Hodges a mate worth keeping
By Phil Gould
February 1, 2004
Queensland and Sydney Roosters centre Justin Hodges has gone back to Brisbane to be with his family. He has been absent without leave and we have not heard from him for more than a week.
Now for your frequently asked questions.
Why?
I don't really know and anyone who offers an opinion is only guessing. Until we actually sit down with the bloke and talk, all comment is purely speculative.
I have seen plenty of this over the years and the issues usually revolve around family, relationships, injury and disappointments. In Justin's defence he has been confronted with a little of everything. He is not the first and he definitely won't be the last. I will come back to this point.
Were there any warning signs?
No. Even in hindsight I struggle to remember anything that should have been interpreted as a problem. This is not the first time Justin has been troubled enough to walk away and search for a bit of space, so you tend to look for indicators that something is bothering him. But he was as good as I have seen him since he arrived at the club.
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Suggestions that he has fallen out with Roosters coach Ricky Stuart are ludicrous. They get on terrific.
Why won't he talk to anyone at the club?
You will have to ask Justin but I expect he will talk to us in his own good time. He isn't even talking to his manager. All discussion is being relayed through his family, who are giving him a lot of support.
Do you think it is a major problem?
Well, it obviously is for Justin so the matter has to be treated with the same respect we have for the player himself. I believe he will be back at training on February 9, and when he returns he will be in good shape. I hope that whatever's bothering him will have been put into perspective and he'll be ready to resume his career as a professional rugby league player. I reckon that by the time he comes back there will be no need for a witch hunt and the whole matter will have blown over. I know it will be from our club's point of view.
Will he play for the Roosters this year?
I wish I was as certain of winning Lotto as I am of Justin being back very soon. We love the bloke and he has a lot of good mates here just waiting for him to come back to Sydney.
Why does such a talented player walk away from the game he loves and risk a contract that must be worth a fortune?
Yeah, I guess people going to work nine to five, Monday to Friday, for a lot less money are entitled to ask that question.
I guess it goes to show there is more to life than football, and money is not always the motivating force everybody thinks it is.
Let's forget Justin for a moment because this type of thing is happening all the time.
This is happening in all walks of life. Young men confronted with problems are dropping out of schools, university, apprenticeships, jobs, sports, marriages and sometimes even life itself. It is not just confined to footballers, and just because these blokes are highly paid sportsmen doesn't mean they are immune to growing pains.
They are not gods. They are human beings.
Young blokes drop out of football all the time for a multitude of reasons. You only hear about the high-profile cases, and there have been plenty of top players in recent times who have walked away from the game at their peak due to personal problems.
Anthony Mundine changed careers. Nathan Blacklock needed a break before going to rugby then returning to league. Dragons forward Lance Thompson needs a break. Mark Riddell struggles with his desire every off-season. Aaron Moule gave the game away. Preston Campbell struggled for a time.
Chris Walker walked out of a huge deal with Souths to play for the Roosters for nothing.
In the past I have seen first hand how players like Andrew Walker and Mark Geyer have struggled with their careers as a result of the pressure exerted by outside influences.
You see plenty of it in other sports and other forms of the entertainment industry. Sometimes the fact they are high-profile sportsmen or entertainers adds to the pressure of their problems.
I have heard people describe them as wayward, spoilt brats, big-heads, no-hopers, and plenty ask why we continue to put up with this sort of behaviour from blokes who should just be grateful for what they have.
People say to me that you should just give them a swift kick up the arse and tell them to stop acting stupid. Others say to ignore them until they come to their senses.
That type of solution is all too simplistic and only deals with their supposed stature as sportsmen and does not recognise their importance as individuals.
I'm no expert and certainly no psychiatrist, so I can't offer an opinion as to the best way to deal with these situations. What I do know, however, is that rugby league clubs and those running them have a greater responsibility to these players than most onlookers can ever fathom.
I have known five people over the years who have taken their own lives for reasons that made no sense at all to me. This is a growing problem with today's youth and something we need to keep working on.
Now, please, not for one moment am I even vaguely referring to Justin or any of the other players I have named in this column in this sense. But it does go to show how serious things can get in a short space of time if we don't treat every case with the respect and sensitivity it deserves.
We give players in trouble space, we give them support, if necessary we get them professional help and we try to make it easy for them to come back. It is important, however, that in time the player learns to take a hand in his own rescue.
Now back to Justin Hodges. He is a super footballer and a great bloke. I really like him, as does everybody at the Roosters. He has had a frustrating lay-off with his knee injury and other things in his life are topsy-turvy at the moment.
These things happen and I know how pressure can build. He can have all the space he wants to sort things out in his own mind, but he should remember there are plenty of people down here ready to support him.
The only advice I can give him is that tough times don't last but tough people do.
Other than that, get your arse back to training on February 9. Life goes on, mate!
:lol:
