JESSE Hogan says he feels chuffed that he’s become such a fan favourite among the Melbourne supporters and that they are desperate for him to remain a Demon for life. 

The Western Australian-born Hogan, who is contracted until at least the end of 2017, says he is rapt that the Melbourne faithful have taken to him and want to see him in red and blue colours for the rest of his playing days.

“Well, at least they want me here. You could be on the other end where they don’t want you here,” he told Dee TV.  

“That’s always going to be in the back of people’s minds, that I am from Perth and I do enjoy Perth, but I am thoroughly enjoying my footy [at Melbourne].

“I’m signed on for another few years and I’m really enjoying myself and am taking it one week at a time, one month at a time and one year at a time. I try not to think about it too much, but it’s nice that people want me here.”

Hogan said it couldn’t be underestimated how challenging it was to adjust moving from the other side of the country to play at the highest level.

In his case, he moved from Perth to Melbourne at just 17 years old in 2012, but he has since overcome the initial hurdles.

“It’s pretty hard to be settled as a footballer because every week is so intense but compared to last year, I was really struggling to be honest with my back,” he said.

“I was trying to get away from footy and how do you get away from footy when you’re in the heart of Melbourne and footy is everything?

“This year, I’ve had a really good balance between footy, surfing and going to down to Torquay with Nathan Jones and James Harmes and the boys. I’m finding that balance and am still finding my feet, but this year I did enjoy myself.”

Looking ahead to 2016, Hogan said he was excited about gaining some teammates back from injury to create a revamped forward line, including Sam Frost and Dean Kent.

“It’s really exciting. Sam Frost, who has also come in [from GWS], is one of our key players internally and he’s super exciting,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve seen many athletes like him. He’s lightening quick, so we’ll hopefully have him up there next year playing alongside me, which would be handy.

“Kenty as well, is another player inside our four walls who is highly rated and probably does the team roles better than anyone else at the club, so it’s a super exciting prospect.

“Even though we have all of these young players, we also have Jeffy [Garlett] and Dawsey (Chris Dawes), so we’ve got that good mix and balance. We all get along well, so it’s really exciting.”

Hogan said 2016 shaped as a big season.

“For me personally, my next year is probably even more important than this one. I’ve had a pretty good season. A lot of the time you see those players who’ve had a good first season – they don’t get complacent, but they don’t have that drive to prove themselves,” he said.

“This off-season is huge for us as a team and for myself and to see how we can develop as a team. Personally, I can’t wait to get into it.

“I can’t wait to develop myself to another level and not get complacent and just really strive to be part of the collective.”