COACH Mark Neeld says no added pressure or expectation will be placed on 17 year-old recruit Jesse Hogan.
Neeld said that both he and the club did not want to add “unrealistic expectations” on the young tall forward, who was secured by Melbourne earlier this week, but won’t be a listed Demon until 2014.
“We may have been down that road before with Jack Watts and some of the unrealistic expectations that have been placed on Jack in the early part of his career - we’re certainly not doing that with Jesse,” he said.
“We will have a progression plan for him and we’re thrilled with the knowledge that he can be here for 12 months.
“We’ve done something very similar with Jack Viney - with Jesse’s conditioning and his strength development - David Misson will be in full control of that.
“We’ve got an 18-month window before Jesse is eligible to play League football, and we think that’s a great advantage.”
Neeld also cited Geelong star Tom Hawkins, who starred in Geelong’s 2011 premiership and won the club’s 2012 best and fairest, as an example of a key forward who had flourished after unnecessary scrutiny early in his career.
“Tom Hawkins’ last couple of seasons have been brilliant, but prior to that he came under a lot of scrutiny outside of the Geelong Football Club and not within it,” he said.
“We see here a player who’s worthy of a really high pick.
“Jesse is 17 years of age - we’re about to move him across the country and we’ve got 18 months lead in, and he’ll come here with the idea that he’s going to be a 10 to 12 year Melbourne player. That’s what we’re setting him up to be.”
Neeld, who flagged Mitch Clark as a training and mentor partner for Hogan, said the youngster would not play every match in the VFL next year.
“There will be some weeks where we might take him out of playing footy and he might emphasise his endurance training, but those decisions will be made as we go,” he said.
“That’s the skeleton plan at the moment.”
Hogan said he was overwhelmed when he found out he had been claimed by Melbourne.
“When I first heard it - I didn’t know what to think,” he said.
“I was with my brother and he’s always been a big role model for me, so we sat there for a while and thought about it and then we got really excited.”
Neeld said that both he and the club did not want to add “unrealistic expectations” on the young tall forward, who was secured by Melbourne earlier this week, but won’t be a listed Demon until 2014.
“We may have been down that road before with Jack Watts and some of the unrealistic expectations that have been placed on Jack in the early part of his career - we’re certainly not doing that with Jesse,” he said.
“We will have a progression plan for him and we’re thrilled with the knowledge that he can be here for 12 months.
“We’ve done something very similar with Jack Viney - with Jesse’s conditioning and his strength development - David Misson will be in full control of that.
“We’ve got an 18-month window before Jesse is eligible to play League football, and we think that’s a great advantage.”
Neeld also cited Geelong star Tom Hawkins, who starred in Geelong’s 2011 premiership and won the club’s 2012 best and fairest, as an example of a key forward who had flourished after unnecessary scrutiny early in his career.
“Tom Hawkins’ last couple of seasons have been brilliant, but prior to that he came under a lot of scrutiny outside of the Geelong Football Club and not within it,” he said.
“We see here a player who’s worthy of a really high pick.
“Jesse is 17 years of age - we’re about to move him across the country and we’ve got 18 months lead in, and he’ll come here with the idea that he’s going to be a 10 to 12 year Melbourne player. That’s what we’re setting him up to be.”
Neeld, who flagged Mitch Clark as a training and mentor partner for Hogan, said the youngster would not play every match in the VFL next year.
“There will be some weeks where we might take him out of playing footy and he might emphasise his endurance training, but those decisions will be made as we go,” he said.
“That’s the skeleton plan at the moment.”
Hogan said he was overwhelmed when he found out he had been claimed by Melbourne.
“When I first heard it - I didn’t know what to think,” he said.
“I was with my brother and he’s always been a big role model for me, so we sat there for a while and thought about it and then we got really excited.”
