“The longer we’re all together and playing alongside each other the stronger we will be,” Hodgson told Fox Sports.

“If we can keep a stable spine and keep everybody playing alongside each other that’s a great thing to have, as you’ve seen with Melbourne over the years.

“I’m more than open in saying my feelings in wanting them all to stay, because there’s a few boys off contract this year and I’d love them all to stay.”

While Hodgson’s currently out injured, he believes he can have an influence on his teammates’ decisions.

“We’ve got a really close bond. It’s different being in Canberra, you all live 10 minutes away from each other.

“Everyone is pretty close, there’s no cliques or anything like that which I think is pretty rare in teams.

“All the boys seem really happy here so if we can stay together would be great.”