Jamarra Ugle-Hagan missing from training as Rory Lobb shuts down rumours of a rift

There’s been a fresh twist in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s disrupted summer, with the key Bulldog absent from training sessions this week. Lauren Wood and Scott Gullan have the details.

Wayward Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has been absent again from the club this week, missing two scheduled training sessions.

But the Dogs maintain they’re comfortable with his reasons for not showing at the slated sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

After sitting down with captain Marcus Bontempelli over the weekend as he continues to mend bridges following a troubled summer, he did not join his teammates at the Whitten Oval on Monday for their final preparations ahead of their season-opener against North Melbourne.

READ MORE: HOW IT ALL WENT ‘PEAR SHAPED’ FOR JAMARRA

This time Ugle-Hagan did alert Dogs officials of his absence and they’re believed to be understanding of the reason for him taking time away again.

There had been increased optimism that the 22-year-old was turning things around after he trained impressively over the past three weeks.

But coach Luke Beveridge emphasised over the weekend that he was still a long way off from being available for senior selection.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan with Rory Lobb. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Bontempelli said on Tuesday night that the “delicacy” of Ugle-Hagan’s situation remained an ongoing balance for the club.

“I’m aware of it (his absence), obviously I’ve been at the football club the last couple of days,” he said on Fox Footy.

“It just continues to speaks to the delicacy with which we try and handle every person at the football club and prioritise their health and wellbeing.

“The support for Jamarra is A1 as a person and a footballer ... the challenges that have been documented we’re still processing and dealing with.

“It’s why his return to training has been staged, to allow him to segment things and work through the challenges that he has.

“I spend a lot of time talking to him on a personal level rather than a football level.”

Bontempelli said he considered himself fully across Ugle-Hagan’s ongoing challenges.

“I do. And obviously I won’t go into extreme detail. It’s a personal thing,” he said.

“I understand there’s public interest ... but the priority is, he’s a young human being who’s really working through some challenges in his personal space.

“All I can say is that there’s a lot of people putting in a lot of hard work to support him ... it’s a tough one, but it’s just the world we live in in a minute.”

And he remains optimistic that Ugle-Hagan has it in him to fulfil his promising football potential.

“I am. I’m always glass half full,” he said.

“I think that’s how we should be. We’ll do everything we can on our end to make sure he’s given every opportunity that he needs on and off the field.”Teammate Rory Lobb also moved to shut down reports of a rift with Ugle-Hagan, declaring the pair as “on good terms”.

Lobb, 32, had Ugle-Hagan — who spent time away from the club over summer amid personal issues and recently returned to training — living at his home at the end of last year, and maintained on Tuesday that there is no issue between he and the young forward amid suggestions their relationship needed to be repaired.

“Jamarra and I are all good,” Lobb said.

“Obviously he lived with us, myself and my partner, towards the back end of last year.

“We’re still on good terms. We’re really good. I’m just hoping we can get around him and get him back to playing some footy.

“He’s got a few personal things to go through, but we’re just trying to put our arms around him as a football club and try to get him back to playing some football.”

Lobb said he had been attempting to support Ugle-Hagan as best he could.

Bulldog Jamarra Ugle-Hagan back at training. Picture: Michael Klein

Rory Lobb responds to the Jamarra Ugle-Hagan situation on TikTok

“I’m trying to get around him when he’s at the football club,” he told SEN.

“Obviously, he’s spent a bit of time away and he’s coming back. I’m just trying to make him feel comfortable around the football club because he’s obviously not been on the day-to-day program as everyone else has sort of been on.

“I’m just trying to make him feel comfortable through the day-to-day, and obviously like Marcus (Bontempelli), trying to catch up and see where he’s at.”

Originally published as Jamarra Ugle-Hagan missing from training as Rory Lobb shuts down rumours of a rift