Whatcha going to do, brother? Whatcha going to do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?
That is what nearly every AFL defender will ask themselves when they will face up against the Melbourne Demons.
Jesse Hogan is quickly becoming a commodity of the Melbourne line-up, with the youngster continuing to impress week after week.
‘Hulk’ Hogan, as he is affectionately named among the Demon community, is a hot prize on the market for Paul Roos and the Melbourne supporters.
Now, Demon fans finally have a player to brag about, a forward who shows everything it takes to become a star, and displays glimpses of brilliance.
Nostalgic images of the clubs greatest forward, David Neitz, and the club’s greatest talent, David Schwarz, will constantly spring to mind to Dees fans over the course of the next 10 years with Hogan. And they will hope that he does not experience the luck of the latter.
Schwarz, who came to the football club in 1991, was a revelation for the Demons and was seen as the next big thing for the club. He was a tough, agile big man who could burst packs and kick goals from anywhere.
However, Schwarz was dogged by injury and problems with gambling and his family, and was seen as a talent lost, a package of potential forgotten in the high-speed world of AFL football.
Though gambling has not been a problem in Hogan’s life, last season he experienced a year on the sidelines after sustaining a back injury that carried from a couple of weeks to a whole season.
Hogan, though, has not shown any sign of the back troubles that hurt him so last year. He has taken contested marks with ease, and hit packs hard, showing no sign of any pain from his previous injury.
His best match, against the Tigers, showed he could hang with the best, taking on the premier defender in the league, Alex Rance.
Rance had no answer to Hogan, and even though Hogan only kicked two goals on him, Rance looked second-rate, showing no sign of his All-Australian self.
Maybe he was just having an off-night.
Or maybe, in the words of Barry Hall, “he just came across a star in the making”.
The Demons are packed with potential, and with players such as Bernie Vince, Tom McDonald, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw, Christian Salem and Jesse Hogan, the sky is the limit for Melbourne.
With the next three matches against Fremantle, Sydney and Hawthorn, wins do not look easy to come by, and a young Melbourne side could be overrun.
But, with Hulkamania running wild, anything could happen.
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