Ben Hudson

[The Underdog]

Wouldn't be surprised to see us trade for an experienced ruck from another team as well as drafting a young ruck. Got a bad feeling David Hille may end up on our list. I like Hudson but agree that he's probably that bit too old to really be worth it.

[southerncross]

Just found this article on Hudson

BEN Hudson describes himself as "a bit of a battler". "I suppose I've had a different journey than others," the Adelaide ruckman explains.
"I certainly don't have the skills of a McLeod and others like him."
But he has the heart. What Hudson says he lacks in skills he more than makes up for with grit, determination and sheer hard work.
The numbers prove it.
Remarkably for a player of his size (199cm, 105kg), Hudson ranks third in the AFL for hardball-gets – a key statistic usually dominated by tough, in-and-under midfielders.
After 18 rounds, Hudson has an amazing 92 hardball-gets at an average of five per game.
This is just five less than competition leader Nathan Foley of Richmond (97) and three shy of West Coast superstar Chris Judd (95).
Significantly, Hudson – who won seven hardballs in the stunning win against Port Adelaide on Saturday – is the only ruckman in the top 25 in the AFL for hardball-gets. He has won a whopping 30 more hardballs than any other big man with Geelong's Brad Ottens his nearest rival on 62.
At Adelaide, Hudson has almost twice as many hardball-gets as any team-mate – midfielder Scott Thompson is second with 52 – while he has 25 more hardball wins than any Port Adelaide player.
Making his performance even more remarkable is that 28-year-old Hudson has produced such wonderful numbers in his first full season back from a knee reconstruction when he could have been forgiven for being a bit tentative.
A hardball-get is described by Champion Data – the AFL's official statistician – as "a ball won in a 50-50 contest under direct pressure from an opponent".
Thirty-six of Hudson's hardball wins have come directly from ruck contests – a dying art since the AFL started awarding free kicks against players who are tackled while taking the ball out of the ruck.
"I think that's one of my strengths – winning the hardball," Hudson said.
"It's something I probably do naturally. I like getting a bit dirty in-and-under with all the smaller guys.
"There's other aspects of my game I need to work on, especially my contested marking but winning the hardball is definitely something I do pride myself on."
The desire to "get dirty" comes from Hudson's blue-collar work ethic. The football journeyman was not drafted to the AFL until the Crows swooped with the No. 58 pick at the 2003 national draft when Hudson was aged 24.
Until Adelaide shocked him and the football fraternity, Hudson was running around in the VFL with Werribee after starting his football with Mt Gravatt in Queensland. He was a late starter to the game after previously reaching a high level at basketball.
While he doesn't often get plaudits, the lion-hearted Hudson, who played his 50th AFL game against Essendon in round 17, has been a Goliath for the Crows this season.
He has shouldered the ruck responsibility in the absence of injured Rhett Biglands, who has not played since snapping an anterior cruciate ligament in last year's finals, and Ivan Maric (hip) and John Meesen (knee), who missed most of the first half of the season with serious injuries.
"It is like having another midfielder, the way he goes in and under," Adelaide midfielder Chris Knights said of Hudson's extraordinary ability to win the hardball. "It is priceless for us having a contest up in the air and then knowing he is going to provide something when it hits the deck as well."
And it just might add a few dollars to Hudson's next contract, which he is currently negotiating.