On-baller Luke Hodgkin played alongside his brother in Heidelberg’s 2016 Northern Football League premiership under former Albury star Charles Gaylard.

“He’s a similar style (to me), probably a little bit slower, I’m quicker than someone in the team,” Jarrod Hodgkin laughed.

“He’s an accumulator of the footy, a solid midfielder who runs all day.”

Jarrod Hodgkin is a quick thinker though and clever decision maker, so if his brother has the same attributes, Raiders won’t be short of heady players around the ball.

“That will probably stitch us up, if one comes along we’ll have a look at him,” the first-year mentor said of the off-season recruiting.

It’s been a rollercoaster time for last season’s preliminary finalists, off the field.

The club made the first big signing of the season in Barooga ruckman Brodie A’Vard just a week after the grand final.

But the loss of the three Neagle brothers this week, albeit expected, to South Australian club Central District is a bodyblow to the club’s hopes of staying in the top three.

“It hurts losing quality players, but quality blokes as well, they’re popular guys,” Jarrod Hodgkin said.

“It’s exciting times for the family as well mate, hopefully they can go across and do really well and when they come back, they come back better players and hopefully they’ll have some unfinished business at Raiders to take care of when they do come back.”

Raiders were just 57 seconds from sealing a grand final berth until unlikely Albury hero Brady Morton landed the match-winner.

Wangaratta then proved too strong in the preliminary final.

Jydon Neagle was one of the league’s top five players, Matt grabbed the attention of a handful of AFL clubs, while Jaxon was developing.