Gullan: Jesse Hogan’s quarantine breach has put his career in jeopardy
Either it’s clear stupidity or arrogant ignorance but Jesse Hogan having a woman around to his Perth house one day into a 14-day quarantine — a rule his club would have rammed down his throat — is mind-numbing, Scott Gullan writes.
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One bad decision doesn’t make someone a bad person.
But one bad decision can change the course of someone’s life.
Jesse Hogan is the latest AFL player to now have some time on his hands to contemplate both of these points.
The problem for him is he’s made a few suspect decisions over the journey and is in the red zone when it comes to what another misstep would mean for his career.
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There were already noises coming out of Fremantle about whether the star forward was going to be in new coach Justin Longmuir’s plans moving forward.
He’d fought his way back into the side late in the season and did enough to suggest there was a place. But now that is in jeopardy after another off-field incident.
Either it’s clear stupidity or arrogant ignorance but Hogan having a woman around to his Perth house one day into a 14-day quarantine rule which his club would have rammed down the player’s throat is mind-numbing.
We get that the season is over, we get that it’s been tough living interstate and being restricted in what you can do but in terms of what is going on in the real world, keeping it zipped up for a couple of weeks isn’t that big of an ask.
People have lost their livelihoods, businesses have gone broke and many have been kept away from loved ones for months because of this horrible pandemic.
Rightly the AFL players have been praised for their sacrifices in keeping the competition going but don’t forget they’re still getting paid a lot of money, usually 10 or 20 times more than the average punter, to deal with six months of inconvenience.
Hogan’s stuff-up could easily cost him his job at Fremantle.
Harley Bennell’s meltdown did exactly that at Melbourne.
After fighting to keep his career alive because of recurring injury problems, Bennell actually had a contract for next season in front of him but he couldn’t help himself and now his AFL career is over.
Brad Crouch’s career isn’t in jeopardy for his 5am taxi ride with a bag of cocaine as company but he may have lost some suitors and a fair bit of cash because of it.
Paying him a big wage was always going to be a tough sell for a club such as Geelong but throw in the extra baggage now and maybe it gets put into the too hard basket.
His partner in crime Tyson Stengle might not be as lucky.
He already has some crosses to his name so like Bennell, and possibly Hogan, one more could tip his club over the edge.
Luckily Gillon McLachlan has a good head of hair because the hits keep coming.
As we know pulling out your hair when you’re angry is a thing and the AFL chief is currently in a permanent state of annoyance.
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After doing all the heavy lifting to save the 2020 season which understandably nearly drove him around the twist, McLachlan would have felt the worst was behind him when he arrived on the Gold Coast four weeks ago.
This was supposed to be the easy stuff. Everyone was used to hub life by then, the players and families were happy and the finals were beckoning which takes the excitement level up a notch.
And the Queensland Government, who had basically saved the competition, was happy as it had been awarded the historic first night Grand Final.
Everyone had come so far and the finish line was in sight.
Then it started.
McLachlan is a betting man so he would have known the odds of keeping 720 young men behaving themselves after being locked down for months were long.
He probably didn’t think a couple of days after he arrived in the hub that two Richmond players would go to a strip bar and then get in a fight outside a kebab shop.
But anything goes in season 2020.
We’ve now had sex, drugs and all that is left is the rock ‘n’ roll.
Let’s hope for Gil’s sake he gets that one right come Grand Final night.
HOGAN BUSTED BREACHING QUARANTINE WITH FEMALE VISITOR
Fremantle forward Jesse Hogan has been locked up in hotel quarantine after breaching the WA Government’s home quarantine protocols.
Hogan admitted to police he invited a non-permitted female visitor into his home last Tuesday – just the day after Fremantle returned home from Queensland.
Dockers CEO Simon Garlick said the breach was not only disappointing, but also ‘incredibly frustrating’.
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“Our players and staff are all well aware of the restrictions they are all required to comply with while in quarantine and the broader obligation the club has to the community to do so,” Garlick said in a club statement.
“We have worked very closely and effectively with WA police, the State Government and the AFL throughout the year, which provided us with the opportunity to complete our AFL season.
“The co-operation and understanding we have received from all parties during the season is something we do not take for granted. This makes the breach even more disappointing and incredibly frustrating.
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“We will wait for Jesse to complete his hotel quarantine before determining what club-imposed sanction he will face.
“In the meantime, we will be reinforcing with all quarantined players and staff the importance of strict adherence to their quarantine protocols.”