke Hodge (now with the Lions) spoke of the tightrope his son has to walk between the two clubs. He laughed that Cooper was “50-50 at best” in favour of returning to Hawthorn over Brisbane. Regardless, the right decision will ultimately be dictated by where Cooper believes he can develop and thrive as an athlete.
During her time being trained up at Hawthorn, Cooper’s hopes have been inspired. They provide him with outstanding perspective on the upside and downside of professional footballer life. Luke Hodge reflected on this experience, stating, “It was a good day once again going down there to really convince a young guy to come. They turned on the weather. It was about four degrees down there. I couldn’t feel my hands.”
As Cooper Hodge looks toward his own future, both clubs are hoping his is pointing toward their direction come nomination for next year’s AFL draft. Adding further weight to this pivotal moment in Cooper’s young career is his father’s legacy at Hawthorn. Fans and players alike are abuzz with anticipation.
