GENERAL manager of football operations Josh Mahoney says the club was always confident key forward Jesse Hogan would extend his contract beyond 2017.

Hogan added a further two years to his existing deal on Monday, with the announcement on Tuesday that he would remain in the red and blue until at least the end of 2019.

“In the end, he was pretty positive about where we were headed and was happy to sign on for the long term,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney was also confident Hogan would remain at Melbourne post-2019.

“He’s a bit of a footy head and he loves going and watching games at the MCG and getting involved in that, so he’s enjoyed living here,” he said.

“As long as the team’s heading in the right direction and the environment’s good and he enjoys being around the guys he’s with, there’s no need for him to return to Perth.”

Mahoney said Hogan’s commitment meant the club had a host of impressive young talent.

“We can put him alongside Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw, Dom Tyson, Tom McDonald and Christian Petracca,” he said.

“It’s a great list of young talent that we’ve been able to develop over the last four years and the most important thing now is to retain those guys and we’ve focused on that this year.”