Brett Hodgson

Campbelltown junior turned down a position with the newly-merged W’Tigers in 2000 to secure a fullback position with the Eels. The former Wests utility was a lethal, attacking fullback under coach Brian Smith at P’matta and scored two tries in the club’s 30-24 loss to Newcastle in the 2001 grand final. Hodgson made his State of Origin debut; the image of him being monstered over the sideline in a tackle by Gorden Tallis is one memory of that series. However, Hodgson was quickly out of favour with coach Smith and returned ‘home’ to the W’Tigers where he regained his best form in 2004. In 2005, the year W’Tigers came from nowhere to win the premiership Hodgson was the season’s leading pointscorer – 308pts (15t, 124g) – which is a good indication of the impact the diminutive fullback had on his team and on the premiership that year. In 2006 he returned to State of Origin and handled the fallout from throwing the fumbled pass that resulted in the winning try to Queensland captain Darren Lockyer with great maturity.