Wiseblood

I'll wait for confirmation from Jesse or the club, but it seems where there is smoke, there may be fire. Again, the Sun article stated that he hadn't asked to be traded, so I'll be interested to see how this unfolds.

That's fair, but he never said Hogan had agreed to a deal. Just that Freo were going to offer him a massive deal and that they think they can get him, which is the same news we have heard for two years now. The other article ran with his news and then claimed he agreed to a deal,which is not what Denham said. It will snowball from here.

It's a disgrace, to be honest. No quotes, no proof, nothing.

And you're welcome to be sucked in by it. And if you don't think these publications are trying to get people to subscribe then I don't know what to tell you.

No, I don't. If you read the article, or looked at what others posted, then you'll realise that it's predicated on nothing more than Freo potentially making a big offer. Nothing more, nothing less. That's click bait. It's also behind a paywall so people sign up to read it. Again, that's click bait in its purest form. Come up with a big headline based on nothing to suck people in.

The Denham article is total click bait. Freo seem to make a huge offer every year, yet Hogan has stayed. Why would things change now, especially with us coming in to our premiership window and him being very settled in Victoria? Plus Freo are garbage. I know WA is his home town but he has said that he feels more and more at home in Victoria every year. Freo might make the offer, but I can easily see Hogan turning it down and signing a new four year deal with us.

Bob - sane posters know what he brings to the table and acknowledge how good he can be. If he wasn't struck down by injury he would have kicked 50 goals this year and he can form the sort of 1-2 punch with T Mac that most other clubs could only dream of having. Thankfully the club knows this as well. There is no need to get sucked in by those who can't see past their nose (and no, Moonie, I'm not including you in that!)

I won't argue that his game was well below the standard he set for himself over the last month. What I am disappointed in is how quick the people who want to sink the boots in are just as quick to ignore him when he plays really well and provides the leadership we've been after. Spencer is obviously the worst as he wants his thread to stick, so he won't jump in here to praise his efforts, he just gives the impression that he's sitting in the corner, waiting for him to stuff up so he can pop his head out. It's poor. But, again, I won't argue that he played poorly today. But as you say, others were just as bad.

And that is counted against him for today, yet not counted for the previous two wins? No player is perfect, and we had plenty off the boil today.

Funny how this thread doesn't pop up in the previous two weeks, or the two games prior to finals, when he was terrific. Then the usuals come out to pot him in a game where 20 players stunk it up. Funny that.

No, we don't. I'd be stunned if we had any interest at all, especially after we just acquired Lever, re-signed Oscar and have Frost playing terrific footy. We don't need him at all.

Are there? You and a couple of others doesn't constitute 'many' in my book.

Article on the HUN saying the same thing. Wonder how we swing a decent deal with our first pick being in the 30s?

Lots of big words in there, Shakespeare. Well done. Some think even reasonable discussion of trading a contracted player who has given no indication of wanting out as stupid. Yes, it can be stupid. Others, which included myself much earlier in the thread, went over the top in our defence of Jesse and our belief that this thread is stupid. As I said, plenty from both sides.

Reasonable discussion can still be full of stupidity. There's been plenty from both sides.

I don't think any of us would be against it - the bloke is a very handy ruckman and we've been crying out for some time for a back up to Max, not a stop gap like Pedersen or T Mac. What I'm interested in is what we have in store for him - are we guaranteeing him game time? He spent all year in the VFL and I can't see him slotting in to our side either, so I'm curious as to what discussions we are having with him that have him interested in playing for us next season.

This is not directed at you Febes, as you only posted the article which is relevant to the topic, but that's rubbish from Jay Clark. It's based on a hunch he has, and that Freo might enquire. Bloody brilliant, Jay. Melbourne might enquire about Buddy, but where does that get you? There are no quotes, no clear links, nothing. Just Jay Clark trying to get stay relevant and failing miserably.

Preuss would be a terrific get, but would he want to play the same role he has currently at North Melbourne? With Hogan, Tom Mac and Weideman, plus Gawn, I can't see Preuss getting a regular run in the senior side, which is what he has had to put up with this year. Going by that, I highly doubt he would have any interest in just changing the VFL side he is playing for. There are other clubs where he would get far more game time than with us and you would think that's where he'll go.

I don't think they have at all. I mean, why would they? They have a happy, contracted and loyal player at their club - why would they feel the need to weigh up his market value? It seems counter productive to me. Their job is to find talent and keep talent on the list, not weigh up their market value in case someone decides to leave. That would come when he does indicate that he wants to leave. If that ever were to happen then that is the time when they look at his market value. Why bother doing it before hand? Market value changes constantly, from player injuries/performance to what other clubs have done on the market themselves. It's the same in any sport. At the end of the day, none of us actually know what is happening behind closed doors, and it isn't just with the trade period. That goes for team changes, training, discussions etc, something you and I have agreed upon many times. This is no different. But, to me, it makes far more sense that they wouldn't bother looking at the market value of their own players until they absolutely had to, either because a player wants out or because they want to move somebody on. Until then they would be concentrating on their development as a person and as a Melbourne player.

Hardly Moonie. As the above post suggests I'm not the only one who thinks debating the hypothetical value of a contracted, loyal player is a little ridiculous.

Will always love Bernie. Someone uploaded this years back but I've always loved it and, to me, sums up how quickly he fell in love with the club.

I didn't deny there weren't 'seeds'. My point is the 'seeds' are there because others are trying to connect dots that just aren't there. Clearly Jesse doesn't to go home, we don't want him to go and his manager has said the same thing. It's the media who go "Hogan is from WA, I reckon he might go home one day" that get these rumours going. You can start anything if you like. And you are the dill that said 'anything is possible'. I was just going by your inane rules as to why we should start a thread on anyone if 'anything is possible'. I applaud how well you are clutching to a sinking ship, but the Hogan going home stuff is quickly running out of steam. In fact, the only ones keeping it going are posters like you who refuse to concede.

The seeds are there because people decide they are there. Clearly the bloke loves being at the club and loves living in Melbourne. The seeds are planted by those who need something to write about. Outside of signing another deal, what else does he need to do? This 'anything is possible' stuff to justify you continuing to waffle on about it is rubbish. If anything is possible, then why not start a thread on every player leaving because, you know, anything is possible. It's tripe.

Which Ablett? The one who had spent his time at Hawthorn on a wing? Can't really be classed as a key forward when traded as he wasn't playing there at Hawthorn. Fev was a disgrace and Carlton couldn't wait to get rid of him. Same with Barry Hall, who was traded twice. Kennedy went for Judd and wasn't as established, at the time, as Hogan is now. Outside of maybe Buddy, Templeton and Lockett, none of the above really fit Hogan. That's just three. Unless a club gives us something stupid, Hogan stays. Hypothesising about a club doing that seems so strange to me, yet here we are.

Thank God for that. He'd be no good to us sitting down.