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Whateley

The Leadership Portfolio with Luke Hodge (14.04.26)

14 Apr 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 11.965 Unknown

Tuesdays begin one way, and that's the leadership portfolio. And there's no better way to unpack the nuances of what's ahead than our four-time Premiership Hawk, Luke Hodge, joining us. Hodge, welcome again to Waitley.

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12.687 - 31.422 Luke Hodge

Morning, Tommy. What a disappointing way to finish Gather Round. I look forward to Gather Round every year. It's always a great event. Love it over there in South Australia. And then we get to the end of it and from the final game we come out and all we can talk about is the Nick Foot and Butters conversation or miscommunication between the two.

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31.402 - 57.105 Unknown

um put that to the side what a what a fantastic few days of football yeah it's something about port adelaide port adelaide's colorful gather around history so uh one year i think it was a friday night um finlayson uh delivered a homophobic slur and then last year the famous uh the famous win then willie rioli put out a social media post and then and then sunday night again something about port and gather around just brings out the biggest stories yeah it is and i think um

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57.288 - 73.018 Luke Hodge

Look, I think footy's there to be spoken about. I guess the big building to last year's Gather Round was the Kenny and the plane with Ginnivan, which was the massive talk. Still can't believe you got fined for that, by the way. I fell off my seat when I heard that and then they go and promote it the next year.

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73.979 - 89.794 Luke Hodge

But yeah, this is a confusing one because you sit back and Nick Foote's umpired me for a long period of time. And for me, I just think it's miscommunication. What he heard and what Bud has said, both believe, they've both been honest.

89.814 - 106.571 Luke Hodge

And we sort of sit back and go, well, I don't think Nick's lying because if you have an umpire feel that a player's abused him for cheating, he has to take this ground. And on the flip side, butters are sitting on, I did not say that. This is, I can understand where you're coming from, but I did not say that. So hopefully we'll get to the tribunal.

Chapter 2: What was the Zak Butters incident and its implications?

107.492 - 118.704 Luke Hodge

I don't want Nick Foote's reputation to be dragged through the Coliseum because when I umpired, he was one who you would communicate with. You'd have a banter. If you did get a bit heated and abuse him, he could tell you to pull up and then continue on.

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118.724 - 134.258 Luke Hodge

So look, I feel that the tribunal, as much as we don't want to see this going to the tribunal, hopefully we get there and we understand that what Nick heard wasn't what he thought, and Zach can go and play next week. So it is a hard one, but I think if any umpire...

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134.542 - 157.292 Luke Hodge

hear someone accusing them of cheating or getting bribed the afl is telling them to take it they have to report them so he's doing what he's told to do but i think we're all sitting here going what he heard was a little bit different to what zach's what zach said by the reaction of what zach had on on the ground as well how difficult is it out there in the middle when it comes to communicating with umpires and teammates how likely is it that there was a miscommunication and just the wires being crossed

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157.829 - 175.905 Luke Hodge

Well, you think about it. You know when you're doing the media, when you've got someone in your ear, you're trying to talk, you're listening to what your commentator's saying, you've got your producer in the background talking. Sometimes I'll get BT asking me a question and I don't hear what he said because my mind's on the next phase or talking to someone else.

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175.885 - 192.257 Luke Hodge

And you think Nick in his position, he's got other umpires in his head. He's got someone else. He's got all the players. He's got the crowd. He's just paid a free kick where probably a few players were disagreeing with the free kick. It possibly would have been a bit tiggy touchwood considering some of the other free kicks are let go.

192.237 - 206.297 Luke Hodge

I can totally understand that what was said may have gone to him a different way, but his reaction was still what the AFL are telling him to do if he heard what he thought he heard. So, yeah, hopefully it all gets cleared out tonight.

206.398 - 220.438 Luke Hodge

It is disappointing for the audio because the audio could have come back and we could have snaffled it straight away, but I've heard the audio 25 times and I still can't make out what it said. The pay or paid, it sounds somewhat similar to that, but it's not long enough for us to get a decent understanding from it.

220.418 - 228.265 Unknown

How much credence do you take from Zach Butter's reaction? He was utterly shocked, wasn't he? Not just immediately, but also post-game when he spoke to Xander Maguire on Channel 7.

229.086 - 249.244 Luke Hodge

Yeah, I think that's where a lot of people always, a lot of players plead their innocence, especially when it gets to the tribunal. I know I've done that a few times. But I think you've got to look at it. And Zach is someone who, I remember when Zach came in, I was towards the end and he was a lippy bugger. He was a smart aleck. But you just liked him because he said,

Chapter 3: How does miscommunication affect player-umpire interactions?

342.982 - 361.8 Luke Hodge

I had a lot of disagreements with umpires because back when I was playing, you're probably a little bit more to be open. They didn't have the microphones back then. But on the flip side, I remember Goldspink, who would give just as good to the players as what he would receive from the players.

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361.82 - 373.765 Luke Hodge

So the umpires have sort of had to ease up a little bit because obviously they've been miked and everyone hears what they're saying. But also players have had to respect the umpires a little bit more of late. But I had numerous run-ins. There's a couple of them. Give us your best line.

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373.926 - 392.064 Luke Hodge

There was one down in Tassie when I think I gave a free kick to Gaz Ablett and I've let the umpire know, yeah, effing Gaz, just as a joke, but that was more banter. and the umpire got it on the recording. There was another one where I was playing on Paddy Dangerfield and they gave away a free kick, and I was joking with Razor, and Razor gave me banter back.

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392.144 - 397.37 Luke Hodge

So there's ones where you're serious, but there's also the good umpires let you know, hey, you're pushing the limit, just settle down.

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397.41 - 410.164 Luke Hodge

And I got to that stage multiple times throughout my career, but you get that relationship with the umpires where you know who you can push, and then when they give you a certain look, you know, hang on, I better just pull up here because I'm going to give away a 50 or might even get fined.

410.144 - 427.668 Unknown

We'll see how it plays out tonight, but it's certainly a heavy day at the AFL. Of course, the Collard case will be heard at three, and then the tribunal with Zach Butters and Nick Foote, who's become a household name among casual footy fans in the space of 24 hours, will be heard a little bit later on. Let's broaden out, Hodgie, after the break. This is Waitley for Australian Made.

428.009 - 446.778 Unknown

When you buy certified Australian Made, you're backing local businesses, jobs, and our economy right here. The Hyundai open line is very much open, 1-300-736-736. Enjoy early deals at Hyundai.com. Pre-O fees are now at participating Hyundai dealers. Stay with us with Luke Hodge. It's the Leadership Portfolio with Luke Hodge.

446.798 - 466.828 Unknown

We've covered the big news of the day, which is the tribunal hearing likely later on, Zach Butters versus Nick Foote. Essendon had a fantastic win. Hodge, they broke a long drought on Saturday against Melbourne. And Andrew McGrath, as their captain, has been much maligned across the early parts of the season. But he is playing a big role in the midfield.

466.848 - 473.057 Unknown

Take us inside a club when it's struggling and the role of a captain and how significant that can be to turning form around.

Chapter 4: What role does Zach Butters play in the Port Adelaide team?

1004.717 - 1022.901 Luke Hodge

He's quick and he's strong. But yeah, if you talk to the people over at Freeman, they praise him highly for his leadership. You sit down and have a talk with him. And what you see is not what you get. On the footy field, you see the big long hair and you see him running around showing his body everywhere. But when you speak to him, he's softly spoken. Really nice guy.

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1023.302 - 1031.518 Unknown

Are we sleeping on Freo? They're second on the ladder and they've got West Coast, Carlton and Essendon in three of the next five. How good are they?

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1033.085 - 1047.845 Luke Hodge

Well, I think a lot of us tip them as top four this year. I think their list is, their forward line is outstanding. They needed a little bit of X factor throughout the middle and they've been able to find that with Reid sort of going in there when they've had obviously Sorong and Brayshaw.

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1048.966 - 1070.127 Luke Hodge

The big discussion of Darcy and Jackson and we know Kane loves that discussion on how good Jackson is without Darcy. We're just waiting for them to take that step. And I think what they did learn last year, like they should never have lost that final against Gold Coast. Being up at that position, let them come back. You learn a lot from those losses. So I think we're sort of sitting back going.

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1070.147 - 1077.638 Luke Hodge

If they have learned what we expect them to be, then top four is definitely a chance. And if they get some home finals over there, look out.

1077.618 - 1090.378 Unknown

Yeah, yeah. And the way they're playing and the way they're winning ugly now is probably a... It's a distinction from what Adelaide are doing. Adelaide are playing some good footy but unable to win week to week. I know they beat Carlton, whereas Fremantle seem to be winning ugly, which is important.

1091.168 - 1107.365 Luke Hodge

Yeah, it is. And that's the thing. As you look at teams, teams' mindset is if you shut down Sorong, who's the next person to step up? And we've seen Brayshaw do that a bit. But what you do need, if you look at the depth of what the Brisbane Lions have, Freo need that. They need more blokes going through to be able to handle it.

1107.385 - 1123.595 Luke Hodge

If Sorong gets shut down, if Brayshaw's having a bad game, who is the third, fourth, fifth midfielder that they can throw in there as an option for the coaches? They can still have that impact because what we've found over the last, two, three years is when those guys get shut down, they haven't had that person to step up.

1123.936 - 1138.098 Unknown

Hodgie, you were the topic of discussion last night on a particular TV show. I want to get to that in a few moments' time. Luke Hodges here for Alex Scott and staff to sell your livestock or sell your home. It's now time for the latest news headlines with Nathan Gardner. Thank you, Nathan. I want to ask you about the Hawks, Hodgie.

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