Western Bulldogs won’t rush Jamarra back despite injury blows

The injury wave has hit Whitten Oval – but it won’t force Western Bulldogs into rushing their star forward back into action early.

Western Bulldogs won’t rush star forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan into its round 1 side despite a growing injury toll.

Ugle-Hagan made a return to main training last week after several sessions with the VFL team as part of his flexible training program.

But the Bulldogs suffered another injury blow in the same week, with midfielder Ed Richards sustaining a calf injury.

While he is expected to be fit in time for round 1, Richards joins Adam Treloar, Liam Jones, Jason Johannisen and Cody Weightman on the Doggies’ injury list.

Captain Marcus Bontempelli says the Bulldogs will prioritise Ugle-Hagan’s conditioning over rushing him back.

“Great to have him back in the building and back into regular programming until we continue to build him up and whatnot,” Bontempelli said.

“He seems in a good place and we keep working through it.

“I think for him, it’s more about building his base, building his conditioning, naturally being there will help him build on the relationships he’s already got.

“You know what it’s like in a pre-season, it’s tough, it’s gruelling, for him, he’s back in the building, no timeline on his return, just continue to have him in a good place.”

Western Bulldogs won’t rush star forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan back despite injury blows. Picture: Mark Stewart

Bontempelli concedes the Dogs have been “a bit stiff” with their setbacks this pre-season and hopes their luck will turn.

“You know as long as I have been in the game, you learn to just live with it,” he said.

“You support the guys who are going through it, but you’ve got to be a little bit clinical sometimes about your preparation and understand this is part of it.

“You hope you’ll get some luck somewhere else, whether it’s young guys debuting and dominating who might not have got an opportunity otherwise.

“I think you’ve got to look at it with that glass-half-full approach, deal with it, process it and look forward to what will be a great start to the season.

“Yep, it’s disappointing, but it’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”

Originally published as Western Bulldogs won’t rush Jamarra back despite injury blows