Numerous players from Hawthorn and St Kilda found it hard to keep their feet when the two teams played out a draw at the ground in the opening game of round 17.
“There was a few moments on the weekend,” Hodge admitted at Waverley Park on Monday.
“Leigh Montagna was lucky [in the second quarter]. He looked like he hurt himself when he first went down.
“Then ‘Changa’ (Chance Bateman) came in and slipped over and ‘Mitch’ (Sam Mitchell) followed suit.”
After the game in Friday night, Mitchell was highly critical of the Etihad Stadium surface.
"I changed boots at half time from a cleat to a long-stop and it was no better, I was still slipping over," Mitchell said.
"Some parts of the ground are OK, but other parts, you can hardly stand up. I think there is a patch where it was comical, right on the logo.
"I slipped over twice and Cyril (Rioli) did as well and I have never seen him slip over in my life. I hope we don't play a final there."
But Hodge has chosen to be more circumspect, and won’t be complaining if Hawthorn is asked to play a final at Etihad Stadium.
“If it comes up we’ll see how we go, but we’re not too fussed about Etihad at the moment,” he said.
The Hawks face Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and Hodge is wary of the Power after they toppled Adelaide in the Showdown.
“They played some good footy,” Hodge said.
“It was always going to be a big build-up for them, being Josh Carr’s last game.
“And they always play well over there, so we’ll watch some tapes and work out the best way to beat them.”
A win over the Power would keep Hawthorn in the hunt to snatch a spot in the top four.
“If we win enough games and get there, then so be it,” Hodge said.
“But we’re not really focusing on it. When we were 1-6 we totally forgot about things like that.
“We’ve just got to play the best footy we can and see how we go.”
