24HR THREAD! Should 2014 be Hodges' last year?

[Big Pete]

Too bad that toe keeps getting injured.

Especially when the team is made to be so reliant on it...

 

[Mr Fourex]

Too bad that toe keeps getting injured.

Especially when the team is made to be so reliant on it...

I thought we were winning more games with him out of the side?

How are we so reliant?

 

[Big Pete]

When he's in the team, the structure of the side changes.

That's the intention of re-signing him right? Hoping that he actually plays? Or are we taking the NSW captaincy a step further and having an 18th Man captain?

 

[Steve Renouf]

I'll keep it short.

The negatives of Hodges outweigh the positives. He is done. Time to move on and focus on the future of the Broncos.

He is done? You mean he is probably nearly done carrying the Broncos, I guess same could be said for Parker. Maybe they are both nearly "done".

I don't think it's a massive decline in his ability, I think it is made to look worse because of how poorly we play as a unit

True. Hodges only started his consistent dummy half runs in the last 3 or 4 years, no coincidence that is when Broncos have been at their worst. Yes sometimes it is predictable but at least he is in there having a go, what is the other centre or the forwards doing, hands on hips?

Hunt & Copley are genuine weapons. Barba's improved.

You think? Copley has the jitters and sometimes hands like they are covered in butter, and Hunt is still paying the price of having 3 or 4 really good rounds in a row, the media and fans have built him up to be something he is not. He is not a Langer, or a Lockyer, or a Johns as I heard the other day, he is just an average halfback in first grade, nothing more and sometimes a lot less.

The next week Hodgo comes in and tries to do it all on his own and his team-mates are made to feel like sub-par hindrances to his one-man army.

Maybe because many of his team-mates ARE sub-par hindrances at times.

My issue with Hodges is he breaks down so many backline plays because he has his dummy half runs on the 4th tackle all the bloody time.

A backline play is not usually in place when he is at dummy half, he is trying to create something. When you have below standard halves (which he knows is the case) then his hand is forced to get in there, it wasn't always part of his game.


Finally, those of you who are calling for Hodges head forget the little things he does in games, he niggles, he steals, he does everything humanly possible to gain advantage, he is a competitor through and through. If the Broncos had 3 or 4 more like Hodges the finals would be in the bag by now.

Not only is he the classiest back Brisbane has, he is one of the best backs ever and even though he is getting longer in the tooth he still provides much more to the team than any of the last couple of years worth of ring-in backs have done, week in week out.

 

[Fozz]

Good discussion everybody, thanks for participating.