Due to injury and inconsistency Hodges was unable to fully reproduce his best form at the elite level, although there were glimpses of his potential - such as his 11-goal haul against eventual Grand Finalists Geelong in 1992.
Despite that groundbreaking performance, finishing the season as Adelaide's leading goalkicker with 48 goals and boasting a highly respectable AFL career goal average of 3 per game to that point, in 1993 Hodges' position in the team was compromised by the emergence of glamour spearhead Tony Modra.