If we win a flag in the next five years, I think our ruckman's name will be...

Mitch Clark.

Was very good early, dropped a little in the second half of the North game (conditioning?) but still did some nice things. As others have said though the fact he showed strength, poise, positioning and goal smarts bodes well. I very much don't want to get ahead of myself considering the amount of "next big things" we seem to have that never come on but you get the feeling if he can work on lowering his field kicking and not having such an up-and-under technique he would have all the tools to be a "complete package" type player if he can put it together. Having the tools and actually doing it are two different things but the signs from his first practice match hit out are good. Just spewing we have to wait another year to see him again (not on TV next two weeks).

who said big fellas take time?

ALL big fellas take time. Between 7 and 11yrs of age Hogan really struggled.

The bloke put in some good ks, would be interested to see the results of his GPS.

He looks a likely type, hopefully he will love up to the hype he has around him after his solid hit out today!

All this talk of when are we going to have our next superstar? Our next Robbie Flower?

We may have just found him.

"Just spewing we have to wait another year to see him again (not on TV next two weeks)"

Casey will be on ABC, though much reduced iirc.

"Just spewing we have to wait another year to see him again (not on TV next two weeks)"

Casey will be on ABC, though much reduced iirc.

Yeah not quite the same though.

Another lame rule this 17 y.o. thing .

Men are Men ,boys are boys .

Tim Watson

Terr Keays

Andy Lovell.

FFS -restraint of trade.

Restraint of our next Coleman winner.

Watching the NAB Cup game v Roos now.. it was all over by the time i got home from work.. Hogan does look good .. I dont want to get too excited tho.. a year to wait for him in the big league but will be interested to see how he goes in Casey all season.. it didnt do Jack any harm aside from a broken jaw courtesy of a hit from the scum bag Wojincski... it will be more our impatience to see him join his teammates..

In the mean time we can get excited about our young boys who CAN play.. i thought both Jack and Jimmy did well.. although not match winners they both showed a lot .. not overly concerned we didnt win - there were good signs.. just a shame we cant see the games on Fox.. Getting impatient for the real games now..

who said big fellas take time?

I don't know how often I've harped on this over the years. The truly great ones always show how good they'll be virtually straight away. The truly great ones are great at a young age and don't need defending ALL of the time.

I enjoyed his performance last night. Moves well, to the right places, safe hands and a huge amount of presence. Awesome.

What was even better was the Tigers supporters behind me thinking that he was Dawes and how much better he looked. Once they realised who he really was they were rather envious.....

I don't know how often I've harped on this over the years. The truly great ones always show how good they'll be virtually straight away. The truly great ones are great at a young age and don't need defending ALL of the time.

Dane Swan? Adam Goodes? Jobe Watson? Where were they at 17 or 18?

I was at the game and one thing you probably don't pick up on the TV is the presence this kid already has out on the field. He already has a swagger, cockiness like a J. Brown or Brereton that simply cannot be taught.

Now, it's far too early to be making proper comparisons with those players, as this is Melbourne, we've had countless "great white hope" types that don't come on and he hasn't even played a game.

But it was very hard to walk away from Etihad upset last night after witnessing this kid's form.

Dane Swan? Adam Goodes? Jobe Watson? Where were they at 17 or 18?

For starters I reckon Goodesy was running round on GF day at the G kicking a bagful in front of anyone who wanted to watch, including the recruiting managers of 16 clubs.

Yes Jesse Hogan was pleasingly impressive indeed. It maybe that in the future the deal done over the draft period to get Hogan, toumpas, Barry, and Viney with picks 3,4, 12 and 26 will look inspired and maybe THE move which will get us back in the game. If the deal was as rumored: picks 3 and 12 for Hogan and Berry, plus an agreement that Gold Coast don't nominate for Viney in the early round to allow him to slip through to 26, and pick 4 for toumpas, then it shows a welcome ruthlessness and steel which I think we have lacked in our deal making in the past.

Neeld showed the same to get Clark. Will we show the same to get Franklin, as rumored? Personally, with Dawes, Hogan, Clark (and Fitzpatrick waiting in the wings) and later possibly Watts stepping up as our key forwards I don't think we need another key forward. I would rather we spent the money on a mid fielder A-grader.

I was extremely, and somewhat surprisingly, impressed with Toumpas. He is such an elegant and seemingly tough footballer for one so young and relatively slight: great kick for goal (about time we had a sharp shooter),hard at the ball, a great mover, and someone (like all the greats) who seems to have plenty of time. Reminds me a bit of Travis Johnstone at his best.

All we need is for Dom Barry to show his wares and this deal will look like a stroke of genius. I thought Barry struggled at last week's practice match and wasn't surprised he was left out of the NAB Cup squad. He has the speed and size though to be good. I hope he develops into something exciting. Our Neville Jetta....

I don't know how often I've harped on this over the years. The truly great ones always show how good they'll be virtually straight away. The truly great ones are great at a young age and don't need defending ALL of the time.

Already being man sized surely makes a big difference. It's hard to imagine Hogan getting a lot bigger - he may add more kilos but he's already a size and weight that is difficult to match up on. Frustrating that we have to wait a whole year to see him play H&A matches when he is clearly ready now.

Do you know Hogan is unavailable for Melbourne this season? I do now, after Dwayne Russell told me 563 times last night.

For starters I reckon Goodesy was running round on GF day at the G kicking a bagful in front of anyone who wanted to watch, including the recruiting managers of 16 clubs.

He also won the rising star in 99, his first year in the AFL.

I'm certain BH was referring to KPFs rather than mids anyway.

Yes Jesse Hogan was pleasingly impressive indeed. It maybe that in the future the deal done over the draft period to get Hogan, toumpas, Barry, and Viney with picks 3,4, 12 and 26 will look inspired and maybe THE move which will get us back in the game. If the deal was as rumored: picks 3 and 12 for Hogan and Berry, plus an agreement that Gold Coast don't nominate for Viney in the early round to allow him to slip through to 26, and pick 4 for toumpas, then it shows a welcome ruthlessness and steel which I think we have lacked in our deal making in the past.

Neeld showed the same to get Clark. Will we show the same to get Franklin, as rumored? Personally, with Dawes, Hogan, Clark (and Fitzpatrick waiting in the wings) and later possibly Watts stepping up as our key forwards I don't think we need another key forward. I would rather we spent the money on a mid fielder A-grader.

I was extremely, and somewhat surprisingly, impressed with Toumpas. He is such an elegant and seemingly tough footballer for one so young and relatively slight: great kick for goal (about time we had a sharp shooter),hard at the ball, a great mover, and someone (like all the greats) who seems to have plenty of time. Reminds me a bit of Travis Johnstone at his best.

All we need is for Dom Barry to show his wares and this deal will look like a stroke of genius. I thought Barry struggled at last week's practice match and wasn't surprised he was left out of the NAB Cup squad. He has the speed and size though to be good. I hope he develops into something exciting. Our Neville Jetta....

Already got one of him....

The thing to remember is that if not for the Mini Draft he wouldn't have gone into the draft until next year, so there is no point complaining that he can't play this year as we got him before he could be drafted.

Dane Swan? Adam Goodes? Jobe Watson? Where were they at 17 or 18?

I was talking about the games great key forwards.

Already being man sized surely makes a big difference. It's hard to imagine Hogan getting a lot bigger - he may add more kilos but he's already a size and weight that is difficult to match up on. Frustrating that we have to wait a whole year to see him play H&A matches when he is clearly ready now.

Do I need to list all of the great key forwards ? They weren't all man size when they showed how good they'll be. Was Jeremy Cameron man size last year ? He too will be a star.

Some players have it and most don't. Hogan does.

Neeld has stated he will play Hogan as much as possible throughout the NAB cup to give him that AFL enviroment and experience this year so expect him to get a run next week.

The thing to remember is that if not for the Mini Draft he wouldn't have gone into the draft until next year, so there is no point complaining that he can't play this year as we got him before he could be drafted.

Fair point but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.

It's like letting a kid unwrap his Christmas present early, letting him play with it for 20 minutes, then telling him he can't play with it for another year.

The lid is off with Hogan for me. He just does too many things well for a guy his size to not get excited about.

Jesse,please sign here,it's your new 15 year contract.