Time out for Hogan as dad dies

MELBOURNE has no timeline on a playing return for superstar forward Jesse Hogan who has the club’s full support following the passing of his father, Tony.

Hogan won’t play against Essendon this Sunday after confirming his father had lost a long battle with illness on Wednesday night.

Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said it had been a tough time of late for Hogan, who was watched by his family in Monday’s loss to Richmond, and the club would put no pressure on him to return to the field.

“All along, for the last four to six weeks it has been really hard for Jesse and we as a club have tried to support him through it,” Mahoney said yesterday.

“He won’t play this week against Essendon and in terms of timelines post that we will leave it in Jesse’s hands.

“It’s a very difficult time for any 22-year-old having to go through what he has over the last period of time, coupled with that he plays it out publicly in a lot of ways. It’s a difficult time and the best thing for the club is just to support him through it.

“We’ll gauge how he’s feeling about it, and it’s hard to measure in terms of timelines. We’ll just be here for him as well as his family.”

Mahoney said Hogan had done his best to handle a tough situation, which included recent criticism for his on-field demeanour, and a two-match suspension for striking.

“You try to put yourself in Jesse’s situation and no one knows how they are going to deal with it. He’s had to deal with that publicly,” Mahoney said.

“There have been people commenting on the different behaviours he has had, but hopefully this puts a bit of context in to what he’s been going through.

“We’ve been offering our support with everything from a sport psychologist to a chaplain. His father was a great supporter of Jesse and it’s a really sad loss.”

“We’ll just be here for him as well as his family.” FOOTBALL MANAGER JOSH MAHONEY