Max Kenneth Hudghton (born 2 September 1976 in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is a former

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er in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

. Selected at pick 15 in the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History ...

, Hudghton was a debutant who made his name in the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

's 1997 season. Hudghton played in 14 of 22 matches in the 1997 AFL Premiership Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda Football Club qualified in first position for the 1997 AFL Finals Series, winning the club’s 2nd Minor Premiership and 1st McClelland Trophy. Hudghton was a versatile and tall defender who played on forwards of nearly any size. His defensive skills were an important part of the St Kilda team over his career. Of the regular fullbacks in 2006, Hudghton conceded fewest goals. While his disposals average of 10 was below average for a defender, Hudghton's disposal efficiency of 90% was elite. With only 32 marks from opposition kicks in the past two years, he prefers to spoil and in 2006 he effected the fourth-most spoils in the league. In 2008, Hudghton shut down key players such as

Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...

Warren Tredrea Warren Gary Tredrea (born 24 December 1978) is a former Australian Rules Footballer with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and former Weekday Sports Presenter on ''Nine News Adelaide''. Since his retire ...

Russell Robertson Russell "Robbo" Robertson (born 24 November 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club. Robertson is one of the Melbourne's great goalkickers, being one of just four players in ...

Brendan Fevola Brendan Fevola (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Fevola is regarded as one of the most effective ...

Barry Hall Barry Hall (born 8 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club, Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is considered to be one of the be ...

and

Lance Franklin Lance Franklin (born 30 January 1987), also known as Buddy Franklin, is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 20 ...

in the home and away season. Hudghton held Franklin and Fevola to nine goals through four games (2.25 goals per game); a remarkable achievement given their combined 201 goal haul at 4.57 goals per game. He was included in the 2008

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 by ...

squad of 40. Hudghton played in 7 of 22 matches in the 2009 AFL Premiership Season home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the 2009 AFL Finals Series, winning the club’s 3rd Minor Premiership. On 27 September 2009, the day after St Kilda lost to Geelong in the grand final, Hudghton announced his retirement on the stage of Etihad Stadium in front of several thousand supporters at a family day. Hudghton played seven senior games in the 2009 season and was not selected for the grand final. He played 234 AFL games in 13 AFL seasons, all for St Kilda. On 12 October 2009, Hudghton was announced as an assistant coach at the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

as a part-time defensive coach for the 2010 season. Hudghton returned to St Kilda as an assistant coach for the 2012 season.

Trivia

In 2001, Hudghton appeared on a special sports edition of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

''. He was voted off in Round 2.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudghton, Max 1976 births Living people St Kilda Football Club players Western Magpies Australian Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Brisbane Diamond Creek Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australia international rules football team players