Brisbane will get the first look at AFL legend Luke Hodge's son, Cooper, in the VFL on Saturday.
Hodge has strong links to the Hawthorn Hawks as a father-son prospect, but is in the Brisbane Lions Academy, meaning the two clubs will battle it out for his talents.
Recent footage showed Cooper down at Waverley at Hawks training during the school holidays, spending two days at the club his father spent 16 years at, winning four flags, and captaining the side from 2011 to 2016.
Potential Father Son Cooper Hodge and Next Generation Academy prospect Goy Jiath were both at Hawthorn training today.
This is the second time both have trained at the club after completing a week earlier in the season 🤎💛
📸@HanskyutMedina #gohawthorn #hawks pic.twitter.com/cNlSu3iPUd
— Timmy N (@newmo03) July 8, 2025
Cooper can nominate as a Hawthorn father-son selection given his father topped the required 100-game minimum (305 matches).
However, the link to the Lions comes as his dad relocated his family to Brisbane ahead of the 2018 season, featuring under Chris Fagan for two more years before hanging up the boots.
Cooper has just turned 17, which makes him eligible for selection in the reserves competition, and he will face the Coburg Lions at Barry Plant Park on Saturday.
The son of a gun faces a similar fate to Sydney's Nick Blakey, who weighed up North Melbourne during his draft year, which would've seen him follow in his father's footsteps.
John Blakey played 224 games for the Kangaroos, but was living in Sydney and was an assistant at the Swans when his son went through the draft ranks.
Draft prospect Kalani White will also have a decision to make in the coming months as he weighs up whether to follow in his father, Jeff's, footsteps to Melbourne, or join the Gold Coast as an Academy player.
