HEROIC HODGSON SIGNS ON FOR 2017
The Western Force are proud to announce the re-signing of club stalwart Matt Hodgson for the 2017 Super Rugby season.
The champion openside flanker will head into his 12th season with the club, and along with Pek Cowan are the last inaugural Western Force players.
At 35, Hodgson doesn’t look to be slowing down. After recovering from a shoulder reconstruction he suffered in Round 13 last season, the gritty backrower has pushed through the rehab and is nearly back to full squad training.
The club leader says he’s thrilled to have re-signed and is looking forward to the future of the club.
“It’s great to put pen to paper for another season,” he said. “I always wanted to keep playing at the Western Force and as long I’m adding value to the team I want to be a part of the squad.”
The three-time Nathan Sharpe Medallist is about to start his 12th Western Force pre-season training block and says it’s a time he actually really enjoys.
“I don’t think back on past pre-seasons with fond memories, because they are so tough but at the same time the more I do it the more I enjoy it.
“The way I put pre-season to the squad is you don’t go into it to survive, you go into it to attack and that’s how I believe you get your best rugby.”
The 131-capped veteran says the recent signing of players and coaches is pushing the club in an exciting direction.
“I think the club is going in a new direction, which is fantastic. Having a full coaching panel with different skill sets and different areas of expertise is great.
“I’ve played with Shaun Berne, which is exciting and the experience of Alan Gaffney goes without saying; it’s also exciting that there’s a coach that’s older than me!”
In coming years Hodgson will look towards the end of his incredible career with the club he started with, he will then transition into a skills coaching position, which he says is something he has always wanted to achieve.
“I guess you could say this contract is in two parts, one being the playing aspect and the second moving into a coaching position and being part of the club in that way.
“It’s something as a club we are looking at; trying to get players more involved in different aspects of rugby as a business and coaching genuinely excites me.
“I want to become a mentor to the younger players coming through, to be a sounding board for transitioning players and hopefully push them into long successful careers here in Western Australia.”
As part of this progression into coaching Hodgson will officially be part of the coaching team in 2017. This dual player-coach role formalises a role which Hodgson has enjoyed in recent years. Working collaboratively with the coaches, providing an integral insight into the match day player experience and opposition that is second to none.
“I’ve already worked closely with the coaching team over the last four years and doing this in a more formalised way with ‘Blood’ (Dave Wessels) and the coaching team is a great opportunity. Together I am confident that we can develop a style of play that will get the best from our players and be truly entertaining for the Sea of Blue to watch.”
As a result of this coaching role Hodgson has requested to step down as match day captain; allowing a new captain to be appointed in due time. Hodgson will be looking forward to supporting and mentoring the new captain and knows that whoever is chosen will bring their own strengths to the role next year and beyond. Hodgson will remain an integral part of the leadership group that has worked hard to create and maintain a culture of high values and standards in all aspects of the organisation.
Western Force Head Coach Dave Wessels says that Hodgson’s signing is a great step for the club.
“’Hodgo’ is the life and soul of this club,” he said. “He has been here from day one and I think when many people think of the Western Force they associate that with Matt Hodgson.
“For us as an organisation it’s just a fantastic thing to have him recommit, I don’t think there was any doubt in Hodgo’s mind that he wanted to stay.
“In actual fact what has taken a little bit longer to finalise is that we want him to stay post his playing days. The idea is we want to build a legacy at this club with the people that are important to us, and Matt is exactly the type of person that we want to hold on to long term.”
Wessels says that a story told to him when he first came to the Force about Hodgson, sums him up perfectly.
“A fantastic story I heard about Matt, is when the Force were founded and had only one spot left in the squad and there were two players interviewed for the position, one of them being ‘Hodgo’.
“After the meeting he (Hodgson) texted John Mitchell and said ‘Thank you very much for the meeting and regardless of who you choose I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. However, if you do pick me I will never let you down.’ And he has never let this organisation down on or off the field.”
Footnote: Hodgson was coached by Gaffney when he was at the Waratahs prior to joining the Western Force.
