‘Petulant, stupid’: Eddie McGuire torches wayward Bulldog forward

Eddie McGuire has taken the rare step of sharing personal information as the Bulldogs’ problem with a gun forward took another twist.

Eddie McGuire has torched Jamarra Ugle-Hagan over the Bulldogs forward’s latest moves.

The former Collingwood president on Tuesday night also shared personal information about the former No. 1 draft pick as the situation continues to deteriorate.

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It was only last week that St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt also gave Ugle-Hagan a public spray, suggesting the football club is better off without the young talent, who is yet to play a game this season.

McGuire said the 23-year-old’s hopes of turning his career around have not looked good recently as he continues to ignore the club’s reported requests for him to stay away from public posts on social media.

The discussion came after more social media posts emerged this week of Ugle-Hagan drinking a cocktail with friends.

“He’s not making life any easier for himself by being, let’s be honest, petulant and ridiculous and stupid and sending this thing out when he’s getting paid, what? $700,000 (per year),” McGuire said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Eddie McGuire. Photo: X and FootyonNine.

It comes as Essendon legend James Hird also questioned if there was a point where the club could stop paying Ugle-Hagan because of his reported attitude problems.

The prospect of cutting off Ugle-Hagan’s salary would be nearly impossible for the club unless there was a serious breach of his contract.

Football reporter Tom Morris responded to McGuire by saying: “The issue is he doesn’t seem to be learning from the issues he has with the club and everyone else around him.

“They want to trust him but he’s not giving them that many reasons to do so.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott, appearing as a panellist on the program, gave a cryptic answer when asked if his club would consider attempting to recruit Ugle-Hagan at the end of the year.

“We wouldn’t be talking about this if he wasn’t such a talented player,” Scott said on Nine.

“But in a really competitive environment, your salary cap is one of the key markers so when you’re paying someone a lot of money to not play, you kind of want them to do everything they can to get back.”

Riewoldt on Monday night had a second crack at Ugle-Hagan, calling the issue a “complete disaster”.

“There can be real reasons, legitimate reasons, but when you’re behaving the way that Jamarra is you forfeit all rights,’’ Riewoldt said on Channel 7’s Agenda Setters.

“This is the issue, there is no mechanism for clubs to be protected. Not just the clubs but the players you’re teammates with that are actually fronting up day after day doing the work for the cause and you’ve got a teammate that is not buying in and is still taking five or six, seven per cent of the salary cap with no recourse from the football clubs.

Nick Riewoldt dropped a harsh truth on the Western Bulldogs. Photo: 7Plus and instagram, @jamarrauh.

“I hope whoever the new AFLPA CEO is doesn’t just fight for the one per cent, they actually fight for the majority that do the work. (They are) fighting for the wrong side — fight for the players that do the work and not the ones that take the piss.

“The trouble is every time you read personal reasons for players, there are a number of guys that are legitimate absolutely ... I feel for those guys.”

The football club still has no timeline on when Ugle-Hagan is expected to return to the senior team.

The star forward has continued to make headlines in recent months despite appearing to be a long way away from being picked to play senior footy.

Ugle-Hagan had a turbulent off-season where the club said he was dealing with private issues. He has also been on a personal training schedule separate to his teammates.

That all came after it was reported last month Ugle-Hagan had lost the trust of some teammates, including captain Marcus Bontempelli, as a result of his off-field behaviour and reported attitude towards pre-season training.

The saga has continued to play out in recent weeks since the former No. 1 draft pick skipped the Western Bulldogs’ 100-year anniversary game.

It was also reported last month the club had told Ugle-Hagan it was not happy with the 23-year-old’s active social media profile, particularly the number of photos he has shared of himself attending social events.

Another image shared by the footballer on his birthday also raised eyebrows after a response he made to an Instagram user’s comment.

When asked by an Instagram user if he had trained on his birthday or had a day off, Ugle-Hagan responded: “Rest day at ur mums joint”.

Channel 7 footy host Craig Hutchison said the comment was “inappropriate”.

Originally published as ‘Petulant, stupid’: Eddie McGuire torches wayward Bulldog forward