THERE have been no further developments in Jesse Hogan’s future, following the opening of the 2018 NAB AFL Trade Period at Marvel Stadium on Monday.

Hogan is yet to decide on whether he’ll remain at the red and blue in 2019 or request a trade to Fremantle, having shown interest in returning home to Western Australia.

General Manager of football operations, Josh Mahoney, said although the Demons gave Hogan the green light to explore his options, nothing is set in stone. 

“We’ve said to Fremantle that we want Jesse to stay – we still see him playing for Melbourne next year,” Mahoney told Melbourne Media.

“We still think what Jesse has done in his first period of time in AFL as a 23-year-old – he’s been a leading goalkicker a number of times – he’s a very prized player to have and we know the importance of what he does for us.

“But if there’s a deal that’s favourable enough to us, we will look at it.”

Several names remain up in the air to either join or depart the red and blue, after a quiet first day of trade saw no deals done for the Demons.

Mahoney said despite the waiting game, Melbourne is set with various options to ensure it makes the most of the period.

“For our scenario, there’s a few of the bigger decisions that need to be made, and then other decisions will fall off the back of that,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a busy period overall for a lot of clubs.”

Josh Mahoney’s Trade Period Update

Jesse Hogan

“Still us and Fremantle are waiting on Jesse’s decision at the moment. To be clear, we said we were happy for Jesse to speak to Fremantle and see that as an option. We’ve said to Fremantle that we want Jesse to stay – we still see him playing for Melbourne next year, but if there’s a deal that’s favourable enough to us, we will look at it. We still think what Jesse has done in his first period of time in AFL as a 23-year-old – he’s been a leading goalkicker a number of times – he’s a very prized player to have and we know the importance of what he does for us, but also the importance that that sort of position plays for Fremantle. It’s certainly something we’re open to, but it’s certainly not across the line just yet.”

Steven May

“As a club, you have to look at all your different options when Jesse is making up a decision, as he is, so we have a number of different scenarios. Steven May has been spoken about. He’s got to make a decision first of all, if he does leave the Gold Coast, but we think with his age profile and position he plays, he would help our team. But, there are a few things that have to land before that happens.”

Kade Kolodjashnij

“He’s a player our recruiters liked in his draft year – he’s been in the system now for five years. We think he would be the type of player that would help us, particularly with that run and carry. We’ve spoken to Gold Coast and we think something would happen during the trade period, so hopefully Kade will join us next year.”

Braydon Preuss

“Braydon Preuss fits in that category as a backup ruckman. He’s been in the system now for a few years, played a lot of VFL and some AFL footy. We think his mature body would be a benefit for us. We think he’d be able to play as a backup role for Max (Gawn) but also [useful for] when we play two rucks at different stages in the same team, as West Coast did in the Grand Final. He’s one player we’re interested in. We’ve had preliminary chats with the Kangaroos, but he’s in contract there, [so a trade would need to be done].

Dom Tyson

“We spoke to Dom in his interview at the end of the year, that there is a lack of opportunities through the midfield. That’s probably because we’ve drafted heavily in the midfield and a lot of our young midfielders have come through and played really well. This has put him in the position to play out on the wing, which he’s not really suited to. He’s looking at the moment for other opportunities, which we’re happy for him to look around. If he finds a club of his preference, then we will look to do a trade for him. If not, we’re happy to have Dom back at our club to add to our midfield depth.”

Dean Kent

“Dean came to us at the end of the year and said his preference was to move to St Kilda. We’ve had chats with St Kilda and we think we will be able to get a trade done there at some point. It’s been a frustrating time for Dean; not through lack of opportunity but the injury run he’s had with us. He’s got an opportunity to go to St Kilda; he’s got a longer-term deal there. We thank Dean for his time at Melbourne but hope we can get a good deal for him and his AFL career can continue.”

Aaron vandenBerg

“We saw at the end of the year the value that Aaron adds for us. It’s through his own personal circumstances with his family that he’s looked at potentially moving to Sydney. We were happy for him to look at that, but having said all that, we’d love Aaron to stay at our club. He’s got a bit of decision-making to do over the next few days; hopefully it falls in our favour and he stays with Melbourne, and we can look forward to him playing through our midfield again, as he did late in the year.”