This is the eleventh instalment of 2018 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is done, we are reviewing all 25 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade in 2018. So far, we've looked at Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, Sam Williams, Junior Paulo and Sia Soliola.
Hooker Josh Hodgson suffered an ACL injury in the World Cup semi final between England and Tonga in late November last year - and immediately, the Raiders' hopes for the 2018 season took a nose dive. He had just been re-signed by the club on a four year deal. With the retirement of Adam Clydsdale, the release of youngster Erin Clark for personal reasons, and the subsequent release of Kurt Baptiste due to salary cap pressures, the Raiders' dummy half stocks were seriously depleted. Canberra signed Siliva Havili and Craig Garvey in an attempt to cover the losses - but in reality, it was impossible to replace a player of the quality of Hodgson.
He returned to the field in Round 15 in the match up with the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium - as early as could be expected, due to his diligent approach to his rehabilitation. He made an immediate impact, despite starting off the bench. I rated him an "8" in that comeback match, after making four runs for 40 metres and producing two try assists, two line break assists, one off load, 20 tackles and 101 kicking metres in just 46 minutes. By my count, he should have been credited with three try assists. He backed that up with another 8/10 rating in the loss to the Broncos the following week, delivering one try, four runs for 32 metres, two tackle breaks, one line break, one off load, 43 tackles and 120 kicking metres. He was man of the match in Fans' Choice voting for both of those games.
With the season ending injury to Jarrod Croker, Hodgson took over the captaincy in the Round 19 match against the Sharks - and he again rated an "8". He produced one try assist, 10 runs for 77 metres, four tackle breaks, one line break assist and topped the tackle count (50). His fourth "8" came in the Round 24 victory over the Rabbitohs, making six runs for 23 metres, one line break assist, two try assists and 27 tackles.
I rated him an average of 7.2/10 in his 11 appearances - and no Raiders player scored higher in 2018. My overall score for the season only reflects the fact he played less than half the season. Despite playing limited matches, he was equal fifth at the Raiders for total try involvements and first for try assists. No NRL hooker produced more try assists, and he ranked third for total try involvements behind Cameron Smith and Damien Cook. He ranked first amongst NRL hookers for total try involvements (1.5) and line break assists (0.9) per match. Those are insane numbers. His running game was a little down on 2017, though his average dummy half runs per match were slightly up. This season he averaged 26 metres per match (40 metres in 2017) and 7.8 metres per carry (8.4 metres in 2017).
Hodgson does a lot of work in defence, topping the tackle count per match at the Raiders. However, he was a fair way down the list of his NRL hooker peers for average tackles per game. His tackle efficiency rate (88 per cent) could be better, with many regular hookers with tackle efficiency rates in the 90s. He ranks in the top five NRL hookers for average missed tackles (3.1) and line break causes per match. But he's also well down the list for try causes per game. He ranked 10th amongst NRL hookers for errors and ninth for penalties conceded per game. So there are still some things to work on before next season.
After missing England's mid season Denver Test due to his ACL injury, Hodgson has been selected in the England squad to face France and New Zealand later this year. He will doubtless be their first choice hooker. Hopefully, he stays healthy and injury free. If he makes 24 appearances for the Raiders in 2019, and he continues in his current vein of form, the Green Machine should have a much better season.
How did you rate Josh Hodgson's 2018? Tell us below.
Josh Hodgson's 2018: 4.5/10
2018 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 11
Average minutes: 76.9
Points: 4
Tries: 1
Try assists: 13
Try contributions: 2
Total try involvements: 16
Total kicks: 35
Kick metres: 870m
Average kicking metres per match: 79
40/20’s: 0
Forced drop outs: 2
Kicks dead: 1
Kick errors: 6
Total runs: 37
Dummy half runs: 27
All run metres: 288
Average metres per carry: 7.8m
Average metres per game: 26m
Tackle breaks: 12
Offloads: 5
Line breaks: 1
Line break assists: 10
Tackles: 379
Average tackles per game: 34.5
1 on 1 tackles: 13
Missed tackles: 34
Average missed tackles per game: 3.1
Tackle efficiency: 88 per cent
Try causes: 3
Errors: 7
Penalties conceded: 9
