Jesse Hogan’s time as a defender is officially over, with GWS coach Leon Cameron confirming the ex-Docker will fight for a spot in the Giants’ forward line.

Just four months after Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir experimented with his star recruit down back, Cameron said Hogan would be a forward heading into 2021.

“In terms of (Hogan’s) position, we expect him to probably take up that forward role in the January, February period,” Cameron said on SEN.

“We’ll find out as we go along.

“There’s positions up for grabs… what we’re looking forward to from a coach’s point of view is who wants to grab them, and Jesse sits in that boat.

“He’s looking forward to that challenge.”

Hogan was trialled as a defender at the Dockers late in 2020 as he failed to force his way into the line up.

Experienced AFL recruiter Stephen Silvagni even called for Hogan to move to a defensive role permanently as his career stalled at Fremantle.

“When he was coming through as a junior, I loved him playing at centre half-back,” Silvagni said in October.

“I think he would be an exceptional player there and I still believe that would be his best position.”

But Cameron said he was already impressed with Hogan’s work rate, as the Giants look to replace star forward Jeremy Cameron who headed to Geelong in the trade period.

“There’s early little signs we’ve seen (with Hogan) and I can clearly see he’s got an appetite to play some really good footy and let his footy do the talking,” Cameron revealed.

“He likes to really work hard and train, and we feel like that’s a great step in the right direction.”

Cameron confirmed the club was well aware of Hogan’s mental health battles, but believes the move to Sydney is for the best.

“It’s no doubt Jesse’s got this opportunity,” he said.

“For whatever reason, it didn’t seem to gel when he went back to his hometown in Perth to play for Fremantle.

“He played some good footy at times but had some challenging times with clearly the injury in his foot and some mental health concerns.

“We feel as though coming to our footy club, a different environment… clearly being in Sydney, the spotlight on him is probably not as heavy as some other states and that might be advantageous for him for his mental health.”

The Dockers offloaded Hogan with one-year still to run on his contract for pick 54 last month.