Jesse Hogan

He played 20 matches in his debut season, kicking 44 goals, the most for a player aged under 21 in their debut season since Chris Grant of kicked 51 goals in 1990.

He was the leading goalkicker for Melbourne and finished third in the league for contested marks with 47 during the home and away season.

During the season, he drew high praise from commentators, including former and coach, Terry Wallace, who claimed he was the best teenager since Chris Grant (whom Wallace played alongside and eventually coached).

Australian Football Hall of Famer, Wayne Carey, questioned during the round 16 match against the whether "there has been a centre half-forward after 13 games who has been as impressive as this kid? This kid has been as good as any."

Former captain, Cameron Ling, stated Melbourne should offer Hogan a lifetime contract as he has the potential to be to Melbourne what Michael Jordan was to the Chicago Bulls.

Jesse Hogan (born 12 February 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL).

A key forward, Hogan is 1.95 m tall and weighs 100 kg. He was a standout basketballer and footballer at a young age, representing Western Australia in both sports and played in the West Australian Football League colts competition with the Claremont Football Club.

In 2011, he was recruited by West Australian Football League club, Claremont, and played for their colts (under-20) side in 2011 and 2012 for a total of 16 matches and 26 goals.

As part of the AFL elite talent junior pathways, he was awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) as part of the AIS-AFL Academy for the 2011 intake in the level one squad.

He was rewarded with All-Australian selection as a junior in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships and in turn, he was drafted by Melbourne with the second selection in the 2012 mini-draft, meaning he was ineligible to play in the 2013 AFL season.

Hogan received mid-year state honours in 2012 and was selected in the Western Australian squad in the under 18 championships despite being ineligible for the 2012 AFL draft as a 17-year old.

His performances in the championships were rewarded with All-Australian selection as the centre half-back after playing in both the forward and back-line.

He was highly rated during the championships and was touted as one of the two players who would be selected in the 2012 mini-draft.

The Vic Metro coach during the 2012 championships, Rohan Welsh, noted Hogan's body size at 17-years-old was the size of a 20-year-old and he had the ability to "tear games apart".

In August, he was named in the level two squad for the 2012 intake in the AIS-AFL Academy, however, he did not partake in the European tour in 2013 due to being drafted.

In October 2012, Hogan was acquired by the Melbourne Football Club with the second selection in the 2012 mini-draft, a special draft for players who were too young to be eligible for selection in the main 2012 AFL draft.

As he was a pre-listed selection, Hogan spent the 2013 season playing for Melbourne's VFL affiliated team, the Casey Scorpions.

He was, however, given permission by the AFL to play for Melbourne in the 2013 NAB Cup.

His debut season with Casey finished prematurely when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a game against in August.

Despite this, he won the Gardner Clark Medal as the club best and fairest after kicking 39 goals in 15 games.

His inability to play at senior level in the AFL saw the hype surrounding him grow.

He was often compared to other young key-forwards including Tom Boyd, Jonathon Patton and Joe Daniher as to who would be the best.

He was also declared the player who could lift Melbourne from the bottom of the ladder.

Then-Melbourne coach, Paul Roos, noted he would have vied for the number one draft pick in the 2013 AFL draft if he wasn't pre-selected in the mini-draft.

He finished the game with two goals and seven marks, helping Melbourne to their first 100-plus score since round 14, 2013.

After round nine, he earned the round nomination for the AFL Rising Star where he recorded sixteen disposals, eight marks and two goals in the sixty-one point loss against.

After a back injury ruined his 2014 season, he made his AFL debut in the 2015 season and won the Ron Evans Medal as the AFL Rising Star.

In his first two playing years for Melbourne, he was the leading goalkicker in both seasons.

In March 2014, Hogan was sidelined after he sustained a lower back injury in Melbourne's NAB Challenge match against.

The initial length of the injury ruled him out for four to six weeks, and despite setbacks, the club stated he could still make his AFL debut in 2014.

This was ruled out when he was placed on the long-term injury list in May.

In August, he made his return from injury playing for Casey in the team's second last game of the season.

During the season, speculation arose that were trying to lure him back to Western Australia with a lucrative offer, but in July, he signed a two-year contract extension with Melbourne.

After being praised by his coaches and teammates for his preparation and professionalism over the off-season, Hogan made his long-awaited AFL debut in Melbourne's 2015 season opening round, twenty-six point win against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Hogan was one of the early favourites to win the 2015 AFL Rising Star alongside Isaac Heeney of, however, a seven-week knee injury to Heeney led many to believe the Rising Star winner would be decided between Hogan and Patrick Cripps of.

In what was predicted to be one of the closest vote counts for the Rising Star, Hogan was the eventual winner of the Ron Evans Medal, earning the maximum five votes from nine of the ten judges, with Kevin Sheehan awarding him four out of five votes.

In October 2018, he was acquired by Fremantle in a trade that sent him back home to Western Australia, however, after two unsuccessful years at the Dockers, Hogan was traded to.

Hogan is the youngest of four children by twelve years and was raised in Scarborough in Perth, Western Australia.

He attended Newman College and played his junior football with the Marist Junior Football Club.

He was awarded state selection in the under-16 Western Australian basketball squad, where his passion was with basketball before focusing on becoming a professional footballer.