ON MOST nights this year, you'll have found Jesse Hogan at a place called Rehub.

Located in the heart of Sydney's Bondi Junction, the wellness centre has provided Hogan with the perfect spot to rebuild a body that has always seemed at risk of stalling a football career that has promised so much.

Hogan wasn't instructed to find a place that could get him through the season's most gruelling and taxing months. It wasn't even suggested to him. He did it on his own accord, yet another indication of the star forward's newly instilled sense of maturity and purpose since arriving at Greater Western Sydney four years ago.

For Hogan, that decision wasn't just made to benefit his football. It was necessary to continue his football. The result has been the first season in his 12 years in the AFL system where he has played every game, a maiden Coleman Medal, the likely prospect of a first All-Australian blazer and, potentially, a premiership later this year.

"The medical staff at the Giants, James Rahme and Andrew Ryan, we sat down three years ago after I'd had two navicular stress fractures and done five calves in 14 months. We just had to sit down and make something that was going to be unique for me," Hogan told AFL.com.au over the weekend.

"I know I'm a high performance staff member's nightmare because I don't train as much, but I just haven't been able to do it. Traditionally, if you do a third navicular, it's pretty much career over. I've had to be a bit smart with that."

Hogan, and the Giants, are indeed smart with his body. They are also trusting of their star man's own feel around what works for him. A return of 69 goals, making his first ever Coleman Medal a mere formality even before the final round of action, is testament to the fact their plan is working.

No two weeks ever look the same for Hogan. Sometimes, he'll train fully. Other times, he'll not train at all. In between, there might be the odd session where he simply runs a few laps to see how he feels before pulling the pin early. For the most part, the club leaves it entirely in his hands.

But the one constant for Hogan has been the regular trips to Rehub. There, he enjoys stints in an infrared sauna, a cold plunge pool, compression casts, cryotherapy chambers and sitting with advanced muscle stimulation machines.

After that, he has generally finished his day with a gentle swim in the famous Bondi Icebergs. While not rigorous, it's a routine that keeps the 29-year-old both active as well as off his troubled feet.

"I just wanted to do something a bit extra," Hogan said.

"I've been going to Bondi Icebergs most nights after training at around 6pm as the sun goes down and swimming 10 to 15 laps. It's only 15 minutes, maybe 500m, but I've been doing stuff like that just to give me a mental break.

"I've been tracking it. I ended up doing 9kms in July and I've done 10 and a half in August. I've been getting some instant gratification and reward with my performances, so it's been pretty easy to stay motivated because I've got the evidence there.

"My girlfriend Chloe hasn't seen a whole lot of me after trainings, but she's been super supportive and understanding. She's been with me for a lot of the journey, so she's more than happy to let me be a little more selfish. I honestly have put a lot of work in."

It's a welcome change for Hogan. A self-confessed footy obsessive, missing time through his back injury, his foot injuries or his numerous soft-tissue injuries has also meant missing the chance to put in that work.

"When I was a junior, I used to love running," Hogan said.

"My life was based around footy. After training, I'd finish, go to the beach and run 4kms. I was just wired differently back then. I couldn't really do stuff like that with the back stress fracture, then I had the two foot injuries and it became hard for me to keep doing that stuff."

Hogan will remember the entirety of the 2024 season fondly. But there's one date, in particular, he'll cherish even more. It came shortly after a dismal loss to Adelaide that saw Adam Kingsley's side fall outside the top eight for the first time all year.

"It was July 1 when I said, 'Nup … I'm giving this everything'," Hogan said.

Having kicked only five goals over the last month before that day, he felt his form wavering. It was then that Hogan doubled down on his determination, cranked up his visits to Rehub, and found an escape at Bondi Icebergs.

What followed was a purple patch. There was instant reward with five goals against Carlton, four against Richmond, four against Gold Coast, four against Melbourne, five against Hawthorn, three against Brisbane, then six against Fremantle. All in consecutive weeks. From there, a Coleman Medal was inevitable.

"I had been doing a lot right all season, but I was in poor form and I'd played three or four poor games in a row and I just wasn't contributing or feeling a part of games," Hogan said.

"I remember sitting down by myself. I didn't really have a chat with anyone, but I just had a think about the next eight weeks and how I wanted to give the team and give myself every chance to finish the year really strongly and be in good shape come finals. Honestly, it just clicked."

Hogan's 69-goal campaign was the fulfillment of the lofty potential that has always followed him. From being taken at just 17 years of age by Melbourne in a 'mini-draft', to winning the Telstra AFL Rising Star, from moves across the country to the Dockers and back again to the Giants, the prospect of a season like this has always been on the horizon.

But, in among the doubts, the trades and the setbacks that have dotted and weaved their way through Hogan's career arc, did he believe he was capable of this?

"I always believed that I could be in this conversation," Hogan said.

"At the start of the year, I didn't know what Jeremy Cameron or Charlie Curnow thought, but because they've been around and they've both won Colemans and they've both got All-Australian blazers, they probably know they're both going to be around the mark.

"That's never really been a reality for me, so it was never something that I thought about. But I took a lot of confidence out of last year. I was still a little bit inconsistent, but I definitely felt I could be in the conversation with the top five or six best key forwards in the competition.

"It's pretty special. I mean, honestly, it's not something I take for granted. I've watched so much footy, I've missed so much as well. Just to have it all fall in line and for the stars to align for me and to be in a position where I can potentially get my first All-Australian blazer and win the Coleman as well, it's a pretty special feeling."