ON THE eve of his 300th game, Hawthorn champion Like Hodge has spoken of the difficult early days of his career and the unfavourable comparisons to Chris Judd.

Hodge was the first pick in 2001 national draft but took several years to find his groove with the Hawks. Judd was selected by West Coast two picks later and was a star from his first game.

The Hodge versus Judd debate would rage for years. Luke Ball, the no.2 pick in that draft, who was a great player for St Kilda right from the start, was also in the discussion. Hodge heard it all.

"You could understand where it was coming from. Hawthorn gave away a bit to get the draft pick," Hodge told the AFL Record in a feature story to mark his milestone match, which appears in this weekend's edition.

WATCH: Luke Hodge's finest moments

"Juddy had lived in Melbourne, went to a private school (Caulfield Grammar), was a year older than me and he knew other players who had played AFL. He knew a bit more about the professionalism required to play football. He was much more advanced than I was at that age."

Adding to the pressure was that Peter Schwab and John Turnbull, the coach and recruiting manager who engineered the drafting of Hodge and did their best to shield him from the all the noise, eventually left the club, not entirely of their own volition.

"It obviously wasn't great. You want everything to be bright and positive especially when you're a young kid," Hodge said.

He battled osteitis pubis, stress fractures and homesickness in in his first few years at the club and it wasn't until Alastair Clarkson took over as coach in 2005, with Andrew 'Jack' Russell as his fitness lieutenant, that he enjoyed his first uninterrupted pre-season campaign.

The path to greatness commenced that summer, but not before Russell worked him over, sometimes berating him in front of the rest of the playing group. It pushed the right buttons.

"Jack realised I had a bit of talent but had a lot of work to do. He gave me a fair few sprays and we head-butted a bit, but he knew how to work me, what to say and when to say it," Hodge said.

"It was guidance from those two, and '05 was the first year I felt I could play good AFL football."

Hodge would win the first of his two Hawk best and fairests that year and a glittering career finally got going.

Before it ended he would play in four premiership sides including three as captain, win two Norm Smith Medals and earn three All Australian selections.

And in the eyes of many, he would eventually surpass Judd.

Luke Hodge announced his impending retirement this week on the eve of his 300th game. Picture: AFL Photos





Luke Hodge's best five finals

2008 Grand Final

The first of his two Norm Smith Medals. He went into the game with fractured ribs, and laughed when Geelong's Mathew Stokes poked his finger into them before the game. Found his groove early and patrolled the backline in imperious fashion, making it difficult for the free-wheeling Cats to have clear pathways to goal.

2014 Grand Final

Led the way for the Hawks with his manic attack on the ball and any unfortunate Sydney player who happened to be near it. He kicked two goals in the second quarter, the second after intercepting a kick-out. It was game-over pretty much from then and a couple of hours later he collected his second Norm Smith Medal.

2007 elimination final

Lance Franklin kicked seven goals including the match-winner, but it was Hodge's class and composure that got the Hawks back into the game in the second term when the deficit blew out to five goals. All on one leg, after he sustained what seemed a serious injury in the first term that sent him from the ground and required treatment.

2015 Grand Final

Hodge polled Norm Smith Medal votes from the selectors in all four of his winning Grand Finals and he was tremendous once again when the Hawks demolished West Coast. The highlight? Unquestionably his audacious banana snap goal from the boundary line in the second quarter. Did he mean it? Nearly two years later they're still talking about it.

2014 preliminary final

The Hawks looked in deep trouble as Port Adelaide came storming back from four goals down late in the final term to get within three points. With 1.05 left on the clock, Brad Ebert looked set to put Port back into attack, but Hodge pulled off a stunning smother and the Hawks were able to hold on from there.