Jesse Hogan can only sympathise with an under-fire Harley Reid as GWS lick their wounds and prepare to take on West Coast.
Reid has been heavily criticised for his drop in form during the Eagles' winless start to the season, the teenage star also copping flak for engaging in too many scuffles with opponents.
The 19-year-old attracted more scrutiny after he was fined $1000 by the AFL for his middle finger salute to the Gabba crowd during their round-two loss to the Brisbane Lions.
Hogan, who began his career with highly publicised stints at Melbourne and Fremantle, said he felt for the former No.1 pick.
The fifth-placed Giants (2-1) will welcome the Eagles (0-3) to Engie Stadium on Sunday looking to bounce back from a 12-point defeat to Hawthorn in Launceston.
"Yeah, Harley - you can't open your phone without seeing Harley," Hogan said on Tuesday.
"It's probably pretty unfair. I think he's still 19.
"I haven't really got a whole lot of opinion on it. I think he gets dealt with pretty harshly.
"We'll have a plan for Harley this week. He's not a player you take lightly.
"He's going to be a star of the competition. He can probably win the game off his own boot."
Reigning Coleman medallist Hogan has experienced a career renaissance since moving out of football heartland to GWS, something he anticipates new teammate Jake Stringer will benefit from.
Former Essendon star Stringer made his club debut alongside Hogan against the Hawks, the pair both returning from injuries.
"It was huge for me to be able to come and just to be able to disconnect from footy a little bit," Hogan said.
"And I knew straight away when Jake got here, he was going to have a similar kind of experience.
"It is nice to be able to disconnect from the footy world.
"He was playing at Essendon. It's a huge club, the pressure's always high, you got more eyeballs on you constantly.
"To come here and just to be able to strip it back a little bit and enjoy the little things - that was the thing that I found helped me the most.
"If you don't enjoy the grind, it will swallow you up and spit you out pretty quick.
"I think Jake's had a fairly similar kind of start to his journey (at the Giants)."
Hogan kicked four goals against Hawthorn after recovering from a broken thumb, while Stringer finished with 14 touches and three behinds following a hamstring injury.
"Every game you play together will be valuable. You naturally get more chemistry," Hogan said.
"And you don't really get to play with players like Jake very often. He's a very unique player."
