Dees coach responds to Hogan to WA talk

Simon Goodwin has rubbished speculation Melbourne forward Jesse Hogan is seeking a move back to Perth to be closer to his family.

The 22-year-old Western Australian has been at the centre of a rumour that would see him return to Perth and most likely play with Fremantle, despite the promising forward being contracted to the Demons until the end of the 2019 season.

Goodwin confidently told SEN's The Super Box that there is nothing at all to the rumour.

“Jesse is a Melbourne person, he signed to the club last year and he is absolutely committed to the footy club,” the Demons coach said.

“We’re committed to Jesse, he’s a quality person that we have invested a lot into. That’s just pure rumour.”

Hogan is currently on the sidelines nursing a broken collarbone sustained in the club’s loss to North Melbourne a fortnight ago.

Hogan’s injury comes after a horror year which has seen the Dees spearhead miss games due to the passing of his father and a cancer scare.

Despite this, Goodwin has assured that Hogan is “in a great headspace”.

“He’s had a couple of weeks since he’s been back where he has started to play some reasonable footy and then he’s had his collarbone again,” he said.

“He’s had some setbacks throughout the year and obviously a lot to deal with. He had a really strong pre-season, but I don’t think we can imagine what he has gone through for the year.

“He is in a really good space and he is training incredibly hard.

Despite branding Hogan as “not far away” from returning to full fitness, Goodwin says the club are not putting any timeframes on whether Hogan could play a part in the Demons’ finals campaign should they get there.

“We don’t know when he’s going to be back within the next few weeks, but he’s doing a lot of work,” he said.

“We’re not putting any limits on when he is going to be back because we don’t want to put any timeframes on it. He’s progressing really well and he is not far away.”