Paul Roos not worried about Hogan’s yips

Melbourne key forward Jesse Hogan had a sloppy Sunday but coach Paul Roos doesn’t believe it’s a chronic case of the yips.

Hogan, the AFL club’s talented youngster who comes off contract at the end of the 2017 season, clutched nine marks in the 32-point loss to Western Bulldogs at the MCG.

But the 21-year-old failed to convert that dominance into goals, managing just 1.3.

David Schwarz, who booted 243 goals for the Demons from 1991-2002, described Hogan’s kicking as a “disgrace” earlier this season.

Schwarz and other pundits have critiqued Hogan’s unique run-up but Roos feels the issue has been overplayed.

“The goal that he kicked was a good goal. Probably similar to the ones he missed,” Roos said.

“When it (Hogan’s run-up) becomes a problem you start to address it.

“But over the course of his career so far, which is short, his accuracy has been pretty good.”

Hogan has kicked 62.33 in his 28-game career, including a career-best haul of 7.1 against St Kilda in round six of the 2016 season.

The retention of Hogan remains one of the Demons’ top priorities, with the West Australian expected to attract a monster offer from Fremantle.

Roos noted there were few forwards in the history of the sport who could shake the yips during a game.

“Goal-kicking is often mental isn’t it? Unless you’re one the greats of the game like Tony Lockett,” he said.

“He could miss three then kick his next five.

“But the majority of forwards are confidence kicks. If they miss their first, often they can miss a couple in a row.

“Technically we’re not too worried about him at the moment … he’s actually been pretty good (in terms of accuracy) over the 18 months he’s played.”

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