Former Adelaide ruckman Ben Hudson didn’t grow up dreaming of playing footy.
By his own admission Hudson, now 43, “stumbled” into the game as a mature age ruck and planned to play around the nation in state leagues.
But he was quickly scouted and his path changed, leading him from Werribee Football Club in the VFL to the Crows.
“It (footy) certainly wasn’t high on my radar,” Hudson told Triple M’s The Crows Radio Show.
“I went to Uni and stumbled into footy again because it was right next to where I was living on campus.
“From there, I went to Mount Gravatt (Queensland), I finished my physio degree and I was originally from Werribee and my grandmother’s house is just across the road from the footy club.
“I got a job down there as a physio and then got an opportunity at VFL level. I probably wanted to see how far I could go.
“The original plan was to tour Australia through the state leagues but then it got a bit more serious from there.
“I think I got lucky because I was a bit taller than everyone else.”
Hudson’s talent was discovered by ex-Adelaide recruiting manager James Fantasia and the Crows selected him with pick No. 58 at the 2003 National Draft.
He went on to play 55 games for the Crows from 2004-2007.
Hudson said he had many fond memories of playing with the Crows.
“I am very grateful (and) I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Adelaide for the three years I was there,” Hudson said.
“I think the diversity of Adelaide is something I enjoyed and also how seriously everyone took their football.
“I was from Queensland and my wife and I were taken back with how serious it was.
“When you’re winning it’s great, but when you’re losing it’s not so much fun.
“On-field, I don’t think I ever lost to Port Adelaide while at the Crows, so I could always walk a little bit taller and it was a great time.”
Hudson was traded to the Western Bulldogs at the end of the 2007 AFL season and he spent four years at the kennel, before signing with Brisbane and spending a year with the Lions.
He was then picked up in the Rookie Draft by Collingwood in 2013 and played seven games for the Magpies before announcing his retirement.
Hudson is now a ruck/midfield coach for Brisbane.
“I was lucky enough to play with a lot of greats at all the four clubs,” Hudson said.
“I just jumped on and enjoyed the ride.”
Also on the Crows Show, Sauce and Thommo spoke to defender Mitch Hinge who revealed who does most of the housework between him and Ben Keays.
Tune in this Sunday at 9am on Triple M Adelaide for the next instalment of Sauce and Thomo.
