Jesse Hogan tells Melbourne he’s staying as Jake Lever arrives to take tour of facilities
JESSE Hogan has reassured Melbourne heavyweights he will not break his contract as trade target Jake Lever arrives to tour the Demons facilities.
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MELBOURNE spearhead Jesse Hogan has shut down any prospect of joining Fremantle in this year’s trade period after meeting with coach Simon Goodwin.
Hogan, 22, returned home to Perth last week where he briefly spoke with Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe on Tuesday, sparking fresh fears he could entertain a trade request.
But the hulking spearhead has since clarified his future with Melbourne, telling senior coach Goodwin he is committed to playing in red and blue next season.
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Hogan endured a torrid year, including the loss of his father and a bout of testicular cancer, but has vowed to help lead Melbourne to a drought-breaking finals appearance next season.
He is contracted for two more seasons after signing a lucrative deal 12 months ago.
The assurance is a major relief for the Dees as they prepare to find a new home for playmaker Jack Watts, 26, and secure Adelaide defender Jake Lever, 21, in the AFL trade period which kicks off on Monday.
After nine years at Melbourne, Watts has reluctantly agreed to explore his options and has attracted interest from Geelong, Port Adelaide and Sydney.
Watts is preparing to say farewell to teammates and supporters at the Dees’ best-and-fairest function.
The Herald Sun can reveal Lever toured Melbourne’s facilities and met Demons officials on Saturday as he prepares to sign a four-year deal worth about $750,000 a season.
Adelaide remains furious with Lever’s decision to leave the club and urged the third-year backman to stay away from the Crows’ club champion awards in Adelaide on Friday night.
Welcome out west @JackWatts4 we have nice food, nice beaches and nicer hairstyles than @dangerfield35 😂😂 #sold #toocoldingeelong
— Nic Naitanui (@RealNaitanui) October 7, 2017
As the Herald Sun reported exclusively on Friday, Lever’s manager Alex McDonald said his client wanted to go to the best-and-fairest but was encouraged to steer clear.
“He (Lever) would have liked to go, that was his intention,” McDonald said.
“But on the advice of the club he was encouraged not to go.”
Melbourne chiefs will continue their trade negotiations with the Crows over Lever when the clubs meet for a round of face-to-face talks at Etihad Stadium today.
Talks between the Crows and Demons over Lever have also been frosty with a Crows’ official believed to have walked out on a recent meeting between the two clubs.
Melbourne has offered its first-round pick (No.10) and future second round pick for Lever, but the Crows are adamant they should receive two first-round picks for the 21-year-old.
Lever, who requested a trade to be closer to family in Melbourne, finished 11th in the Crows best-and-fairest.
Fremantle has pick No.5 to trade to Melbourne for Hogan, but the Dees will reject any offer from Fremantle when the two clubs meet.
Football manager Josh Mahoney said the club was not interested in a trade for Hogan.
“At no stage have we spoken about Jesse Hogan being a trade option at any point to any club, or even internally,” Mahoney said.
“He’s a very important part of our team moving forward, he’s committed to our club already last year.
“The year he went through this year showed great resilience. The year of things that he had to go through was probably more than I’ve seen of any other player, and we can’t wait for him to turn back up in pre-season and then really attack next year.”
Dockers’ hard nut Harley Balic, who is from Sandringham, also set on joining the Demons after two seasons in the west.
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