Fremantle star Jesse Hogan to join GWS Giants, Kangaroo Ben Brown requests trade to Melbourne

Two big-name AFL stars are on the move in 2021, revealing their ideal new homes as the frenzy of off-season activity heats up.

Jesse Hogan is going to head back east.

Fremantle will wave goodbye to Jesse Hogan after the enigmatic forward requested a trade to GWS.

Hogan has managed just 19 games in two injury-plagued seasons with the Dockers after making the move west from Melbourne ahead of the 2019 season.

“Following a series of discussions between the club, Jesse and his management it was mutually agreed that it was in Jesse’s best interests to further his playing career by moving away from WA,” Fremantle’s general manager of football Peter Bell said.

“While it is disappointing for both Fremantle and Jesse that, due to injury and other factors, he was unable to play at the level we all know he is capable of, all parties agree that in Jesse’s long-term interests the preferred option is for him to continue his career at a new club.

“We wish Jesse all the best for the future and thank him for his contribution to Fremantle.”

Hot on the heels of that news breaking, it was revealed North Melbourne’s Ben Brown had requested a trade to Melbourne.

The Kangaroos told the key forward he could find a new home next year as they gut their roster after a dismal season that saw them finish second-last.

SEN’s Sam Edmund told AFL Trade Radio: “Ben Brown has chosen Melbourne. The Dees have met with him, done a medical, and he will request the trade.”

Jesse Hogan struggled to find his feet in Fremantle.

Brown was told he was free to leave.

Late last month the Dockers informed rival clubs Hogan was on the trade table despite having one year left to run on his contract, putting his career at a crossroads. He played just seven games this season and was recently fined $8000 by a West Australian court after breaching quarantine requirements.

Hogan was booted out of his Perth house by police in September and sent to a hotel to serve his quarantine after inviting a “female friend” to his house in breach of biosecurity rules.

GWS made history on Monday by becoming the first club in nine years of free agency to match a rival club’s offer when it met Geelong’s $4.5 million bid for Jeremy Cameron.

While there’s a chance the 2019 Coleman Medallist could re-sign with the Giants, recruiting Hogan may be a way to soften the blow to their forward stocks should Cameron leave.

Meanwhile, Brown was told he wasn’t part of North Melbourne’s plans despite kicking at least 60 goals in the previous three seasons before the disrupted 2020 campaign.

Edmund reported the Roos tabled a three-year deal to Brown worth close to $850,000 a season at the start of 2020, but he wanted four years so didn’t sign. Then COVID-19 hit, North Melbourne fell off a cliff to finish 17th and a knee injury ended Brown’s season early.

Originally published as Fremantle star Jesse Hogan to join GWS Giants, Kangaroo Ben Brown requests trade to Melbourne