Demon Hodge making most of being unleashedFriday, July 5, 2013 - 10:34 AM - by Chris Pike

BRETT Hodge has been able to turn himself into one of the best ball-winning midfielders in the WAFL after being perhaps the competition's best run-with player and he is a key reason why Perth is currently sitting in fourth position and appears set for a first finals appearance since 1997.

Hodge made his league debut with the Demons in 2010 and immediately showed the ability to run with some of the WAFL's best running players and shut them down, or at the very least quell their influence.

However, this year with prime movers like Ross Young, Leon Davis and Aaron Elari moving on from Perth, Hodge has been called upon to play as a ball-winning midfielder in his own right and it has paid off handsomely for coach Damien McMahon and the Demons.

Hodge has gone from averaging just 13.5 possessions last year to 22.6 this season and without question he has become one of the most prolific midfielders in the competition helping to set up the prolific forward-line of Paul Bevan, Brennan Stack, Kyle Reimers and Fraser McInnes.

Even though the 22-year-old did well in his tagging role, he has enjoyed his football a lot more being able to go and win his own football.

"I've enjoyed my footy a lot more this year. Once I started playing senior footy I was a bit in the back-line playing on the smaller forwards, and eventually I moved into the midfield but only as a tagger," Hodge said.

"I did that the last couple of years, but this year we had a few players leave like Ross Young who was our main midfielder, and that's given me the chance to play as a genuine mid.

"I've relished that role and really enjoyed playing this year. It's good to be able to just find my own footy and not having to worry too much about a tight tag."

As for Perth's 2013 season overall, the Demons kicked the last two goals of the game last Saturday at Fremantle Oval to beat South Fremantle by 10 points to improve to a 7-5 record to remain in fourth position after a run of three straight losses prior to previous week's win over Peel Thunder.

"It was a very important win. South Fremantle was very good on their home ground and caused us to turn the ball over with the pressure they were putting on us," Hodge said.

"They played a great brand of footy to really test us and I guess we were quite lucky to get over the line in the end because we didn’t play too well."

While obviously Hodge and the rest of the leadership group at Perth knows that it can't afford to look beyond this Saturday's crucial clash with Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval, they do know that a win over the black-and-whites and wins the next two weeks over Subiaco and Peel prior to the bye in Round 19 would put them in prime position for a first finals appearance this century.

"In the leadership group we try and look at a block of games as well as individualise them. We tend to have a look at the next three games to see what our main goal will be out of those, and we also have a high focus obviously on week by week," he said.

"We have looked at the fixtures over the next few weeks and these next two in particular are massive. If we can win these next two with East Perth having two byes in a row it can really set us up for the end of the season.

"If we can knock off Swans this week they have a tough game against Claremont so we can be a few wins ahead of them, so we know these next couple of weeks are really important."

It was much-publicised that Perth lost a host of players coming into 2013 including Young, Davis, Elari, Jarrod Kayler-Thomson, Andrew McDougall, Tim Noakes, Ben Noakes, Matt Rogers, Llane Spaanderman, Aaron Zucconi and Chris Billings.

The result, though, has been a playing group this season under McMahon plus his assistants like Adam Pickering, Michael Broadbridge and Trevor Williams that has been playing strong, disciplined, team-oriented and consistent football also for the first time this century on a regular basis.

Hodge feels that with CEO Marty Atkins leading from the front not allowing any players not 100 per cent committed to the cause remaining at the club has made a huge impact, and now the results are showing on the field as a consequence.

"Coming into this year we had 25 players go from the club and had quite a few players come in, and some new coaching staff. We are just all about the players putting out as hard as they can and being low maintenance," he said.

"In the past, we've had players dictating what the club does and how much they get paid, and what happens. That wasn’t the right way to go about it. Marty Atkins has come in and said that if you want to be here, then be here but if you don’t, then go. I think the results are showing.

"We have a few standout players, but at the end of the day we are all contributing and playing a good brand of team footy. It clearly works. Even after 25 players have left, we weren’t doing any good with them here so the improvement in the culture this year in the team and coaching staff has been huge."