By Vince Rugari
Jesse Hogan isn’t trying to belittle the Coleman Medal when he calls it a “cool little accolade”. It’s just that his career-best return of 69.25 goals for the GWS Giants this year had nothing to do with the actual target he was trying to hit.
The real target was 23. As in, play in all 23 games for the Giants. Which doesn’t sound all that impressive on paper, but for a bloke who was flat out getting to double-digits not too long ago, it’s a feat worth recognising. And is probably the whole reason why he finished the home-and-away campaign as the AFL’s top goalkicker.
Hogan has conquered his body. That much was clear last year, as he delivered 49 goals to help propel the Giants to the preliminary final – but it’s especially clear now that he has upped his durability, productivity and accuracy even further as they sit on the edge of another September full of tantalising possibilities.
“There’s bigger fish to fry, but a cool little accolade I guess,” he said on Monday, the morning after he was confirmed as the Coleman’s latest recipient.
“It’s not something I really planned for. I mean, just playing 23 games this year was a big goal of mine. I keep harping on about it, but just the ability to be able to train and be out there ... the more weeks you train as a key forward, your touch gets a little bit better, you get a little more confidence in yourself.
“Adam [Kingsley] put a lot of faith in me, I’m playing close to 90, 95 per cent game time, which is the best key forwards do. They’re out there for longer and competing for longer.”
Jesse Hogan celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty
Prompted to reflect on his own journey to winning the Coleman Medal – his early promise at Melbourne, his ongoing battle with injuries, the loss of his father to cancer and then his own testicular cancer diagnosis, the personal demons he wrestled with at Fremantle, and now his late-career renaissance in Sydney’s west – Hogan asked to be asked again in six weeks’ time, once the Giants’ finals campaign was out of the way, and he’s given himself permission to look back.
All he would say on that was that he was delighted his mother, Julie, was happy.
“She rides the emotions harder than anyone. She comes over as much as she can, and to see her smiling and happy, it probably brings me more joy than any of the joy I actually get from playing footy,” Hogan said.
“She’ll fly over and come to all the finals, she’ll be absolutely buzzing – same with my brother and my two sisters, they’re the most important people in my life, and they’ve had to go through a fair bit with me. It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve definitely played for them.”
The Coleman puts Hogan in rather esteemed company. He is just the fourth Sydney-based player to win it after the legendary Tony Lockett, the legendary Lance Franklin, and Jeremy Cameron, who might be in with a shout of being considered legendary by the time he hangs up his boots.
While he has loved being able to slip into public places generally incognito in Sydney, his on-field feats put him in increasing danger of being spotted on the streets more regularly, especially in the build-up to next weekend’s qualifying final, when they will resume their simmering crosstown rivalry with the Swans.
The Giants have the wood over the Swans in finals, with an unblemished 3-0 record. More recently, however, the Swans have dominated the derby with five wins in the last six editions, including both of their meetings this year.
“They got the better of us twice this year, so we owe them one, I guess,” Hogan said.
“I’ve said previously, this is one of the fiercest rivalries in footy in my opinion. I haven’t played in Showdowns or some of the other ones, but there’s a lot of feeling in it, and it’s very real. It’s not superficial, and it’s not just on interviews. There’s actually a lot of feeling. It’s just good for the game ... it’s a really healthy rivalry.
“They’ve been the team to beat all year, from round zero all the way through to round 24. They’ve been the team that everyone’s aspiring to beat and get to. They’re in good form at the moment. We’re in pretty good form [too] – we had a loss yesterday, but I feel as though it’s going to be really good match-up. Sydney’s gonna be absolutely buzzing.”
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