In a team sport in which as many as 44 individuals can directly affect the match result, we seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy focussing on the efforts of a handful of athletes.
Whether it’s the breathtaking poise and vision of Gary Ablett and Scott Pendlebury in the midfield, or the nonchalant manner in which Buddy Franklin can kick goal after goal from outside 50, the stars of our game have earned the right to be placed on such a pedestal.
Fans of every AFL club love singling out their favourite players, appreciating their sublime talent and unparalleled dedication to their craft. The clubs do the same thing for the purposes of marketing and selling merchandise.
Although this is standard practice leaguewide, it seems as if the Melbourne Football Club and its fans place an even greater emphasis on star power and the ability of an individual to lead their club to the ultimate success.
Despite the obvious irony of a demon deity, it appears that this is how the club operates.
Ron Barassi, Norm Smith, Robbie Flower and Jim Stynes are among the legends who have been immortalised into AFL folklore as a result of their outstanding careers with and contributions to the oldest club in the AFL. It’s all well and good to anoint such figures when they have proven themselves, but at Melbourne, 18-year-old kids are thrust into the limelight to be the face of the club almost as soon as they’re drafted.
As a result, this Demon deity fascination has claimed its fair share of victims, particularly in more recent times as the club has struggled both on and off the field. Since Melbourne’s last finals appearance in 2006, many a false messiah has been adopted by both the Demon faithful and the club itself.
Jack Watts’ ongoing struggle to acclimate to the AFL has been dissected again and again since he was drafted. Poor Watts was never going to live up to the expectations placed upon him by a ravenous fan-base – the Messiah himself probably couldn’t have exceeded the expectations of Melbourne supporters.
The club may not have helped Watts either by selecting him to make his debut in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday game against Collingwood while he was still in year 12. The now infamous footage of Watts being gang tackled by a swarm of Magpies as he approached the ball for the first time as an AFL player clearly illustrates that he was not physically ready to play at AFL level. But the club relented to the pressure placed on it by star-hungry fans nonetheless, and this could be part of the reason why Watts may never live up to his AFL potential.
While Watts has continued to battle, Tom Scully, Jack Trengove and Jack Grimes have all been thought of as the club’s next great hope. After two seasons, Scully bolted for a contract that was too good to refuse from the Giants, while Trengove and Grimes were burdened with the responsibility of captaining the club at the ages of 20 and 22 respectively.
Trying to lead this club at its lowest point would have been a tough task for anyone, let alone two of the youngest club captains in history. One can only imagine the physical and mental toll taken on the two Jacks as a result of leading a team that was virtually helpless on the field at such a young age.
The two are no longer captains of the club, through no fault of their own, and we must now wonder if that traumatic experience will haunt them for the rest of their playing careers.
Trengove wouldn’t even be on the Melbourne list this season if it wasn’t for an aggravation of the foot injury that caused him to miss most of 2014, as he was set to be traded to Richmond before failing a medical. Grimes, on the other hand, was a useful player for the Demons last season, but certainly did not reach the heights that we saw him reach pre-captaincy.
The Demons need to do absolutely whatever it takes to ensure that Jesse Hogan does not follow in the footsteps of Watts, Scully, Trengove and Grimes by becoming one of these victims.
Melbourne supporters are obsessing over Hogan and he is already being touted as a potential saviour of the Melbourne Football Club. Sound familiar? Keep in mind that he’s just turned 20 and hasn’t yet played an AFL game after two injury riddled seasons on Melbourne’s list.
Getting through this season injury-free would probably constitute a successful season for the youngster, but the voracious Melbourne fans will be after much more than that. Patience is typically required with key position players as they are unlikely to make an immediate impact in their first outings at AFL level. Remember the first few seasons of Tom Hawkins’ career?
Hogan must not be given a senior game until he is 100 per cent fit and ready to play at AFL level, no matter how long the fans need to wait. Ensuring that the young man reaches his full potential so that he can terrorise defenders for the next decade is much more important than selling a few extra tickets in the short term.
There are similarities between Hogan and Watts: they have both been considered to be unmissable key forward prospects, they were taken with high draft picks, and their first names start with the letter J.
The Melbourne faithful will be hoping that that is where the similarities start and finish in terms of the trajectories of their AFL careers. If the Demons manage Hogan properly and fans keep their expectations within the realms of possibility, they may very well get their wish.
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