Jesse Hogan's “amazing story” and rise to Coleman Medal favourite

Jesse Hogan is enjoying a dominant 2024 campaign.

The key forward has kicked 61 goals this season and is currently leading the Coleman medal ahead of Charlie Curnow - who is out of Carlton's Round 23 clash against West Coast injured - on 57 goals.

Hogan kicked 104 goals in his first three years as a Giant and will only add to that tally as he is enjoying a career-best year. 

Hogan’s former captain, Phil Davis, recalls a memory of when he lined up against the young forward who was then playing for the Demons.

“It’s an amazing story, I remember playing on Jesse and it was his first year and he was clunking everything, we had Melbourne Round 1 and he must’ve been 19 or 20, and I honestly remember spending 20-25 minutes of the opposition forward line meeting about Jesse Hogan and I’m there thinking, 'This is not good',” Davis said on SEN.

“You know when you’re talking about the man you’re on for 20-25 minutes, you know you’re in for a hard day.

“Anyway, I played on him and was very, very impressed at an early part of his career.”

Davis also spoke on some of the challenges Hogan faced on and off the field in the early stages of his career while at Melbourne and Fremantle before ultimately finding his feet as a Giant.

“He had a terrible run of luck, and it was really sad to see, and yeah, he had some things in his own control that didn't go super well, but some of the challenges that he's overcome, the least of them being a couple of broken feet, testicular cancer, he lost his father, and he had so many different challenges along the way there ... Can you imagine being in your early twenties dealing with that?” Davis asked.

Davis, who has spent his whole career defending forwards, understands what makes a good inside 50, and he thinks Hogan certainly possesses those abilities and qualities.

“He spends an enormous amount of time on his game, there’s a lot of craft and a lot of touch, he’s really tidied up his set shot routine, and now he’s probably the most reliable in the comp at the moment,” he said. 

“I know we lost Tom Hawkins last week, but Jesse’s craft is just as good as Tom's, and his footwork is amazing, everyone wonders how he gets all these marks in the forward line, his craft, his sharp feet, and his bodywork are second to none at the moment.

“I think he’s the best contested mark in the game, and he’s just found a way and he’s rebuilt his body and his mind.”

Davis thinks Hogan's move away from Victoria and Western Australia helped him get his life and then footy back on track. 

“I think throughout those tough times being on the front page of the Herald Sun and the back page of the Herald Sun, and the front page of the West Australian isn’t good for anyone, and coming over to Sydney having that space and getting some balance in his life again (has helped),” he said.

Hogan and his Giants will host Fremantle on Saturday afternoon, the club he played 19 games for in 2019 and 2020.

Hogan looks destined to win the 2024 Coleman Medal and will join superstar Jeremy Cameron as the only two Giants players to win the award.