‘I don’t think Jesse Hogan will play for Fremantle again’
Jesse Hogan may never play for Fremantle again, as the Dockers are reportedly “considering seriously” a package to pay the key forward out.
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Jesse Hogan may never play for Fremantle again, according to long-time West Australian journalist Kim Hagdorn, who’s reporting the Dockers are “considering seriously” a package to pay the key forward out.
Hagdorn’s comments come one week after the Dockers announced Hogan had taken leave from the club to deal with mental health issues, as he did earlier last year.
No time frame has been put on any return of Hogan, who’s in the latter stages of recovering from a second serious foot injury.
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Asked on 6PR Breakfast on Wednesday morning whether the Dockers would be doing the right thing if they cut Hogan loose, Hagdorn said, “My understanding is that it’s getting close to that.
“Fremantle have to make some agreement with Jesse Hogan and his management and certainly (with) the AFL Players’ Association playing a part in this.
“But it’s as high as the new coach Justin Longmuir, with respect to some of the deputations he’s had and some of the discussions he’s had with some of his senior players.”
“The decision looks as though it’s going to head towards Fremantle moving Jesse Hogan on.”
Injury curtailed Hogan’s 2019 output to a dozen games in his first season at Fremantle.
Hagdorn claimed new coach Longmuir had become heavily involved in the process.
“I don’t think Jesse Hogan will play for Fremantle again,” Hagdorn said.
“He’s been on shaky ground for 12 months since he’s been there from coaching staff, particularly, and certainly some of the senior players. ”
Hagdorn reiterated that Hogan’s contract is “pretty slim” and “performance-based”.
“If Fremantle are going to do a compassionate arrangement to allow and help Jesse Hogan to continue to receive money while he needs some assistance for his mental health circumstances, Fremantle and his management will have to come to some agreement,” he said.
The Fremantle playing group are in the Kimberley region for their 2020 community camp, visiting the towns of Broome and Derby over the next three days.
After joining the Dockers in a high-profile trade from Melbourne, Fremantle ruled Hogan unavailable for its premiership season opener due to mental health.
Earlier in his playing career, the Perth-born Hogan had been linked with a return to his native city, but he re-signed with the Demons in 2016.
The next year, Hogan fought testicular cancer in a challenging season compounded by the death of his father.
“Jesse needs time away from the club so he can manage mental health challenges that he is dealing with and focus on his general wellbeing,” Fremantle’s general manager of football Peter Bell said in a statement last week.
“We believe it is the most appropriate course of action and, more importantly, it is what is best for Jesse’s long-term health and well-being.
“We will continue to provide all the necessary and ongoing care and support Jessie requires, as we would do for any of our players.”
— with AAP
Originally published as ‘I don’t think Jesse Hogan will play for Fremantle again’