Jamarra Ugle-Hagan

[GVGjr]

Don't you just love it how all the journo's have been sitting on the story and when the first one was brave enough to share what he was sitting on the others have all jumped in

WOOF members I suspect there will be a bit of a frenzy in terms of the media discussions now. Please lets keep dealing with the facts and try to not get too emotional about it.
Marra is a young man who might be struggling with some aspects of his life but the good thing is that he will get plenty of support from the club and his management team.

[Axe Man]

Western Bulldogs young star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s immediate playing future in doubt after interrupted pre-season

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan took a big step forward with a career-best year in 2024 – but a cloud hangs over his immediate playing future after an interrupted pre-season.

A cloud hangs over Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s playing status to start 2025 after he has missed key parts of the pre-season.

The forward has been absent through several important sessions at the Whitten Oval over summer and has been spotted working on his fitness off site.

The Western Bulldogs have worked to support his personal situation and wellbeing in recent years and will continue to support the 22-year-old budding star.

Key figures inside the club have held some previous concerns over his off-field lifestyle, however.

Ugle-Hagan’s Western Bulldogs teammates are keen to support the forward but are unsure where his immediate playing future lies.

The forward would have been a lock to play out of the goalsquare for the Indigenous All-Stars against Fremantle in Perth on February 15 but his availability for that game is unclear.

The Bulldogs are due to head to a camp in Queensland this month and play their first match simulation against an opponent on February 15 against Essendon.

The Dogs face North Melbourne in round 1 on March 15.

Ugle-Hagan missed two games in rounds 6 and 7 of 2024 due to personal reasons, and coach Luke Beveridge said at the time the death of family members and the pressure of the game “compounded things for him”.

“I suppose when any player just takes a little bit of time out of the game that’s a difficult question to answer (if he was coping okay). So I can’t really tell you exactly how he is,” Beveridge said in April.

“In the game and the pressures of it, everyone, every player, and every club across the land is always dealing with something you know, as far as external scrutiny and the internal expectations and ‘Marra is no different.”

Uncertainty over Ugle-Hagan adds a difficult question mark to another crucial season for coach Luke Beveridge

The coach enters the final year of his contract in 2025 and is hopeful of improving on last year’s elimination final loss.

A former No.1 draft pick, Ugle-Hagan won the Bulldogs’ goal kicking in 2024 with a career-high tally of 43 majors and has improved his game year on year since a debut in 2021.

He signed a two-year contract extension in May last year that tied him to the club until the end of 2026, when rivals were lining up to get in front of the mobile forward.

[Grantysghost]

Well done to the media for showing strong leadership by getting information to members.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Is it a coincidence this is coming out just after this thread got started?

[Dogs 24/7]

Is it a coincidence this is coming out just after this thread got started?

I need to fess up a little, I'm on a small chat group where a prominent supporter of the club mentioned that things were coming to a head with all the speculation about why Marra hasn't been training etc
It's why I started the topic and the poll so that we could get ahead of any announcement.

[Scott2016]

I also had a tip off that things are not great. Sounds like Jamarra has lost the trust of his team mates and possibly not repairable.

[Mantis]

Well done to the media for showing strong leadership by getting information to members.

Yep.

Piss poor by our senior management to not get this message out first, instead they’re hiding behind the media.

They’ve proven to be spineless with the handling of this issue.

[jazzadogs]

Well done to the media for showing strong leadership by getting information to members.

Seriously? I think the club have handled it extremely well at this point. The best thing for Marra is minimal media and speculation - the club definitely would have been advising the media not to report on this, to give Marra time and space to work through whatever is going on.

The wellbeing of the player should always come before the members.

[Brody23]

The club needed to get on the front foot early and get ahead of the rumour mill.
This is eerily similar to Jesse Hogans trajectory early days at the Dees, I just hope the kid is ok.

[GVGjr]

I'm not sure there are any clear "right ways" to manage these sort of announcements because the temptation is to give the player every chance to turn things around.
We appear to have backed the player for as long as we could but had to address it before the interstate camp.
It's a big test for the club and they need to nail the statement. Members know enough and will question things if it doesn't really address it.

[jazzadogs]

In today's media landscape, how often does a club put out a statement before a cowboy reporter runs with some breaking news?

As long as the club address it today, I'm okay with that. The strength of the statement should absolutely be judged, but I'm not judging them for the fact that the media has started running with the story first.

[Grantysghost]

Seriously? I think the club have handled it extremely well at this point. The best thing for Marra is minimal media and speculation - the club definitely would have been advising the media not to report on this, to give Marra time and space to work through whatever is going on.

The wellbeing of the player should always come before the members.

Not sure we have. This is a weak leak to give them an easy out.

Talk to your members. Don't sidestep it by using the media. Very very poor.

I'm talking specifically about this release of information.

[jazzadogs]

Not sure we have. This is a weak leak to give them an easy out.

Talk to your members. Don't sidestep it by using the media. Very very poor.

I'm talking specifically about this release of information.

Honestly give me an example from the last 5-10 years of a club putting out a statement BEFORE any media reporting on the issue. It just doesn't happen.

This is the standard. The club has the day to respond. The strength of the response is what I'll judge them on.

[ledge]

The media reports are seemingly changing from previous reports on players .
Not to long ago the media would be reporting rumours , burying the player and club eg Bailey Smith even Tom Boyd was hammered.
The reports on JUH are more vague and carefully written.
hopefully it’s not a falling out with the club but more a struggle with getting in the right head space.

[Grantysghost]

Honestly give me an example from the last 5-10 years of a club putting out a statement BEFORE any media reporting on the issue. It just doesn't happen.

This is the standard. The club has the day to respond. The strength of the response is what I'll judge them on.

Hey no capitals !

Well if that's the case they're all weak as...! Plus JD I think this one is a little different considering the amount of time we've had to release something. We really could have shown the way here and spoken to the members about the elephant that frankly has been in the room for a fair while now.

[Scott2016]

For me, dont worry about the announcement, focus on the impact on the playing group. If they dont want him back, then ensure the rest of the playing list is happy. If they do want him then get him back into the team asap. From what I heard most of them didnt want him to play in the final and it might have been a different result if he didnt play. Nothing to do with what he did on the field