Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko has given a tangible example of the impact Luke Hodge has had on the club culture this year.
Hodge was brought to the club after retiring at the Hawks to help lead the young Lions and Zorko showed the affect the four-time premiership player has had in his short time there.
“We were down in Tasmania on our preseason camp and we were staying at UTAS university and we’d just had a tough session,” Zorko told SEN Breakfast.
“The fridge was available for whatever you wanted. A couple of the young kids went in and grabbed a can of coke and started ordering their lunch.
“Hodgey goes nah, nah, nah – grabbed about six bottles of water and just walked the line and said we’re past this stage now boys, let’s be fair dinkum.
“Since that moment, I can’t remember seeing a bloke with a soft drink in his hand, it instantly had an impact.
“It’s just a little thing like that, but automatically it changes a mind shift of what people do and really care about themselves and really look after their nutrition.”
Zorko said he and the leaders are driving Hodge’s example to the younger players as much as they can.
“It changes things because every time (I) go to the fridge, like, what impact is this going to have if let’s say Cam Rayner watches me grab a can of coke, then why can’t he grab one?” he said.
“So it’s not just the on field stuff, we know his (Hodge’s) leadership is amazing, his off field stuff and his work with the backline and the way he was able to bring them together helped them hold up so strong down there.”
The club captain added the Lions have focused on diet and nutrition this year more than they have in previous years.
“I think as a whole team, nutrition has been one of the biggest turning points at our club this year,” Zorko said.
“We added a new dietitian. One thing that’s really important with that is the older guys buy in and set that example and Hodge certainly led the charge by that.”
Hodge is set to go around again in 2019 and could bring up his 350th game late in the season.