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Mahoney was accompanied by the club doctor. Comments as best I could type: Jesse saw club doctor last week as had a lump Extremely early detection, is at a very early stage and has not spread. Jesse wanted to play last weekend. (God bless him) He is in good spirits and positive about the outlook. Doctor said he won't need chemo (I think that is what he said). Recovery 4 to 8 weeks. Best wishes Jesse and family.

The young fella and I decided we would take along our camera to the game on Saturday night.... We are so glad we did! After living in Adelaide for 10 years there is no sweeter sight than watching the Crows fans stream out of the ground before the final siren... The video is around 30 minutes long (with the official highlights footage thrown in at the breaks) Like it, Share it, Do whatever you want with it.... But most of all enjoy it! We certainly did! My personal highlight is around the 20 minute mark of the video

Spare a thought for his mum, who just buried her husband to cancer and now has to deal with her son having cancer. Just awful. My heart breaks for her.

Was just announced on the Triple M Rush Hour that they had received a text from Jesse's manager saying that he is awake from his surgery and it all went extremely well, good signs!!!

Until the next loss

From MFC: "This was an extremely early detection and Jesse is expected to make a full recovery and will return to football this year."

You've made your point Norm Smith. Now $&?! Off and leave us alone!

According to Misson, he felt fine in the rooms after the hit, hasn't felt much in the way of after-effects since, and trained well today. If he pulls up well from today's training, and trains well again on Thurs, he is expected to be fit to play this weekend, which is great news!

Just wanted to start a new thread on Jeff's 2017 form. It's outstanding. He's in elite territory this season when it comes to small forwards. 20 goals, equal to the raved about Toby Greene and Robbie Gray. 5 behind Betts who plays in the highest scoring team in the league. 35 tackles, which is miles above any forward other than Charlie Dixon (if you can believe that) with 30. Betts has 22, Gray 19, Greene 16. Not only his tackling, just his pressure in general has been fantastic, honestly like a new player, he's always chasing. Was nothing like this last year. For me his most impressive games have been in our losses, hard position to play in and he's really worked his arse off in those losses. I thought he was falling away a bit last year, but it's time he got some acknowledgement for his form of late.

A bit more on the behind the scenes: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/melbourne-forward-jesse-hogan-diagnosed-with-testicular-cancer/news-story/355c4b600b5293f0a8140ada716fbbb4 Mahoney's comments on Jesse: “... what we’re seeing is a young 22-year-old mature before our eyes,” ... “The way he’s handled the death of his father, returned to the club and the way he handled himself that week was a tremendous effort. ... “All we can do as a club at the moment is offer support and help him and his family through this. ...“We’re confident from what we’ve seen already he’s going to bounce back out of this. He’s a very resilient character.” Mahoney's comments on team mates: “You can imagine how emotional they were about the situation that Jesse’s going through,” ... “For them to perform the way they did on the weekend was all they could do. They said all they could do for Jesse was play the best they can. They’ve been tremendous with him ever since. ... “It’s inspiring what Jesse has been through this year to still perform and still be around the club. It’s one of those ones that when he does get back, everyone will rally around him and look forward to him getting back to playing.” Moving comments.

May I respectfully propose that one minute of applause at the one minute mark of the first quarter on Sunday against North could be a sign of support for Jesse. (If I recall correctly a similar show of support was arranged for Roughy at the second minute of the second quarter after his diagnosis). Just a thought.

A great article written by big Pedolanko. http://www.aflplayers.com.au/article/players-voice-cam-pedersen/

Someone already posted the main things but managed to paraphrase the main points from the press conference if you missed it. JOSH MAHONEY “He had an ultrasound on Wednesday that detected the cancer and a full ct scan on Thursday which detected that the cancer hadn’t spread to any other part of the body Will have surgery today to remove the tumor Extremely early detection, expected to make a full recovery a return to football this year Wanted to play on the weekend but decided not to Very positive about the outlook, it's been a tough time for Jesse, seeing a young 22-year-old mature in front of our eyes. "All we can do as a club is offer our support, were confident he will bounce back and play some footy this year CLUB DOCTOR: ZEESHAN ARAIN Very early stage, hasn’t spread and will not need chemotherapy, good news for him Purely from a physical point of view from the operation and recovery I expect 4-8 weeks, but he’s had an interrupted season so will need to asses from a conditioning point of view. "He was very lucky, anytime anyone gets a diagnosis of cancer people feel very unlucky but when its early stage the emotions flip around so, look it was really good that Jesse was able to come to us and we were able to follow it though so he’s very lucky from that point of view” “When people hear cancer people get very worried but there’s a lot of different cancers, what Jarryd (Roughhead) went through is a lot different to what Jesse is going to through” Ít’s a very curable cancer, it’s very early stage, in fact as a male if you’re going to get a cancer this is the one to get”” “He’d been a feeling a little vague discomfort and probably going through what he went through with his father, people become a little hypervigilant so in that setting it was great that he came to me.. but look, he wasn’t feeling unwell, no other symptoms other than feeling a lump”

Out for a year with a Back constant speculation on his contract compared to some of the all time great forwards Dad terminally ill and finally sucumbs to cancer diagnosed with cancer himself has there been a more full on 3-4 years for a footballer? poor fella. this year will be the making of the man.

I've actually known 3 people, all very young, to have gotten testicular cancer. Good news is that the symptoms tend to appear early, which leads to high survival rate. Once it's caught and cut out (normally removing the [censored]) it rarely returns. One cancer with an extremely high survival rate. The organ hanging out of your body tends to make knowing something is wrong fairly easy. Although one mate had pains in his arm and lower leg for a few weeks. Went to the doctor and they diagnosed that...

One of the more beatable cancers. I wish him well.

Brayshaw concussion Lewis suspension Gawn hamstring Hogan suspension, fathers passing away, testicular cancer The gods are throwing all the obstacles at us this year. But the group is strong. We will support our players and overcome adversity.

"He was checking last week and found a lump, which prompted him to seek medical attention. " 'Checking' his [censored]... from http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/melbourne-forward-jesse-hogan-diagnosed-with-testicular-cancer/news-story/355c4b600b5293f0a8140ada716fbbb4?nk=5333f84c2e3f1c7039a9475702153fc9-1494915667 Before anyone jumps down my throat, I feel a small amount of humour is warranted. I also found a lump on my [censored] a few years back, while.. uh... 'checking'... Mine was benign fortunately. Scared the [censored] out of me though. Best of luck Jesse. Edit: additional lol at the censorship

Hibberd was a steal.

Thoughts are with Jesses Mum, not just Jesse. Not much of a Mothers day period for her. Reading that they expect Jesse to be fine. I hope Mum is the same.

He's had a bastard of a trot, and is probably wondering who's dog he kicked. Very treatable, and in respect to recovery, wound healing is the only barrier to returning to footy, which I'd reckon he'd be hankering for as soon as humanly possible. The distraction and focus of playing is really what all ill or injured pro sportspeople really want. They'll probably have to hold him back if anything. At the risk of getting too intimate, he'll undoubtedly get a prosthetic companion to reconstruct the original pairing, and nobody'll be the wiser. We can only hope Jesse gets a clear run at it soon enough, and look out football world when he does.

Both Neeld and Beamer made significant errors and need to take responsibility for their own actions before blaming others. At least Neeld isn't blaming others for what he inherited. Beamer was one of our best players with Bailey designing a game plan that suited the cattle we had but wasn't going to develop and propel us forward. The game breaking Jamar-Beamer ruck taps were no longer the focus of the Neeld era that wanted to spread the load and develop a deeper younger midfield. Beamer didn't embrace the new game plan and so he shouldn't be surprised with what happened. An average game plan that everyone follows will always beat a good game plan that no one follows. Beamer was too self absorbed as were others at that time Neeld identified a problem with the professionalism, work ethic, and leadership in the players and was incorrectly told to use a heavy hand in managing them by the board and the club. It's always difficult when your best players use their leadership and influence poorly. Neeld's execution and game plan was poor at best. Brisbane is in a similar position with Rockliff being removed from the captaincy and their next best options are Beams and Zorko - not exactly perfect leaders. At least Brisbane haven't made the MFC mistake of giving their player group to an inexperienced operator. Chris Fagan is a mature football person with people skills to grow the right culture and leadership. At the time, I was invited to a supporter Q&A forum at the club (when media were getting stuck into them) and asked Neeld to what degree do you design the game plan to cater for the playing list (with Beamer, Jamar and others in mind). His answer was something to the effect that each player has the opportunity to fit into his game plan. Seemed a bit blunt and clearly wasn't the right answer. You can have a game plan and still be creative to find roles to get the best out of players. At that point I knew for sure he wasn't going to make it. Players are often a product of their environment and the people instilled to provide leadership and learning. So that brings me to Garry Lyon. Clearly a poor decision maker off the field. Was instrumental in getting both Bailey and Neeld to the club. Given his history he still has the nerve to tea off on one of the youngest teams in the league for apparently not meeting 'winning' expectations recently. Just doesn't get what young players need to develop. Was part of the boys club that managed the club poorly along with Schwab and Connolly. Unfortunately we learnt the hard way that low draft picks and tanking combined with poor player development leads to more rebuilds.. Gee we were poor and naïve back then. Thanks PJ, Roosy, and perhaps a little controversially, the AFL for influencing them to fix the MFC. .

I tend to watch a lot of post-match interviews with the coaches and Goodwin is by far the most interesting. Pragmatic, comes prepared with actual and relevant game analyses, treats all the reporters with respect and responds to all their questions in the same manner and best of all, always manages to slip in a quick funny that usually gets a good chuckle from the room.

For the first time in any number of years I feel calm and confident about the direction the club has taken and in our chances of success in upcoming games. All sorts of bad things have happened to the Dees this year, culminating in this shocking news about Jesse's health. I wont list everything else but I have an overwhelming feeling that we'll cope and more than that, prosper. Each tragedy or setback seems to be leading to new ways to overcome and get better. Are we truly at the start of some golden age of Demon success ???

With the news that Hogan is out and Hunt seems fine, no change.

"Figure out Aussie Rules footy" Enjoy a uniquely Melbourne experience with an afternoon of AFL at the MCG!Aussie Rules football is a huge part of Melbourne’s sporting culture, and the mighty Demons (Melbourne Football Club) want you to catch the fire! They’ve organised an AFL familiarisation event for uni students who are intrigued, but can’t quite make sense of, the game – or just looking for a fun and active way to spend a Sunday.Come along to a Footy 101 workshop, starting with a game intro, an active session on the field, then head over to the MCG to watch the Round 9 game between the Dees and North Melbourne, enjoy some ‘traditional’ footy fare, and a beer if you like. ALL FREE.Sunday 21 MayArrive from 11.45 for a 12-1pm hands on session:Gosch’s Paddock (Corner of Punt Road and Olympic Boulevard, East Melbourne)www.mopt.com.au/about/sports-precinct/goschs-paddock/Register to attend:www.melbournefc.com.au/fans/engaging-melbourne Looks like the football club is trying to attract international university students as this was posted on the University of Melbourne home page. Could this be the way we end up cracking 45k next year?

Thoughts with the big fella. Neither he nor we can take a trick at minute. Look forward to seeing him back in the number 1 smashing packs soon after he gets through this battle. Once again though I am so proud of the way the club has handled this from not leaking last week to the way our boys kept their heads together to represent on Saturday to the way Mahoney and Zeeshan handled today. How great is it to support a professional club unified at all levels that has great care for their people.

Nope, this is just us riding the rollercoaster after a good win. Go have a read of the Crows fans response to their loss against us - they're on top of the ladder and completely despondent, because as I've said repeatedly on here, footy fans only remember the last thing that happened. I'm no more or less optimistic about the future than I was this time last week, but it is a nice feeling to see it starting to materialize.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-05-16/jesse-hogan-dignosed-with-testicular-cancer And our captain adds a bit more on how the players felt: "Jones said the news about Hogan was used as a motivating factor ahead of the club's 41-point win over Adelaide last Saturday night. ... "It was definitely mentioned, particularly when one of our mates is facing some of the things 'Hoges' has faced," ... "It was an opportunity for us to draw on some of that inspiration, particularly with how he's handled himself and the adversity he's faced. ... "It pales into insignificance the fact that we're playing a game of footy and we've got one of our mates going through the stuff he's been through. ... "Our best way of honouring that was performing on the weekend and making sure we keep a really positive vibe around the footy club and keep supporting him as well as he can." Its hard not to be emotional reading about Jesse's illness, adversity resilience. So glad the guys were able to did deep for Jesse vs the Crows - Lots to be proud of about our club and our team.

Nice little read. Sheds even more light on the benefits of having McCartney around. He sounds like a brilliant developmental coach and the players love him.

It is difficult not to re-write history when you reflect on it, but the article does seem to bring a sense of clarity. I was a Beamer fan, loved his aggression and uncompromising nature, but he was an extremely flawed leader whose leadership had powerful positives and more powerful negatives. However, the train wreck that was Mark Neeld can actually be seen as a huge catalyst for change. The 186 game revealed a dysfunctional, decaying, fossilised club. Mark Neeld was a resopnse to that, and his coaching tenure (I refuse to use the word leadership here) made the club finally implode and collapse. And it needed to. Our playing group being led by Beamer and Sylvia - what?!?! Our leaders being given an uncompromising and unfair push out of the door - what?!?! Hard-nosed bullying being seen as tough leadership - what?!?! All the old gang had to depart, PJ was placed in charge, Roos as coach, Bartlett as president and we started again from ground zero. So although it was the worst period I can remember of 50+ years as a Dees supporter, in reflection, I am glad it all happened. Today we have 40,000 members, sponsors who continue, a women's team, and a list that might finally give us some success.

What the actual f*#%! Hasn't this kid been through enough?! He's just lost his father to cancer, this is absolutely ridiculous. I honestly don't know what else to say than best wishes Jesse. Take the time to get through this, be with family as well. I'm shocked and just cannot believe this. Poor bloke.

Good call Balls has gone under the radar, 20 goals 6 behinds which is a massive improvement with kicking. on track for 55 goals averages 4.4 tackles. his pressure and manning the mark etc has been great well done Jeffy! and well done coaching staff for motivating and focusing a man that would not be easy to coach

Peter Jackson was on Triple M last week for a pre-game interview (wasnt our game though...) Paul Roos was a part of the regular panel. They were discussing the point in time where Roos decided that he would take the coaching position. Roos had met with the players and a senior player said to him. 'I just want to be treated like a human being' Neeld was a [censored] stain on this club.

No, no I reckon it's different this time. My overriding feeling is one of hope and expectation that something positive will happen. Not a fleeting sense of euphoria caused by a memorable win against expectations.

A good win - the future looks great, we will play finals no problem, smiles all round The next loss - We are in shambles, Goodwin is a terrible coach and everyone needs to be dropped to Casey Rinse and repeat.

Nice Post Billy. Poor Guy, Hope the club and everyone else gets around him and helps him through this fight. As if he hasnt enough to deal with. Get well Jesse.

Roosy's rebuild was made a lot easier because of Neeld's tenure. That's about all we should be thankful of from that time.

The other one I noticed ont eh weekend was players being blocked from contesting marks. The most obvious one was I think Adelaide's first goal (a big man marked just outside the goal square). If you watch it and look at the back you see Tmac Standing side by side with his opponent, as his opponent moves another Adelaide player steps in and puts his arms out to keep TMac from moving. It wasn't just a block it was an active shepard. No free and it wasn't even subtle. TMac remonstrated with the ump but it happened again and again with no free.

I thought Mark Riccuitto was very balanced in his commentary.

Sad news, although fantastic that is was caught early. And to all the people here who proclaimed they knew it "wasn't physical", chill out on the speculation next time - it'll make you look like less of an [censored] down the track.

Not about censorship at all od - its about privacy imo. We now have the very sad, sad news that Jesse has testicular cancer. The club was absolutely right in protecting Jesse. In an ironic way your post is correct about not burying issues that should be talked about. Testicular cancer is a major health issue for men and if there is to be a positive to this sad news, prompting others to be checked and open discussion will benefit many people.

90% success rate and normally a six week recovery period after the operation

faaaaark me. My heart goes out to Jesse. Ive been a cancer survivor and have some idea of the journey ahead for him But, on a less heart felt and selfish note note.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .... this club is surely cursed. We shouldnt be allowed to have top ten picks because they all get ill in some new rarely seen way. It might even be dangerous to be picked by us.

I don't know what to say.....completely floored by this.

Team of the week: http://m.afl.com.au/news/2017-05-16/team-of-the-week-r8-did-we-get-it-right Hibberd, Petracca, Viney and Oliver. Hibberd currently leading the votes for the defenders and Oliver chosen as the people's pick.

I don't think Neeld was the cause of the problem, or really the primary fuel. He went in and acknowledged the same issues Roos did, and tried to change the team in the same way. Neeld took a lot of the issues caused by management and the CEO out on the playing group, so there was really no differentiation between the corporate structure and the playing group. Neeld may have falling into that. We all know who the real stains were. I thought Neeld was that "down before going up" point. After 2011, it seemed inevitable that we crash the way we did. It was important that more people be held to account, and I think the Neeld years will showed the club for what it truly was, and that was an amateur football club competing in a professional competition. Some of you may not see this, but if Neeld did one things, it's have the guts to come in and say the club and its standards were the pits. He was brought in to instil premiership-caliber standards, and that's exactly what he tried to do. He wasn't a great coach, but he wasn't wrong with what he wanted to do.

Great film. Missus now at her limit & on verge of banning anything footy related in the house.

Moloney was part of the problem. Is it any wonder he took off.... Neeld was out of his league, but i also have some sympathy for him. Imagine trying to get some discipline into the MFC List at that time. They had just burnt Dean Bailey, a man they all supposedly loved with 186. Who cares about the Bluey the year before.... TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY MOLONEY. You Bolted...

On another note, he may not have set the World on fire with big bags of four or five goals, but my take is that Jeff Garlett is back to his best this season and has been consistently good in most/all games that I remember (probably our most consistent small forward). His forward pressure was pretty good (again) on the weekend with six tackles and my perception is that he has got better at distributing the ball/setting up other players inside 50 and certainly his set shot goal kicking has been pretty solid this year, where previously I thought it was a bit of a shortcoming. He has been important to our team so far this year and I'm looking forward to a day when Jeffy really turns it on and has a day out.