The 250-game veteran, who retains the captaincy, insists he would never jeopardise the development of the club's youngsters by staying too long. He is contracted only for this season.

"With football, once you get to 30, and you start to get a few soft tissues, it's a cross. But I haven't had a soft-tissue [injury] for a long time," Hodge said on Thursday.

"I haven't missed a beat this pre-season. The body feels good but footy is a long season. At this stage, whether it's one, two or three [years], I guess it's up to how the club are going, what the club are saying. I am not someone who will hold a person out. If I am not playing or delivering what I can for the team, I would hate to hold a young person out."

Hodge managed just 12 matches in 2012 because of a knee problem, joking on Thursday that many thought at the time that his "door was about to shut". But he has missed just five matches since, pointing out that "a couple" of those were only because he had been rested.

He averaged 25 disposals last season - the second-highest return of his career - and spent 50 per cent of his time in the midfield, highlighting his fitness in a campaign when injuries and coach Alastair Clarkson's five-game absence through illness threatened the Hawks' premiership aspirations.

Hodge was a superb playmaker, with 70 per cent of his disposals uncontested - and easing the battering his body once took. In the finals, he was even more potent, averaging 28 disposals, three clearances, three inside 50s and four tackles. He was instrumental in the Hawks imposing themselves physically and mentally on the Swans in the grand final, pocketing 35 touches and two goals in claiming his second Norm Smith Medal.

"It goes back to our fitness staff and their smart training. They realise when to push you and when to pull you back a bit," Hodge said.

Speaking later at a Puma launch, Hodge said he spent more time now over summer running sprints, with the younger "whipper snappers" enduring the 2.2-kilometre runs.

"Obviously, when you get a bit older, you have to treat your body a bit smarter than what you did when you were a bit younger," he said.

"Sometimes if you are not feeling as good, you float across half-back. If you are feeling good, to give somebody else a rest, you go into the middle. I guess it's a team balance of where everyone plays as well.

"Because we had Sammy [Mitchell] with that eight- or nine-week injury, we had a few guys go down at certain stages, it meant Roughie [Jarryd Roughead] and myself, Shauny Burgoyne, played a bit more in the middle."

Now aged 30, Hodge, the No.1 pick in the famous 2001 national draft, watched last year as Luke Ball, the second pick that year, retired, and Chris Judd, the third selection, debated ending his glittering career.

It was a reminder of footballing mortality, with Hodge determined to maintain the disciplines - including watching his carbohydrate intake - required to remain as one of the game's greats.

"It's great to see Juddy play on again because what he showed in his last 10 games was outstanding. With Bally, you do understand the blokes you knew in your draft, your age, are starting to retire for one reason or another. Footy doesn't go on forever," he said.

"The longer you can play and hold on - you want to, because it's a great game that you love doing. I have been doing it professionally since I was 17.

"That goes back to how well you treat your body to make sure you can hold on for as long as you can. Obviously, playing in a side like Hawthorn, where Clarko doesn't put too much responsibility on you - it's shared between teammates - that definitely helps."