Hawthorn father-son prospect Cooper Hodge nominated the Hawks over Brisbane because he fell in love with the football club more than the Lions, according to his dad, Luke.
On Monday, Hodge confirmed his allegiance to the brown and gold, a club where his father won four premierships and played 305 games.
He'd been a part of the Lions academy since 15 after Hodge moved his family to Queensland when he joined Brisbane in 2018.
“It was pleasing for a dad,” started the four-time premiership player on SEN.
“I didn't give too much input. A lot of the stuff you look for as a parent is, ‘Is it a stable club? Do they worry about development?' all that kind of stuff.
“I was happy with both (clubs). The Brisbane Lions have been outstanding for his development since he joined them at 15 years of age, and when he came down to Hawthorn, they were so good.
“I guess the underlying factor for him was that he fell in love with football because of Hawthorn. He just said if he passed up this opportunity, he'd kick himself.
“As far as a dad, like, you're pretty proud. You sort of sit back and go, how good's that?”
Former Brisbane champion Jason Akermanis has had the pleasure of watching Hodge develop into the AFL fancy he is ahead of his draft year.
“He's got that ruthless ferocity and attack on the ball. He's got that in spades," Akermanis told Zero Hanger.
"He will improve his kicking, but his handball and game sense and everything else is excellent.
"His athleticism is really strong, and he can run really well, so he's got what's needed for repeat efforts and to go through different gears.
"He's super brave. Those two (Luke and Cooper) are crazy; they call it white line fever, but they just don't seem to think about consequences – they go at every ball so hard.
"They're so tough, so they're the sort of players you want on your team."
Something Luke Hodge believes is the "opposite" of him.
“He's got speed, he chases, he tackles - everything that I didn't do," the 346-gamer said.
“He's changed around from an inside mid, he's played high half-forward, and then he's also had a go across half-back.
“He's still got a lot of development to understand the game, understand trends and reading the play - that kind of stuff will come in time.
“But his natural strength is his competitiveness. He's physical, he's quick, he's athletic.”
