Kym Hodgeman (born 30 July 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his playing career with Glenelg in the SANFL from 1974 - 1980 & secondly for a 5 year stint with in the Australian Football League (VFL) from 1981 - 1985, before he returned to Glenelg 1986 where tasted a premiership success, playing again with the Tigers until his retirement in 1990.

SANFL career

A goalkicking

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, Hodgeman established a reputation as a skillful and courageous player. He won the Reserves grade Magarey Medal in 1974 despite spending almost half the season playing in Glenelg's league team. Hodgeman won Glenelg's best and fairest award in 1977 and 1978 and also topped the club's goal kicking for seasons in 1978 (51 goals) and 1979 (32 goals). In 1978, Hodgeman won the League's highest individual award, the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Will ...

for "fairest and most brilliant" player, polling one vote more than three-time winner of the award,

Russell Ebert Russell Frank Ebert (22 June 1949 – 5 November 2021) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football in South Australia. Ebert is the only player to hav ...

. By winning the medal Hodgeman became one of just a handful of players who would win the award in both the SANFL League and Reserves competitions. In 1979 Hodgeman was selected as an

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

following that year's

State of Origin Carnival Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules football, Australian rules, most notably of the British colonisation of Australia, colonies and later States and ter ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

VFL career

Like many South Australian players of the time, Hodgeman was lured to the more lucrative VFL at the peak of his career. In late 1977, he signed a Form Four which tied him to the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

when he chose to move to Victoria; but, in 1980, while Hodgeman was still at Glenelg, Carlton traded his Form Four to as part of a deal to secure

Greg Wells Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...

. Hodgeman had no desire to play for Melbourne, and objected to Carlton's treatment of his contract, likening it to horse trading, so he turned his back on both clubs and signed with in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Hodgeman played five seasons with the Kangaroos, winning their best and fairest award, the Syd Barker Medal (and also best clubman) in 1984. Over his five seasons in the VFL Hodgeman played in 91 games, kicking 133 goals.

Later SANFL career

Hodgeman returned to Glenelg in 1986, playing in a winning Grand Final side that year against

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

. He won his third Glenelg best and fairest award in 1989, before retiring as a player at the end of 1990 following the Tigers' loss to Port Adelaide in the Grand Final. Following the recruitment of the Glenelg coach,

Graham Cornes Graham Studley Cornes OAM (born 31 March 1948 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports program that he ...

, by the newly formed

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

, Hodgeman coached the Glenelg side in 1991 and 1992, taking them to the Grand Final in 1992 where again they were defeated by Port Adelaide. Hodgeman was inducted into the Glenelg Hall of Fame in 2002 and the same year was one of 113 inaugural inductees into the

South Australian Football Hall of Fame The South Australian Football Hall of Fame enshrines those who have made a most significant contribution to the game of Australian Football. The Hall of Fame was established in 2002 when 114 outstanding individuals became inaugural inductees. S ...

Personal life

Kym Hodgeman is the uncle of current Glenelg footballer Ben Moore and former North Melbourne,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and player

Scott Welsh Scott Nathan Welsh (born 7 December 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the nephew of former Glenelg and North Melbourne player Kym Hodgeman, and cousin of former Glenelg and ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgeman, Kym Glenelg Football Club players Australian rules footballers from South Australia North Melbourne Football Club players Glenelg Football Club coaches Syd Barker Medal winners All-Australians (1953–1988) South Australian State of Origin players Magarey Medal winners South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Living people 1956 births