It does feel like the penny has dropped and he's going to play a lot of football in 2022.
He already demonstrated that innate ability to lose his opponent a few times, something which will be very useful in the zoning era.
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It does feel like the penny has dropped and he's going to play a lot of football in 2022.
He already demonstrated that innate ability to lose his opponent a few times, something which will be very useful in the zoning era.
So what are reasonable expectations for JUH in 2022?
Number of games? Number of goals? Non stats stuff such as defensive pressure?
I think I'd expect him to have done enough to be considered best 22 in 2023. Basically to have had a good enough season that he is best 22, but allowing for the likelihood that he might find it tough to play a full season at that level.
So expecting 12+ games, I guess a goal a game, and it's really about him showing that he has the tricks to to set him apart from the pack (generating marks on leads, any special thing she can with ball in hand etc.) while also being able to play a team role (pressure and positioning as we require).
I think he’ll play 18+ and kick about 30 goals.
He’s going to pop a few times, can’t wait.
We are so lucky to have the Bont what a leader he is.
Good to see Marra working hard and enjoying himself the results will come in time.
In the modern era, 2 goals per game is outstanding
https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/...21&rt=LA&st=GO
Naughts managed 1.88 goals per game.
I think if he just plays and earn his spot for more than a dozen games that's a win. He's had a couple of development years either wiped out or interrupted
You know what? The kid’s tough’: AFL world’s big praise for rising star — and his defining moment
Praise has been heaped on Western Bulldogs’ former Pick 1 Jamarra Ugle-Hagan after the club’s win over the Sydney Swans on Thursday night.
Although the emerging forward’s stat line of one goal from seven disposals appears underwhelming, his pressure and team-first attitude stood out.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s First Crack, triple-premiership winning Cat Cameron Mooney lauded Ugle-Hagan’s hard approach to the contest.
“I had a little bit of a question mark over his toughness, because he is just a kid and still learning how to play the game, but this is what I love to see,” he said.
Mooney pointed to a play late in the game when Ugle-Hagan put a body on Dane Rampe, opening up the forward 50 to help set up Marcus Bontempelli’s match-sealing goal.
“Just look at the way this young bloke pushes back hard against one of the best defenders in the competition. He doesn’t get a stat for this, he gets nothing for it, but he gets them the game-winning goal,” he said.
“Tonight he did a couple of examples where I thought, ‘You know what? The kid’s tough’.”
Saints great Nick Dal Santo revealed that Ugle-Hagan’s selfless late-game play was the first thing Josh Dunkley mentioned to him post-match.
“For them to identify it out there, we always hear about how you‘ve just got to play your role and compete, that’s what it looks like,” he said.
“That is the cornerstone of any key forward‘s game. That was exceptional.”
Former Hawks sharpshooter Ben Dixon added: “And one of the body contact defenders is Dane Rampe.”
After being taken with Pick 1 in the 2020 draft, Ugle-Hagan naturally went into his rookie season with plenty of hype, but only appeared in five games in the Bulldogs’ grand final campaign.
The 19-year 0ld figured to have a key role to play in 2022 — particularly with Josh Bruce rehabbing from an ACL injury — but Ugle-Hagan was the medical sub in the Bulldogs’ Round 1 loss to Melbourne before returning last week.
The youngster told Channel 7 post match he’d ‘worked heaps’ on his ground-level contest with Bontempelli over the off-season in a bid to round out his game.
Ugle-Hagan’s selfless attitude didn’t go unnoticed by other Fox Footy pundits too.
“I thought he worked hard,” North Melbourne legend David King highlighted.
“I mean, seven disposals, 1.2, if you just looked at the stats you‘d say it’s not really contributing too much, but there were a couple (of) efforts without the football, and in the end, these were the moments that probably won them the game.
“It‘s not a massive play, it’s not bone-shattering by any stretch, but it just shows the team. It’s an investment in winning. I thought they took some steps tonight.”
Four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis added: “If you look at the stat sheet, he won’t show up with huge numbers. But just times when he needed to compete, he competed, when the ball was there as a 50-50 opportunity.”
Marra could not have done much more in his first two outings of 2022 - he's moving really well and his pressure has been fantastic. He mowed down a few opponents last night and put them under genuine pressure with his leg speed.
If he kicks straight and finishes with 3 goals, it's a pretty big game. I'm not too concerned with skill errors because that'll come, but his willingness to compete and his positioning/footy IQ have really stood out to me over the last two weeks.
Pretty exciting stuff.
Good call TBB.
All you want from a young player coming in who obviously has talent is the willingness to compete.. and Marra is doing everything he can in that regard.
You can see that he just doesn't have the miles in the legs yet as the fatigue sets in quickly, but his ability to stay involved in the game even without a big possession count is exciting.
It's going to be a very dangerous forward-line when he matures a little with Aaron, Cody and maybe Sam close by.
Marra should take the full 30 seconds when going for a set shot at the moment, he's just got heavy legs since he's still working on his aerobic capacity.