The sands of the hourglass are running down, with just days remaining in the AFL trade period, many players face uncertain futures as the game of brinkmanship goes into full effect.
Luke Hodges is one of those impacted. The announcement that he was ready to unretire from the game and move to a role with the Brisbane Lions has been expected for weeks now, but the deal has yet to be completed.
List manager of the Hawthorn Hawks, Graham Wright, says the ball is in the Lions’ court, at least Wright claims that the holdup has come from the Lions’ end of the bargain.
“The Lions are going to come back to us later in the week, so probably Wednesday or Thursday,” Wright told the club website.“We’re hopeful of having something done in that time.”
Obviously, Brisbane wants Hodges for as little as possible. His expected role at Brisbane is to be one of limited playing combined with a mentorship spot for the Lions’ young list. Hodges would then move into some coaching positon, which would enable him to stay connected to the game and possibly find a spot down the road somewhere with one of the other clubs.
Wright does not suspect the Lions of having ill intentions.
I think there’s goodwill on both sides to try and get something done, they’re just not sure what they’ll have to give us. We’re waiting to see what that is.”
The AFL Lions have more draft picks than the Roman Coliseum Lions had Christians. Three first rounders and a second round choice, along with 43 and 75.
They are also out to get Adelaide forward Charlie Cameron, who conceivably would cost them more than Hodges would and they are possibly in the running for the Hawks Billy Hartung, who may or may not be traded, although there is nothing solid on the table regarding him.
