2019 in review - Josh Hodgson

[greeneyed]

2019 in review - Josh Hodgson

This is the ninth instalment of 2019 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is over - the best for 25 years - we are reviewing all 26 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Jack Wighton, Aidan Sezer and Josh Papalii.

Josh Hodgson spent half of the 2018 season on the sidelines, after suffering an ACL injury in the 2017 World Cup semi final between England and Tonga. It had a major impact on the Canberra Raiders 2018 campaign. It is no coincidence that the Green Machine were premiership challengers in 2020, with a fit Josh Hodgson available for the bulk of the season.

He made 24 appearances in green this year, missing three games after he suffered a fractured thumb in the Round 11 loss to the Cowboys. He returned to the field in Round 15 against the Eels in Darwin, a couple of weeks earlier than expected, and didn't miss another match.

I rated him an average of 7.1/10 over the course of the season, third behind Josh Papalii and John Bateman. He finished seventh in the total points tally. I rated Hodgson an "8" in eight matches, and a "9" in one - the Round 20 clash with the Warriors in Auckland. It was his 100th appearance for Canberra, and one of his very best. He scored a try and produced 18 runs for 119 metres, one line break, two line break assists, nine tackle breaks, 15 dummy half runs for 99 metres, one one on one steal, one offload, nine dummies, 35 tackles, 89.7 per cent tackle efficiency, six kicks for 170 metres and one forced line drop out. He was unjustly not credited with a single try assist.



Hodgson finished fifth in Fans' Choice Player of the Year voting, taking man of the match honours once - in his milestone game in Auckland. He also registered votes in six other matches (Rd 3 V Knights, Rd 17 V Dragons, Rd 18 V Tigers, Rd 19 V Panthers, Rd 25 V Warriors and the Preliminary Final against the Rabbitohs).

Hodgson was instrumental in running the Raiders' attack, the dominant play maker at dummy half. He ranked first at the club for try assists (16) and line break assists (16). He only scored two tries himself, but was second to Jack Wighton for total try involvements. He was in the top 20 players in the NRL for try assists, and ranked third amongst NRL hookers, for try and line break assists and try involvements - behind Damien Cook and Cameron Smith. There was not much between those three hookers on a per game basis.

One statistic that the leading providers do not publish regularly is "one on one steals". However, going into the Grand Final, it was reported that the Raiders had pulled off 28 one on one steals - with Josh Hodgson producing 14 of them. I can't recall a steal in the Grand Final - so that is likely Hodgson's tally for the year. He produced more steals himself than every other club but Melbourne. It was a massive momentum changer in many games. For example, in the Preliminary Final, Hodgson got a one on one steal from Ethan Lowe, and the Raiders scored their first try soon after. He also later raked the ball from Cody Walker in a try saver. His stealing abilities gave his team a huge advantage over others in the competition.

Hodgson ran less from dummy half in 2019 (two DHRs per match, compared with about 2.5 in 2018), though his average running metres were around the same as last year (roughly 25 metres per match). His average metres per carry rose slightly to 8.6 metres (7.8 metres per carry in 2018). Hodgson's kicking adds another dimension to his game, and he was in the top three hookers for average kick metres and forced line drop outs. His kicks dead were very low, though he did rank first for kick errors amongst his NRL peers, just ahead of Cameron Smith.

Hodgson does a lot of work in defence, topping the total and average tackle count at the Raiders. However, he was outside the top 10 NRL hookers for average tackles per game. His tackle efficiency rate (87 per cent) was, with Sam Verrills, the second lowest amongst regular NRL hookers. Most of the regular hookers have tackle efficiency rates in the 90s. He ranked first amongst NRL hookers for average missed tackles (3.6, compared with the 3.1 he registered in 2018) and seventh for line break causes. But he was also way down the list for try causes per game. He ranked second amongst NRL hookers for errors and penalties conceded per game. So there are some things to work on for 2020.

Overall, Hodgson had a fine season, and played a critical role in the Raiders making the Grand Final... and almost taking the premiership. He was selected for the Great Britain Lions tour of the southern hemisphere at the end of 2019, their No. 1 hooker. The Lions have, up to this point, lost all three matches, one Test against Tonga and two against New Zealand. Hodgson has attracted some criticism for his performances - and I suspect he's not playing his natural game, but is playing to the coach's instructions. Despite that, I still think he's been one of the Lions' best - and with Cook and Smith, is clearly amongst the top three hookers in the world.

How did you rate Josh Hodgson's 2019? Tell us below.

Josh Hodgson's 2019: 8/10

2019 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 24
Average minutes: 78.1
Points: 8
Tries: 2
Try assists: 16
Try contributions: 4
Total try involvements: 22
Total kicks: 100
Kick metres: 2954
Average kicking metres per match: 123
40/20’s: 0
Forced drop outs: 11
Kicks dead: 2
Kick errors: 12
Total runs: 70
Dummy half runs: 47
All run metres: 599
Average metres per carry: 8.6
Average metres per game: 24
Tackle breaks: 16
Offloads: 13
Line breaks: 2
Line break assists: 15
Tackles: 830
Average tackles per game: 34.6
1 on 1 tackles: 27
Missed tackles: 87
Average missed tackles per game: 3.6
Tackle efficiency: 87 per cent
Try causes: 4
Errors: 27
Penalties conceded: 21

[Matt]

Hodgo had a flat period in the middle of the year, but the way he finished the season was all class. I think 8 is about right

[The Nickman]

7.5/10 is my score for Hodgo, but I’m happy with 8 too.

Tute on, Ferg... tute on!!

[edwahu]

8 for me. The team is built around him and it worked, plus on an individual level he came up with some huge performances. His game against Souths in particular.

[greeneyed]

Canberra Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson has put his five-bedroom Fraser house on the market: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... -for-sale/

Nice video at the link!

[zim]

GE I know there's no helipad but it'd make a nice little Greenhouse for us all to crash when we make the trip down. Free shuttle service to the stadium and Mooseheads of course.

[Seiffert82]

I'd give him a 7.5/10.

There is little doubt he's our most important player. When he is good, we play outstanding football. When he tries to do too much, we look horrid. The regular season Storm game was a classic example of the extremes from Hodgo in the one game.

Hopefully he can trust his halves a bit more next season. When the halves get more ball we not only look better, but it opens up so much more space for him to do his thing in the attacking 20.

[-PJ-]

IMO Hodgo is our most valuable player.

He's the man who runs the show, without him we are screwed.

Another fine season, he gets an 8 from me.

[BadnMean]

He's been a breath of fresh air ever since he arrived- he's good to watch. Such a clever player.

The errors and penalties in this years stats go hand in hand with the strips. When they go wrong, it's often a penalty or knock on ruled against him. So those stats will remain high, as long as he is stripping regularly.

[Botman]

Ill be VERY curious to see how things go with him and Georgey boi.
I think their connection and how they work together will go a long way to deciding how 2020 goes for this team.

Eager to see it.

As for Hodgson's 2019 season, i thought he was a little below his best and perhaps thats my high standards of him. I would have him a 7/10 and im probably being harsh because i expect him to be a 9/10 player

[BadnMean]

Ill be VERY curious to see how things go with him and Georgey boi.
I think their connection and how they work together will go a long way to deciding how 2020 goes for this team.

Eager to see it.

As for Hodgson's 2019 season, i thought he was a little below his best and perhaps thats my high standards of him. I would have him a 7/10 and im probably being harsh because i expect him to be a 9/10 player

Dunno about that mate. I think it is harsh.

This team was without Leipana creating points from nothing. It had a rookie FB who, for all his strengths, isn't what you would call a creative player. Jack is a dynamo, but all effort, no guile. And we had Sezer who was- solid little Sezer all year. Hodgo had a lot on his shoulders creatively this year and not a lot to work with- no Joey, Jordy busted, Cotric off the boil, Croker solid but no more. And we made the GF.

I suppose you could say they were all off, because Hodgo was off. Or say he did a mans work getting a top 4 all year team up and running with just a very effective forward pack and a couple of in form ball runners (Jack and CNK). Look at Bunnies for how that can go wrong if the #9 isn't razor sharp footy brain wise (Cook a good runner, not yet a great #9).

[gangrenous]

Excellent post BnM. I’ll have what you’re having.

[Botman]

Yeah i cant really argue, i think they're good points too... again i think i agree im being too harsh and i think i might have unrealistic expectations of him

[BadnMean]

Yeah i cant really argue, i think they're good points too... again i think i agree im being too harsh and i think i might have unrealistic expectations of him

It's the off season. And i realise I just wrote two paragraphs to argue about whether Hodgo was a 7 or an 8 last season.

[Botman]

Yeah i cant really argue, i think they're good points too... again i think i agree im being too harsh and i think i might have unrealistic expectations of him

It's the off season. And i realise I just wrote two paragraphs to argue about whether Hodgo was a 7 or an 8 last season.

We're through the looking glass, people