Hodgson wins major Force award

Hodgson wins major Force award

By Justin Chadwick, AAP July 2, 2010, 9:31 pm

Western Force flanker Matt Hodgson capped a remarkable Super 14 campaign by winning the club's Player of the Year award for the second straight year on Friday night.
Hodgson featured in every minute of every game last season and played all three backrow positions with aplomb as the Force struggled to cope with a crippling injury crisis.
The 29-year-old's sensational form at Super rugby level was rewarded with a Wallabies call-up for the recent tour, where he finally earned his maiden Test cap.
Hodgson notched 236 votes to win the Force award ahead of skipper Nathan Sharpe (230), David Pocock (205), James O'Connor (144) and Brett Sheehan (101).
"It's a huge honour to again be recognised by your peers for the effort you put in," Hodgson said.
"It honestly comes as a surprise to me after some great individual performances in the team.
"The likes of Nathan Sharpe, who once again was a fantastic leader and performer, and also David Pocock, who made a huge difference to the squad when he came back from injury, both would have been worthy recipients.
"This was definitely the hardest Super 14 campaign I've ever been involved in, particularly those first seven or so games with so many quality players out of action.
"While injury did hurt the team it enabled us to blood a lot of young players so when we had our full complement on deck we were able to show what we could do in the latter part of the season.
"Being able to take on more of a leadership and guidance role was something I really enjoyed. I think that improved my rugby as well and I hope to continue with that next year."
Hodgson also took home the Force Man award which recognises the player that best represents the team's values both on and off the field, while 22-year-old back rower Ben McCalman was named the Force Rising Star.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...r-force-award/