Twist in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan training saga as Bulldogs stars speak out on young forward’s absences

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is understood to have missed further training sessions this week, according to reports.

The Herald Sun has claimed that the 22-year-old missed two scheduled training sessions this week.

But the Bulldogs maintain that the young full-forward had alerted them over his absences, with the club believed to be understanding of the situation.

It came after a troubled summer that saw Ugle-Hagan miss several pre-season training sessions due to problems in his personal life.

He had returned for this year’s Indigenous All Stars Round but had not featured in the match, spending time around the Indigenous All Stars squad in a non-playing capacity. 

The 22-year-old enjoyed a great season in 2024, kicking a career-high 43 goals.

Reports from News Corp have previously claimed that ‘key figures inside the footy club have held concerns over his off-field lifestyle’.

Sam McClure of Channel 9’s Footy Classified also previously said that Ugle-Hagan had to ‘fix three key relationships’ in order to be considered for selection once again.

Rumours have claimed that a rift has developed between himself and Rory Lobb but Lobb has denied those claims, having told fans: ‘I do like Jamarra, all those rumours aren’t true’.

Bulldogs boss Luke Beveridge said over the weekend that Ugle-Hagan was still some way off being selected for the senior squad.

Meanwhile, Marcus Bontempelli has revealed that the club are still working through the situation but added that the club and his team-mates have delivered their support to Ugle-Hagan.

‘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 speak 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 that he among others have been providing plenty of support to the youngster.

‘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.’

Lobb, meanwhile, has reaffirmed that there is no rift between him and Ugle-Hagan.

‘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 added to SEN that he was, alongside Bontempelli, trying to ‘get around’ their young team-mate.

‘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,’ he told SEN.

The Bulldogs previously confirmed in January that the 2024 Jim Miller medallist had been working on a flexible training basis.

‘The Western Bulldogs can confirm that forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s currently undertaking flexible training arrangements as he deals with personal issues,’ the club said.

‘With the endorsement of the football program, Jamarra has alternated his training between Mission Whitten Oval and away from the Club. The Club continues to provide its full support to Jamarra and remains in constant contact with him, his family and his management.

‘With Jamarra’s health and wellbeing of paramount importance, the Club requests that his privacy be respected during this period.’