Justin Hodges

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Justin Hodges

Personal information
Full name	Justin Hodges
Date of birth	May 25, 1982
Place of birth	Cairns, Australia
Height	1.90 m
Weight	98 kg
Position	Centre
Club information
Current club	Brisbane Broncos
Youth clubs
	Cairns
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
2000-2001 2002-2004 2005-present	Brisbane Sydney Brisbane	18 (24) 58 (104) 38 (86)
Representative teams**
2002-2006 2006	Queensland Australia	5 (4) 4 (4)
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only and correct as of October 1 2006. ** Representative team caps and points correct as of November 25 2006.

Justin Hodges was born in Cairns, Queensland, Australia on May 25, 1982. He is a rugby league player. He first played rugby league in his local junior team, the Cairns Kangaroos. He has a build of 190cm and 98kg.

Hodges played his first game of first-grade rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos in 2000, against the Canberra Raiders. The Broncos went on to win their 5th premiership later that year.

In 2002, Hodges signed with the Sydney Roosters. He played in the 2002 Grand Final against the New Zealand Warriors, which the Roosters won, as well as the 2003 and 2004 Finals, which they lost to the Penrith Panthers and Canterbury Bulldogs. He played there until the end of the 2004 season, then returned to the Broncos.

Hodges played his debut representative game in the 2002 State of Origin series. His performance will be remembered not because of his good play, but because of the embarrassing panic pass he threw within his own goal area, from which the New South Wales Blues scored. However, Hodges made a return to form, and in 2006 scored a stunning try when he intercepted a NSW pass and ran 85 metres to score. Queensland then went on to win the game 30-6.

However, after his sterling game for the Queensland Maroons during the second State Of Origin match, Hodges was unfortunately injured when backing up against the Manly Sea Eagles only a few days after playing Origin. The Maroons side was staggered by this loss, and found it difficult without Hodges' talent in their centres. Despite this, they went on to win the game, and consequently, the series, when Broncos teammates Brent Tate and Darren Lockyer (captain) both scored late tries to pull Queensland 2 points ahead. His injury sidelined him for over 3 weeks, before he made his return against the North Queensland Cowboys, which the Broncos lost 26-10.

The Bronco's form continued to slide, until coach Wayne Bennett moved Hodges from the centres to fullback, in place of injured team mate Karmichael Hunt. The team cast off their slump, and made it into the 2006 NRL Grand Final, which was played on the 1st of October, against minor premiers Melbourne Storm. In the 20th minute of the grand final, of the back of a skillful Lockyer inside pass, Hodges scored a try and Brisbane went on to win the grand final 15-8.

[edit] Career Stats

Tries: 53

Goals: 1/1

Field Goals: 0/0

Total Points: 210

115 NRL/ARL Games:

3 Games for Queensland

56 Games for the Broncos (2/2 Premiership)

55 Games for the Roosters (1/3 Premierships)

2 Games for Australia(Tri-Nations)