Former Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch hopes Luke Hodge ends up at the Lions, saying it would be a major boost for the AFL strugglers.
Only weeks after ending his storied playing career at Hawthorn, Hodge has confirmed he is in discussions with Brisbane.
His good friend and Lions coach Chris Fagan has floated the idea of Hodge playing for at least one more season and then becoming a coach.
But the former Hawks captain and four-time premiership player says a lot needs to happen before he would consider heading north.
Fagan, the former Hawthorn football boss, took over as Lions coach late last year after Leppitsch was sacked.
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While Brisbane finished last this year, they showed considerable improvement in the second half of the season and have a lot of young talent in their list.
Leppitsch said if Hodge ends up at Brisbane, it would have the same sort of morale boost as when Leigh Matthews went to the club as their senior coach.
Two years after Matthews' arrival, Leppitsch was a key member of the Brisbane team that won the first of three-straight premierships from 2001-03.
"I don't want to stand here and talk about Brisbane, but he'd be a massive appointment," said Leppitsch, now an assistant coach at grand finalists Richmond.
"It would be a big thing for them.
"I remember when Leigh Matthews got to the club in '99, it was really big for morale.
"Something like that would be perfect for what needs to happen up there."
