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Live sport on SN this weekend“He’s come a long way”: Hodge reflects on Breust's career
Nicholas Quinlan • August 16th, 2025 7:03 pm
Luke Hodge has reflected on the career of his former teammate Luke Breust following his decision to retire from the AFL.
The small forward announced his decision on Thursday as he plans on playing out the remainder of this season before hanging up the boots.
It’s been an illustrious career in the brown and gold for the boy from Temora.
His name will sit high on the Hawks' honour rolls as he currently sits 7th all-time for goals kicked by a Hawthorn player (552 as of Round 22, 2025).
This week, he will be equal third on their all-time games played list (307) alongside former teammate and now coach Sam Mitchell.
Bruest also featured in all of Hawthorn’s Grand Finals between 2012 and 2015, helping the Hawks to win three of them.
Hodge, who was Breust’s captain when the Hawks completed the three-peat, has been amazed at how far he has come from when he was drafted back in 2009.
“He’s come a long way,” Hodge said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“It was two-and-a-bit years before he got his first game, I remember the scrawny little bloke with a helmet, first up there going ‘What is this bloke?’
“He had the best sidestep I’d ever seen, but he was the worst tackler I had ever seen as well, coming from a rugby background.
“But he just had that personality that you just loved. He said throughout the week that Mitch (Sam Mitchell) took him out for goalkicking practice every week because he knew he was going to get coffees out of this young bloke from New South Wales.
“But 307 games, I think it is today, which is equal third on the list at Hawthorn.
“He’s taken his chance and what he has been able to do, over 500 goals, is just an amazing effort and an amazing story for a ripper fella.”
