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“What do we stand for?”: Hawks great Hodge’s message for senior Blues core
Connor Scanlon • March 19th, 2025 10:19 am
Luke Hodge has called on Carlton’s senior players to take accountability for their embarrassing season-opening loss to Richmond, urging them to set the standard.
The comments came ahead of Thursday night’s clash with Hodge’s former club Hawthorn.
Hodge said he would be having a serious discussion with the Blues’ leadership group following their lacklustre performance.
“I’m grabbing (Adam) Saad, (Patrick) Cripps, (Sam) Walsh, (George) Hewett, (Jacob) Weitering, (Blake) Acres, (Nick) Haynes, (Harry) McKay, and (Mitch) McGovern,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“I’m bringing them all into a room and saying, ‘What do we stand for?’
“If I was Michael Voss, I'd be asking them, ‘We got embarrassed by an inexperienced, young team’.
“Guess what? We’re coming up against a team full of confidence and we need to shut them down.
“I’d be showing them the vision (of) all the flaws that they had to let these 18-year-old kids get (goals) from the goal square, and actually put it on them.”
Hodge didn’t hold back in his assessment, believing Carlton failed to match the intensity of an inexperienced Richmond side.
The four-time premiership Hawk also pointed out how Carlton’s performance drove their own supporters to leave early.
“Show what you’re worth,” he added.
“You had 50,000 supporters there on Thursday night that did not see that final siren because of the effort that they put in.”
With another crucial game coming up quickly on Thursday night, Hodge believes it’s time for Carlton’s leaders to prove their worth.
“They need to show what they are worth!” he said.
“I’d be making sure (that the supporters who) rock up to a game on Thursday night stay until that final siren because (the players have) given it absolutely everything.”
The Blues meet the Hawks at the MCG on Thursday night to kick off Round 2 from 7:30pm AEDT.
