In and out: Jesse Hogan (left) leaves Fremantle for GWS, while Jeremy Cameron (right) departs the Giants for Geelong.
The 2020 AFL trade period has made a solid start with four players finding new homes, including former Adelaide midfielder Brad Crouch, who made his way to St Kilda via free agency.
That means nine players in all have already switched clubs since free agency began on Friday.
And while Crouch was perhaps the biggest name to swap colours on Wednesday, the most intriguing transfer was that of Fremantle key forward Jesse Hogan to Greater Western Sydney.
At just 25, Hogan already finds himself at his third club after stints at the Demons and Dockers.
For a one-time precocious kid seen as the second-best young talent in the land in the class of 2013, having gone at pick No.2 in the mini-draft the year before, and franking that promise with a Rising Star victory in 2015, things just haven’t gone to plan for Hogan.
The fact that the Giants only parted ways with pick No.54 for his services illustrates how far his standing in the game has plummeted in eight years.
This feels very much like Hogan’s last chance at the big time, but the good news for him is that he has a huge opportunity to make a go of it now that Jeremy Cameron has vacated his key forward post by nominating Geelong as his preferred free agency destination.
So much depends on Hogan getting his body right, because if he is able to recapture his best form and link up effectively with Toby Greene, Jeremy Finlayson, Harry Himmelberg and Jake Riccardi, the Giants will be hoping that they don’t miss much of a beat up forward despite Cameron’s departure.
But there’s no doubt Fremantle is taking a big risk because physical ailments aren’t the only things that have impacted Hogan’s 90-game career – a raft of off-field issues have also played their part, most recently his breach of Western Australia’s COVID laws leading to an $8000 fine.
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One of the reasons Hogan departed Melbourne was to go back home to Perth and be closer to family and friends, but not even returning to his home city was able to provide the desired settling effect on him, and after two short years with Freo, he’s on the move again to Sydney. That has to be of some concern to the GWS top brass.
The rewards could be huge, though. When Hogan beat Carlton’s Patrick Cripps for the 2015 Rising Star, he kicked 44 goals, took 134 marks and clunked 47 contested marks (third in the AFL) playing the hardest position on the ground as a 20-year-old in a bottom-six team in his debut year. He backed that up the next year with 41 goals and 149 marks (43 contested).
Hogan’s final year with Melbourne in 2018 was impressive too, yielding 47 goals, but was cut short by injury. And it must be said, to his credit, the Demons’ forward structure has been a shambles since he departed, so his importance was perhaps a little underappreciated by Melbourne despite his obvious off-field issues evidently outweighing the talent he brought to the table.
Meanwhile, St Kilda’s golden recruiting run has continued into 2020 with the acquisition of Crouch from the Crows. Adelaide received pick 23 as compensation from the AFL.
Crouch will only further bolster the Saints’ already-impressive on-ball brigade. Last year they added significant pace to the line-up with Brad Hill, Zak Jones and Dan Butler, and in Crouch they not only gain genuine ball-winning ability, but also quality disposal.
The 26-year-old has had his injury issues as well, but in 95 games, he has averaged 26 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five clearances and five tackles – he has been a bull since day one.
When you throw in All-Australian Jack Steele and the effective ruck tandem of Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder to the mix, the Saints’ midfield is now packing some serious firepower.
The other trades on Wednesday saw Richmond defender Oleg Markov join former teammate Brandon Ellis at Gold Coast in exchange for a future third-round pick, while GWS forward Zac Langdon headed back home to West Coast for pick 54, which the Giants gave to Freo for Hogan.
COMPLETED DEALS
1. Rory Atkins (Adelaide) joined Gold Coast as an unrestricted free agent. Adelaide received pick 40 as compensation.
2. Zac Williams (GWS) joined Carlton as a restricted free agent. GWS received pick 10 as compensation.
3. Isaac Smith (Hawthorn) joined Geelong as an unrestricted free agent. Hawthorn received pick 46 as compensation.
4. Aidan Corr (GWS) joined North Melbourne as a restricted free agent. GWS received pick 31 as compensation.
5. Joe Daniher (Essendon) joined Brisbane as a restricted free agent. Essendon received pick 7 as compensation.
6. Brad Crouch (Adelaide) joined St Kilda as restricted free agent. Adelaide received pick 23 as compensation.
7. Zac Langdon (GWS) traded to West Coast in exchange for pick 55.
8. Oleg Markov (Richmond) traded to Gold Coast for future third round selection.
9. Jesse Hogan (Fremantle) traded to GWS for pick 55 (on-traded from West Coast).
* All picks are as at time of trade
