AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Full name
Peter John Hudson
Known as
Peter Hudson
Born
19 February 1946 (age 77)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 62d
Last game: 31y 210d
Height and weight
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 92 kg
Senior clubs
New Norfolk; Hawthorn; Glenorchy
Jumper numbers
Hawthorn: 26, 1
Recruited from
New Norfolk (1967); Glenorchy (1977)
Hall of fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame (1996) Legend (1999); Tasmanian Football Hall Of Fame (2005)
Family links
Paul Hudson (Son)Simon Minton-Connell (Nephew)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Norfolk | TANFL | 1963-1966 | 78 | 378 | 4.85 | — | — | — | — | — |
Hawthorn | V/AFL | 1967-1974, 1977 | 129 | 727 | 5.64 | 58% | 12.23 | 1.36 | 6.06 | 78 |
Glenorchy | TANFL | 1975-1976, 1978-1979, 1981 | 81 | 616 | 7.60 | — | — | — | — | — |
TANFL | 1963-1966, 1975-1976, 1978-1979, 1981 | 159 | 994 | 6.25 | — | — | — | — | — | |
V/AFL | 1967-1974, 1977 | 129 | 727 | 5.64 | 58% | 12.23 | 1.36 | 6.06 | 78 | |
Total | 1963-1979, 1981 | 288 | 1721 | 5.98 | — | — | — | — | — |
AFL: 7,909th player to appear, 1,685th most games played, 20th most goals kickedHawthorn: 571st player to appear, 98th most games played, 3rd most goals kicked
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Statistically the most prolific full forward in the history of the game, Peter Hudson can also lay strong claims to having been the best. All told, Hudson played a total of 288 senior games for New Norfolk, Hawthorn and Glenorchy between 1963 and 1981, netting 1,721 goals at an average of 5.98 goals per game. He also kicked a further 298 goals in other games such as interstate matches for Tasmania and Victoria, intrastate football for the TFL, night games, state and Australian championship matches, and so forth, for an Australian record career total of 2,019 senior goals.
The key to Hudson's success was an indefatigable desire to gain possession of the football, which he did repeatedly by virtue of his strength, vigorous, pacy leading, and excellent handling and marking skills. Topping this off, he was a meticulously accurate kick for goal, albeit relying, almost exclusively, on an old fashioned tumble punt which would have scored no points whatsoever for 'artistic merit', and which seemed outmoded even in Hudson's era. Not that 'artistic merit' ever contributed measurably to a premiership, of course.
As a coach, Hudson took charge of Hobart in 1986 and remained at the helm for two years, steering the side to consecutive unsuccessful finals campaigns.
When the official Tasmanian 'Team of the Century' was announced in June 2004, no one was surprised to find Peter Hudson named as full forward. He was inducted as an inaugural icon of the Tasmanian game the following year.
Author - John Devaney