Lachie Schultz was a plumber before he began his AFL career in 2019. Professional athlete would currently be nestled into his LinkedIn profile, alongside business owner for his sports underwear brand.

But post-career, list manager might just make its way there too.

As Collingwood’s newest recruit Jesse Hogan notes, he’s a jack of all trades.

“I honestly would’ve thought he was the list manager here it was that much time he was putting in so I really appreciated that from a good friend of mine,” Hogan said of Schultz’s badgering to recruit him to the Magpies.

“He was all over it immediately and I’m happy those messages he was sending almost 12 weeks ago, it’s come full circle and I’m sitting here wearing the black and white.

“It worked and he’s a jack of all trades it feels like so it’s nice to be sitting here.”

Schultz was resolute in his pursuit of his former teammate and housemate in Hogan, who arrived at the KGM Centre this week as the first traded player of the 2026 window, joining a fourth club to extend his AFL career.

It’s because through firsthand experience, he knows what the 31-year-old can bring. While they only spent two years together at Fremantle between 2019-20, the pair forged a close bond; one they’re eager to rekindle in black and white.

“I'm pretty stoked to get Jesse to the Club officially, he’s obviously one of my really good mates and a former housemate when we were both over at Freo living in Perth and I still keep up the contact with him and spend a lot of time with him,” Schultz said on the Club’s Player Movement Wrap podcast.

“I know him very well and very excited to bring him into the Club and just excited for what he's going to add to our forward line and to be able to create a new dynamic up there.

“He’s a really good focal point for our mids to deliver the ball into and hopefully get a lot of goals off the back of it.”

Hogan was injured for large parts of the year, meaning he had plenty of time to weigh up his next move.

Schultz wasn’t prepared to die wondering though, imploring the 190-game veteran to return to Victoria, the state he began his AFL career in when he was drafted by Melbourne.

“Yeah maybe halfway through the season. He was out of contract at the end of the year and I'd seen some stuff online that there were murmurs of him leaving and I reached out straight away,” Schultz said.

“As soon as I saw that, I'm like, ‘mate, you've got to get to Collingwood, we'd love to have you’.

“He sounded pretty optimistic at the time and I spoke to a few of the boys around the Club and everyone was on board, everyone was like ‘if that's a chance, we've got to get him here’.

“I just continually got into his ear and told him how good the place was, how good the environment was and the culture and how well he would fit in and become one of the boys instantly.

“Obviously there were some other clubs that were sniffing around, but I'm glad we got on the front foot straight away.  Leppa did an awesome job in recruiting him and getting to work on getting him across and I'm just glad that we've got to where we are now.”

Alongside Schultz, Hogan has connections all around the Club and industry.

He was teammates with high-flying defender Jeremy Howe during his early days at the red and blue, while he spent four years at GWS with Harry Perryman. Big men Darcy Cameron and Billy Framtpon are from his home state of WA, with Hogan donning the yellow guernsey with the former during this year’s State of Origin clash with the Vics. Even AFLW assistant Dom Tyson and staff members Lynden Dunn and Neville Jetta are in the building and know him from his Demons days.

It’s all then more reason for Hogan to already feel a sense of comfort in black and white. Having been in touch with a lot of the players already, come 30 November when pre-season rolls around, the forward will be more than ready to integrate into the group.

“It’s an interesting, I’ve been around the league for a while so I think I’ve actually met pretty much every player,” he said.

“I’ve been talking to a couple of blokes, obviously I know Darcy Cameron and Billy Frampton, who are both Perth lads.

“I know the majority of the boys, not on too much further than a surface level but since I kind of hinted that I’m coming here, they’ve reached out and made me feel really welcome.

“So I’m looking forward to getting to meet the majority and but it’s nice having a couple of close relationship it just makes it that bit easier.

“It’s a really welcoming group and can’t wait to meet everyone and get involved in it.”

More specifically for Schultz, leading a forward line alongside the 2024 Coleman Medallist has his excitement levels reaching fever pitch ahead of the new year.

With over 400 majors across his 13 seasons, Hogan joins a forward group with experience in the form of Dan McStay in career-best form, metronome Tim Membrey and the powerful Beau McCreery, alongside emerging stars Charlie West, Will Hayes and Jack Buller.

It’s his experience in a multitude of environments that Schultz believes will best allow Hogan to impart his wisdom on his new teammates as the line strives to continually sharpen their attacking prowess in 2027.

“He's just as clever as anyone I've ever played with when it comes to learning about the game and knowing the game and his leadership in our forward line is going to be invaluable,” Schultz said.

“He just provides such a key pillar that we can really lean into and base our forward line around and he's just going to be awesome for the young guys like Charlie West and Jack Buller and these young guys.

“The way he works at training and the way he plays, his work rate is next to no one that I've seen. So I'm just excited for the young guys to really learn off him and tip into him.

“He’s going to form really good relationships with Dan McStay and Tim Membrey and these guys and he's just such a lovable guy and everyone in our forward line is going to really flourish with him around them.”

Hogan can’t wait to begin gelling with his new teammates either.

With the prospect of playing in front of the Magpie Army in front of a roaring MCG set to buoy him this pre-season, there will be no shortage of motivation as he begins life as a Magpie.

“Initially whenever you get to a club, no matter how many games you’ve played or what you’ve done, whether it’s your first game or your 300^th game I think coming in and just earning the respect and trust of the teammates is key,” he said.

“Having a really strong pre-season, showing a bit of my personality and then when games come around just showing I’m competitive and someone that loves to win, I love big crowds I love that aspect of it, I think everyone does but it’s something that I really enjoy it.

“I’m super competitive, really team orientated and just love winning, it sounds pretty simplistic but I’m pretty competitive with most things in life.

“Walking off the ground in front of 70,000 on a Friday night is something that really fuels me.

“You don’t just get that, you’ve obviously got to earn it, but I’m determined to give my all and continue my career at Collingwood and hopefully have a strong impact.”