By Marc McGowan and Peter Ryan
Money TalksCredit: The Age
The Western Bulldogs are not yet prepared to draw a line through Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s name despite ongoing concern and frustration at his decision-making.
Nothing is off the table, given round six has only just concluded, and Bulldogs officials remain more interested in Ugle-Hagan’s wellbeing rather than when he will next train at the club.
Meetings involving AFL and club officials as well as Ugle-Hagan’s management have been ongoing as parties deal with the complex issues surrounding the 23-year-old. A catch-up involving the player and relevant parties is expected soon as part of the process to discuss potential paths forward for the talented goalkicker.
Although there remains a strong belief that the 23-year-old – the No.1 pick in the 2020 draft, ahead of Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe – won’t play for the club again, that scenario remains a long way off being determined according to two sources familiar with the situation who preferred to remain anonymous.
Ugle-Hagan, who last year re-signed until the end of 2026, has privately said he wanted to continue playing football at the highest level, but continues to deal with mental health challenges and complex “personal issues”.
There is even encouragement for him to remain a Bulldog from those around Ugle-Hagan, according to a source connected with the situation who requested anonymity due to the nature of the situation.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s AFL future remains clouded.Credit: AFL Photos
He has trained inconsistently at the club – and not at all in the past fortnight – since the Dogs released a statement in January that Ugle-Hagan was on a “flexible” training schedule because of those issues.
Coach Luke Beveridge, who is contracted until the end of 2025, has fielded regular questions about Ugle-Hagan since, including in an exclusive interview with this masthead in March and also after Sam Darcy’s knee injury on Sunday that will likely sideline the father-son for at least two months.
The 2016 premiership coach has also said that Ugle-Hagan may not play at all this season.
Beveridge said last week that what happens from here was “significantly in the AFL’s hands”, however three sources familiar with the situation said the club and the league were taking a collaborative approach in relation to Ugle-Hagan.
Dr Kate Hall, the AFL’s head of mental health and wellbeing.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
The AFL’s head of mental health and wellbeing, Dr Kate Hall, is the most involved official at league headquarters and is working in collaboration with the Bulldogs’ football and list boss Sam Power and chief executive Ameet Bains on the Ugle-Hagan matter, as well as his management.
The football department, as Beveridge indicated, is focusing on preparing the players who are training.
The latest update from Beveridge after Darcy’s injury was that Ugle-Hagan returning was “not going to happen in the immediate term” and not even “worth discussing”, in a telling update of where the situation remains.
Could he be sacked?
This extreme scenario is considered unlikely and is not imminent. The Bulldogs, who drafted him in 2020 after developing him through their next generation academy, are focused on Ugle-Hagan’s wellbeing.
The Bulldogs would also need to prove he breached his contract to alter the terms of his deal, which would be extremely difficult under current arrangements.
What would Ugle-Hagan be worth in a trade?
This is literally the million-dollar question, with much water to go under the bridge between now and the October trade period.
The Bulldogs had to match the Crows’ bid on Ugle-Hagan at No.1 in the 2020 draft to secure the exciting forward who has now played 67 matches with the club. He kicked 78 goals across the past two seasons as he began to realise his talent and is contracted for the 2026 season.
Ugle-Hagan’s absence has been a subject of discussion since key forward Sam Darcy (back row, right) hurt his knee.Credit: AFL Photos
This masthead canvassed opinions from across the competition, with a number of caveats raised when discussing what Ugle-Hagan would attract from a rival club; the consensus was he would return little value in a trade if circumstances did not change.
The most common response was that it was difficult to give an exact answer without more knowledge of the forward’s situation, but competition sources were unanimous that a first-round selection was off the table. The highest valuation was a second-rounder, but that came with caution that a better understanding of the scenario facing Ugle-Hagan would be required.
The Bulldogs’ best chance to garner a decent draft pick depended on their willingness to pay a decent chunk of Ugle-Hagan’s roughly $1 million salary next year, two other list management sources said.
If Ugle-Hagan was open to ripping up the final season of his contract and negotiating a new one with another club that could also help the club realise a higher return at the trade table.
The Dogs have continued to perform well on-field despite facing the second difficult trade situation in consecutive seasons involving a talented player.
They traded another top-10 selection, Bailey Smith, to Geelong last year in a deal that centred on them receiving the Cats’ No.17 pick in return, which ended up being pushed three spots back to pick 20 after academy and father-son bids were matched. They also managed to eke out a second-round pick from the Cats in a drawnout negotiation process.
The Bulldogs used their first selection on Dandenong Stingrays’ forward-midfielder Cooper Hynes, who was the sub in the club’s win over St Kilda on Easter Sunday.
Meanwhile, they signed Darcy over summer until the end of 2029 when he will become a free agent. They are also expected to retain star midfielders Marcus Bontempelli (despite speculation about interest from other clubs) and Ed Richards, who are both free agents this season, according to two competition sources who asked to remain anonymous in relation to contractual issues. Key forward Aaron Naughton has committed until 2032 while vice captain Tom Liberatore remains in red-hot form on one-year deals.
Smith, who missed the entire 2024 season recovering from a knee reconstruction suffered at training pre-Christmas the previous year, has arguably been Geelong’s best player through the first six rounds.
Cats coach Chris Scott said last week on Nine, the owner of this masthead, that they were “really open to having dangerous conversations” about prospective recruits, including Ugle-Hagan, but Geelong are considered an unlikely destination for him.
Sydney and the Brisbane Lions, who both have key forward needs, have been linked to the contracted Bulldog, while Collingwood, Hawthorn and Essendon showed interest last year before he re-signed.
West Coast might even be a wildcard if Oscar Allen departs. – Marc McGowan and Peter Ryan
When will these Saints march in?
Although St Kilda have been making big offers to star players from other clubs as they look to bolster their list through the free agency and trade process, several key players central to their build remain out of contract for next season.
While Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has attracted headlines due to his excellent early season form and interest from other clubs, a midfielder from the same 2021 national draft, Marcus Windhager, remains out of contract beyond next season.
He is a required player having played every match this year, and he showed his ability when among the Saints’ best in round two when he kicked two goals. His form has been steady since. Along with Mitch Owens, who was signed until the end of 2029, he joined the club as a next generation academy graduate in the 2021 draft with Owens taken at pick 33 and Windhager at pick 47.
Marcus Windhager is a consistent player at the Saints.Credit: AFL Photos
The Saints are not afraid to keep players waiting as they assess their list under coach Ross Lyon who has been steadfast in his commitment to a long-term plan.
Liam Stocker and Ryan Byrnes, as well as veterans Zak Jones and Jimmy Webster, who were in Sunday night’s team thrashed by the Bulldogs on Easter Sunday, are also out of contract at season’s end. - Peter Ryan
The Sun gathering interest
Gold Coast goalsneak Malcolm Rosas has not appeared at AFL level since round 21 last year, falling out of favour under coach Damien Hardwick.
Darwin-born Rosas, whose two-year contract expires at season’s end, has kicked 45 goals from as many career games and previously attracted interest from several clubs, particularly Essendon and Sydney.
Malcolm Rosas has currency in the trade market as he battles for a game at the Suns.Credit: AFL Photos
The Bombers used a first-round draft pick on Isaac Kako last year and are yet to select another small forward, Alwyn Davey jnr, this season, while Tom Hanily has emerged in that role for the Swans in 2025 in Tom Papley’s injury absence.
However, Rosas’ talent is well regarded, and opposition clubs are tracking him again, but the situation is not expected to develop until the second half of the season. – Marc McGowan
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