Western Force great Matt Hodgson reflects on club history as former players flood back for 20th anniversary

No man in Western Force history has been as intrinsically-linked to the club as Matt Hodgson. He ran out with the Force for their first game in 2006 against the Brumbies and can still vividly remember watching the Sea of Blue walk down Rokeby Roar towards Subiaco Oval pre-game. He shed tears when the axe hovered overhead before finally dropping on the Force when they were unceremoniously booted from Super Rugby in 2017. And to this day, Hodgson remains with the club as their director of strategic projects, having also served as both their women’s coach and general manager of rugby. For the Force to have reached 20 years, and Hodgson to have been with them every step of the way, is not lost on the 140-gamer. Nor is the fact the Force are expecting around 100 former players, travelling from all corners of the country to join their 20th anniversary celebrations on Saturday prior to the side’s clash with the Brumbies. “It’s pretty exciting. Obviously a special moment in time for a lot of players and a lot of staff over the last 20 years,” Hodgson said. “The current players are going to enjoy some time with the past players and trade some war stories after. “It’s pretty exciting to talk about where you went post-career and stay connected, because it is a difficult time once you retire and you lose that locker room feel. “To stay connected is something special.” Hodgson was joined by the likes of Matt Hodgson, Scott Staniforth, Dane Haylett-Petty, Heath Tessmann, Ian Prior, John Welborn, Luke Doherty, Jonno Lance, Kieran Longbottom, Kyle Godwin and Brad Lacey at the Force’s pre-game captain’s run on Friday. Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins will be among the former players attending Saturday evening’s game, which will be preceded by rugby commentator Mick Colliss reading a poem on the Force’s history and the past players form a guard of honour. ‘Resilience’ is a word synonymous with the Force. When the club were booted from Super Rugby, 8000 gathered at the club’s Floreat base to protest. Hodgson said the club had learnt during their roller-coaster existence of the need to stay connected to their fans. “There has been periods of mixed emotions, definitely a lot of highs, but a lot of low periods in there,” he said. “What we’ve done is definitely learn from what we’ve done in the past, and actually evolve the club and evolve the code and the presence and activate that in the community. “A big one for us is always, how do we give back? It’s pretty special for us this weekend to tie the 20 year season into a ticketing campaign with junior activations, hopefully we have over 3000 junior kids come to the game on Saturday night. “For us as a professional club in Western Australia, is to activate those young kids, male and female, to want to be Western Force players in the future.” The ghosts and pain of the Force’s removal in 2017 still linger for the club, even if they inevitably survived. Hodgson, who played his last game for the club in what was at the time their final Super Rugby match against the Waratahs, said the 2017 team was the closest group of teammates he had ever been a part of. “That 2017 team is something that is some of the closest players you’ll ever get,” he said. “Ben McCalman, Pek Cowan all those players and a lot more, actually went through a lot, and we tried not to show it publicly. “We went through it privately, and connected so much off the field. “The performance we put on the field each week under that much stress and the unknown is a bond — that playing group and coaching and staff group — I don’t think will ever be seen again in Western Australia. “It’s pretty special, and it’s pretty important that we recognise what we went through in 2017, but also how we came out in 2018 to where we are today.” Hodgson said the connection between the past and present was a pillar the club wanted to build on moving forward. “It’s massive. It’s something we probably didn’t do well before we were removed from the comp in 2017,” he said. “But it’s something that we’re really focused on, using a lot of past knowledge, both on and off the field, but then also connecting the players. “The players learn a lot off each other. Jeremy Williams sitting down with Nathan Sharpe, I don’t think you can buy that anywhere else in the world, giving Jeremy that opportunity as a young captain to talk to 100-cap Test player that’s captained his country is pretty special. “To actually have someone that’s worn the boots or the jersey before you to actually put you on a path here is pretty important.”