KEY FORWARD Jesse Hogan says 2017 taught him to put football into perspective after he endured an incredibly trying year.   

Hogan sadly lost his father, Tony, to cancer, and then the youngster was diagnosed with testicular cancer. On top of that, he was also suspended early in 2017 and suffered a collarbone injury late in the season.

The 23-year-old said he learned plenty, as he prepares for the 2018 season.

“It’s something for me that put life into perspective and footy into perspective,” he told Melbourne Media.

“I can look at it (footy) from a broader perspective now, is all I’m trying to say, and I can come to training and it’s not just all about footy anymore.

“I can relate it back to certain things that happened in my life, and certain setbacks that I’ve had, so as much as it was an unfortunate year, there was a lot I took out of it.”

Although the sight of Hogan playing a full season with the Demons is an exciting prospect, he said the most expectation he feels is from himself.

“I put expectation on myself – no matter what, really. You want to go out and be the best player you can, so I think there is a bit of outside noise,” he said.

“As player, it’s the one thing you’ve got to focus on – what your coach has to say and what your teammates think of you, rather than external pressure.

“I’ve had a pretty uninterrupted pre-season, which is always handy. I haven’t had any injuries and I’ve been able to put a lot of time into my body and certain areas of my game, so I couldn’t have asked for much more this pre-season.”

Hogan added that he was also looking forward to teaming up with Tom McDonald, when he returns from injury, in attack this year.

“It’s super exciting having Tommy up there as well,” he said.

“I only played three or four games with him [in attack] last year, so to be able to play a few more games with him, and develop that chemistry that you can develop after 20 or 30 games, is super exciting.”

And in terms of how far Melbourne can go this year, Hogan said the sky was the limit.

“At this time of year, after missing out in the fashion we did last year, it was super disappointing. It’s left a fire in a bit of the boys’ belly, so we’d be lying if we said we didn’t have expectations to play finals,” he said.

“I think most teams would say that they are, but we genuinely have expectations to play in September and we’ll take it one week at a time.

“There is no ceiling at the Dees at the moment – is what we’re trying to say.”