Hawthorn and Brisbane are locked in a tug-of-war for Cooper Hodge, the teenage son of AFL great Luke Hodge, who is eligible for the 2026 National Draft.
The 16-year-old finds himself at the centre of a unique situation, eligible as a father-son selection for Hawthorn, where his dad captained the club and won four premierships, and also tied to Brisbane as a product of their junior academy system.
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Recent school holidays saw Cooper spending two days at Waverley, training with the Hawks and reconnecting with familiar faces at the club his father represented for 305 games.
A foot in both camps
Luke Hodge, speaking on The Agenda Setters on Channel 7, described the decision as finely balanced: “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.”
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During Cooper’s stay in Victoria, he was hosted by former Hawk Jarryd Roughead, now a recruiter at the club. But Brisbane’s pull remains just as strong, with Cooper having spent the past two years under the mentorship of Lions academy coaches Grant Birchall and Mitch Hahn.
“He's been lucky enough to spend two days at Hawthorn,” Luke added.
“But then on the flip side, with the Brisbane Lions academy, he's been lucky enough… to enjoy and spend time with some of the players… He's really loving football at the moment.”