Young Bulldogs draftee Caleb Poulter “bawled” after Collingwood delisting

Western Bulldogs junior Caleb Poulter says he ghosted his teammates and hit a rocky patch with his influencer girlfriend after he was dropped from Collingwood.

Caleb Poulter became a Bulldog with pick 10 in the 2023 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft. Picture: Darrian Traynor

Western Bulldogs draftee Caleb Poulter says he ghosted his teammates and hit a rocky patch with his influencer girlfriend after he was dropped from Collingwood.

The young gun, who was pick no. 30 in the 2020 draft, played 12 games for the Pies across 2021 and 2022 before he was delisted.

Poulter spoke about his heartbreak on a recent episode of the Just For Girls podcast, hosted by his partner Sam Guggenheimer.

The couple had just begun their holiday in Bali when Poulter got the devastating call.

“I come out (of the villa) and you were bawling, you were crying,” Guggenheimer said.

“You just said ‘I’ve been delisted’, those are the words you said ‘I’ve been delisted, I’ve been dropped’.

“From there, we tried to enjoy our holiday but I think there were a lot of questions above our heads.”

Poulter and influencer girlfriend, Sam Guggenheimer.

Guggenheimer said the cut “came out of nowhere”, causing her boyfriend to “ghost” everyone, including teammate Jack Crisp who he was living with at the time.

“You were very bad at communicating with people, you ghosted everyone, you ghosted your teammates, you ghosted Jack, you ghosted your coaches, you were like ‘f--- them’ in a way,” she said.

“I think you were a bit angry, you didn’t really have any answers, no-one really answered your questions so you were kind of like ‘f--- this’ and you threw it all up.”

Poulter said he “fell out of favour” with Collingwood coaches.

“I was obviously pretty upset at the time,” he said.

“Instead of dealing with it in the right way, I just stopped replying to everyone.

“I think I was just one of the ones that fell out of favour and that’s just how it is sometimes in a professional environment.

“I obviously got drafted there under completely different people and then new people come in and have different feelings and ways about you but I don’t hold any grudges.

“Luckily now it’s worked out, it’s probably a blessing in disguise, I’m forever grateful for them and what they did.”

Guggenheimer at Poulter’s debut Bulldogs game.

Poulter with former housemate Jack Crisp.

Guggenheimer said Poulter spent the next six months hunting for an AFL contract.

“You were trying to get an AFL contract but I don’t think you were necessarily working hard for it, you lost a bit of confidence and faith,” she said.

“Going from you being drafted, you having a full-time career in AFL, earning lots of money, having all these friends … everything had changed.

“Looking at you with no confidence and no drive in your soul because you were so hurt, it was hard for our relationship.”

The pair said “false narratives” circulated on social media about their relationship.

“Everyone was making these absurd rumours and comments and I was like ‘none of this is f---ing true’ like ‘f--- off’ everyone,” Guggenheimer said.

Poulter said he worked as a landscaper two days a week while figuring out his future.

“It just wasn’t for me and I put all my eggs into one basket and luckily it paid off,” he said.

“There was a lot of limbo at the time … there were a lot of conversations back and forth with certain people about and what was going to happen.

“It was scary at the time.”

Poulter made his Bulldogs debut two weeks ago when he played against Fremantle at Marvel Stadium.