Jamarra Ugle-Hagan opens up on early career frustration, hopes for the future at the Bulldogs
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has credited three special relationships — and a fishing trip — with helping him rediscover his love for football after a tumultuous start as a Western Bulldog.
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It was the line in the water that did it for “Marra”.
Whether the fish were biting didn’t really seem to matter.
Far from Marvel Stadium, on fishing trips in Exmouth, on the tip of the North West Cape in Western Australia, and in the Top End, the flying Western Bulldog had grappled with how to make his way at football’s top level.
It hadn’t been easy.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, taken with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 national draft — as Victoria was wrenched in and out of Covid lockdowns — came with big raps from Framlingham, a historic indigenous community just outside of Warrnambool.
Comparisons to Lance Franklin marked his entry to the competition, and expectation reigned.
He struggled to adjust. More on that later.
But it was in the rocking of a fishing boat just over 12 months ago, flanked by teammates Aaron Naughton and Dogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli, that ‘Marra felt a love for the game slowly come seeping back with a brotherhood to match.
“We got a lot more connected,” Ugle-Hagan said.
“I had really struggled with the football side of things in that first year.
“It was probably those chats that really brought it back, being away from the club … we got to Exmouth for a week — me, (Naughton) and ‘Bonti’.
“There’s been a lot of fishing trips with Naughty.
“It’s the best thing ever. We’ve gotten a lot closer – he is like my older brother. He’ll always do what’s best for me and he’ll pull me aside if I’m not going how I should be or I need to lift. He’ll always be on my back, and the same with Bonti.
“You feel more protected. They’re both chasing the same goal which is to win a flag, but to have him as an older brother…I think he knows that I see him as that.
“He’ll always look after me and I’ll look after him. We’re pretty close this year and we’ve just got to keep building that connection.”
Family is everything to Ugle-Hagan, one of six kids who embraces his culture and has inked his journey firmly on his forearm, and Naughton has become another figure to cherish.
He helped his fellow forward find the enjoyment in the little things.
“Even just training, I just tried to have fun and not take it for granted,” the 20-year-old said.
“I had a moment where I was like, not many people get to do what we do. I’m in my third year now. It does go quick and it’s going to fly before you know it.”
THE FRUSTRATION
The hype had been one thing, but Ugle-Hagan was in a hurry.
The top draft pick wanted to be right in the thick of the action in his first season in 2021, and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t.
Coach Luke Beveridge had a plan – but the young gun couldn’t see it just yet.
Being asked about Ugle-Hagan became a weekly occurrence for Beveridge — let alone probably more often when the cameras were off, and the then-teenager had a few questions of his own.
“He looked after me (publicly and privately) … he knew I wasn’t ready,” Ugle-Hagan said at Fox Footy’s season launch this week.
“I didn’t like it at the time. I got impatient. I disliked it that he wasn’t playing me.”
He told Beveridge that, now cognisant of the bigger picture.
“We’ve had conversations where I thought I was ready,” he said.
“But me now looking back on that, I’m happy that he actually kept me away from playing. “Not that I’m saying that I deserved to play, but he looked after me.
“It’s a long career. He said to me – ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’. He wants me to have a good career. It took me a while to see where he was coming from, because I was such an impatient 18-year-old, no 1 draft pick, I was like ‘I should be playing around 1’.
“I’m happy that he did it but at the time I was a bit frustrated but looking back on it it’s so much better for my career.”
THE FEEDBACK
Ugle-Hagan struggled to find the balance.
There was training, desperation to break into AFL level.
But then there was his mates, both in the city and back home, who were out and about living life like late-teens do. Parties, fun, post-school silliness. You know the drill.
“Everyone wanted the same thing I want to play AFL,” Ugle-Hagan said.
“Which is what I had been working towards.
“But I just started losing a bit of interest in the game, a bit. It affected my training, my relationships off field with my friends.
“It was so hard to find a balance between going out with your friends from school or friends from home to being a full-time professional at 18 or 17, balance your family too.
“But at the end of the day, I realised that football doesn’t last forever.
“My friends, if they’re my real friends, they’ll stay with me until (footy) is over. They would understand.”
Some did. Some didn’t. That’s life.
“I’ve gotten a lot better off-field,” he said.
“But I’m happy where I am now because I’ve figured out how to balance it a lot better.
“I’ve done the work so now I can actually go out and enjoy and catch up with my mates.
“In my first year, I was too far behind to go and do that stuff but I didn’t understand what that was.”
THE FUN
The reinvigoration – in footy and in life, with Ugle-Hagan crediting new girlfriend Olivia Kelly, who works as a fitness trainer, for her role in him furthering his game – brings plenty back for the kid who his mum Alice once said had a footy in his hand as soon as he could walk.
There’s a strong family connection to the game, with his mum related to the Kicketts.
It’s in his blood, and the passion has been sparked again.
“I reckon I’ve enjoyed football a lot more. I’ve kind of gone back to the kid that chose football in the first place, which was because it was fun. I’ve obviously put in a lot more work into my training and into myself off-field,” Ugle-Hagan said.
“When I was in my first year, I wanted to play around 1 and do all of that. But I kind of used my first year as a development year - it was just a year to learn.
“I look at a couple of players from that team and boys didn’t get to play in their first year, so I was lucky to even get a game. But it was tough at the start. But I ended up getting used to it and am enjoying it a lot more. Not many people get to play an AFL game or even show up to a club, so I can’t take that for granted.”
THE FUTURE
Key position players take time, triple-premiership spearhead at Brisbane and fellow Warrnambool product Jonathan Brown says.
But Ugle-Hagan’s foundation is undeniable, and he’ll only benefit from strong forward figures like Naughton and Dogs recruit Rory Lobb alongside him.
Two-time premiership Kangaroo David King reckons this could be the year that Jamarra could flight the light switch for supporters of the game.
“I think the fans will laud his field kicking,” the Fox Footy analyst said.
“They’ll finally see, ah, that’s why he was the No. 1 pick. Not just his marking and his kicking at goal – the field kicking, the class, the angles.”
His confidence – once dampened – is back, Ugle-Hagan says, and he’s “comfortable” after finding heart from the hard times.
“I hope it is (a big year),” he said.
“It was daunting at the start, but I got through it.
“I feel like I liked my first year, because if I didn’t let that happen, I wouldn’t have learned from anything and I wouldn’t have improved to where I am now. I like to look at it as a big learning year, and now that I know what to do and what not to do, it’s just so much easier.”
I’m pretty happy and have got my dream job so I’m pretty lucky.
I reckon I’ve enjoyed football a lot more. I’ve kind of gone back to the kid that chose football in the first place, which was because it was fun. I’ve obviously put in a lot more work into my training and into myself off-field.
Then I’ve just been working and I’ve got great people around me to support me, which is incredible.
‘I played my role’: Jamarra hits back at ex-teammate’s criticism
Emerging Dogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan says his former teammate Josh Schache could be forgiven for being “frustrated” amid their selection battle last season.
The forward set up was at the centre of a documentary that was released last week where former Dog Schache bemoaned Ugle-Hagan’s selection ahead of his own, declaring he didn’t believe he had been given “a proper chance” at the Kennel.
Schache, who was traded to the Demons at the end of last season, said his then-coach Luke Beveridge had felt compelled to “justify” why he had selected Ugle-Hagan ahead of him.
But Ugle-Hagan – speaking at Fox Footy’s season launch on Thursday – said his former teammate could have been forgiven for feeling “a bit frustrated”.
“Yes, we were fighting for the same spot and there were times where he’d had a really good game in the VFL, and I had done my side of things,” he said.
“My dad sent me that (story last week).
“Josh is a good player – I would never talk down on him, at all. I could tell he was a bit frustrated obviously … because he probably did deserve a couple more games. But at the end of the day, I did work pretty hard and I played my role when I had to. I worked on what they wanted me to, and I went back in.
“At the end of the day, I would have been in the same situation if some teammates got put in before me, but it’s just for him now it’s out there.”
Ugle-Hagan, 20, also backed the “unreal” Western Bulldogs to rattle the best in the competition, and feels he is well-armed to be one of the Dogs’ prime forward targets this season.
The young gun said confidence has been key to unlocking his best game alongside close mate Aaron Naughton in a forward line that will now also include key recruit Rory Lobb.
And the former No. 1 pick said after taking time to find his stride at the top level, having a significant impact in his third season was not beyond him.
“I hope it is (going to happen). Our team is unreal, so we should be able to finish top four,” Ugle-Hagan said.
“I think it’s just a confidence thing. Once you feel like you’re confident and comfortable, you just build from there.
“Obviously I think it’s respect from your teammates as well. When you feel comfortable with them and you build your connections, it makes you feel a little bit more at home and you don’t get in your own head.”
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