Jamarra Ugle-Hagan Has Arrived

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s match-winning, five-goal haul against Melbourne in Round 19 was so much more than an outstanding performance by a young player.

The reverberations from such a showing already has and will continue to send shockwaves through not only the Western Bulldogs, but through the AFL and its media as a whole.

The 20-year-old was unsurprisingly, yet justifiably rewarded with the round’s NAB AFL Rising Star nomination but most importantly, he has seemingly taken his first step to stardom.

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Jamarra Silencing the Haters

It seems utterly ridiculous that Ugle-Hagan and the Bulldogs have attracted any criticism over the last 18-24 months, but such is the short-term nature of the AFL.

Taken as the first pick in the 2020 AFL draft, there has been an impatience bordering on irresponsible for Ugle-Hagan to impact games at senior level, when most key position prospects take years to mature.

Enormous credit must go to coach Luke Beveridge, who has been extremely supportive of the key forward through his transition onto an AFL list and preached patience immediately. Having such a powerful figure deflecting at least some of the attention is hugely beneficial to a young player.

The number of times Ugle-Hagan has been compared to Lance Franklin has made the link natural in the minds of AFL fans and media alike. It has significantly contributed to the expectation of immediate impact, as has the growing sentiment that top picks should be ready-made.

Franklin was an outlier, an exception to the rule of young key forwards in the game. He turned 20 in his third season at AFL level and kicked 73 goals. He already had 52 goals in 31 matches heading into the year and had opportunities presented to him without too much pressure, as a member of a bad team.

In the Bulldogs win against Melbourne, Ugle-Hagan, in just his 17th game, had 10 disposals, six marks, five inside 50s, three marks inside 50 and kicked five goals straight, while also finishing with a clear career-high 365 metres gained. 

All of this was done with the Bulldogs’ season on the line against the reigning premiers, whose defence has been miserly for nearly 24 months.

While it doesn’t make for pretty headlines, staying patient is worth the wait.

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Jamarra Ugle-Hagan 2022 Stats

Even this performance in complete isolation has gone a long way to changing the fortunes of the Western Bulldogs in 2022.

The underlying issues still exist, the team is poor defensively and Beveridge’s tactics should remain under the microscope.

Overcoming the significant obstacle that was the Demons means that the Bulldogs sit inside the top eight with a month left. The next fortnight’s worth of games are difficult – Geelong and Fremantle are tough defences to break down, while finishing with GWS and Hawthorn should surely see the team end on a positive note.

Ugle-Hagan has now kicked eight goals in his last two matches and quickly turned the narrative around on himself from his team playing a young forward to help acclimatise him to senior level, to two of the league’s best teams now needing to plan for him.

The re-introduction of Josh Bruce has been significant for the club and the second-year forward.

Despite only collecting a total of five disposals in the last fortnight since returning, we’re talking about a player who kicked 48 goals before his tragic ACL injury in 2021, who demands a lot of attention as an accurate kick for goal who at his best as a lead-up forward inside 50.

Naturally, most of the attention goes to nullifying Aaron Naughton’s aerial game but with Bruce back, there’s a need to stop the powerful 30-year-old.

There aren’t many teams in the AFL who can cover a 197cm third forward option, as has been shown against St Kilda and Melbourne.

Crucially, Ugle-Hagan’s natural game is far more expansive than the relatively stationary, second-target role he has played at times early in his career.

The career-high five inside 50s was a great sign of positioning and the threat Ugle-Hagan can provide outside the arc, while that spectacular finish from the boundary on the arc in the final minute of the game showed his finishing ability from range.

The timing of Tom Stewart’s return for Geelong will only serve to solidify their defence, but outside of Sam De Koning, the Cats have generally gone undersized in their defensive 50.

With the kicking ability and rotational traits the Bulldogs possess in the offensive half of the ground, we can surely expect the team to have more confidence in Ugle-Hagan now to become a more attractive target.

Capitalising on the tall third target who can play higher up is an asset the club never knew they had. At worst, Ugle-Hagan ends up becoming the second key forward that the opposition focuses on and it releases Bruce.

It’s a new, unpredictable setup for the Bulldogs and all it takes is selecting both Bruce and Ugle-Hagan. 

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Jamarra Ugle-Hagan Projections

The truth is, the comparison to Franklin is lazy and extraordinarily simplistic, in more ways than one.

They share the freakish athleticism for size trait and their long-range left-foot kicking is superb.

Bu Ugle Hagan's aerial ability already exceeds that of Buddy Franklin – whether we’re discussing the leaping ability or the contested marking at the peak of a ball’s trajectory, it has always been the one hitch in the legendary Franklin’s game.

Jeremy Cameron seems a more viable candidate to measure traits with for Ugle-Hagan, whose work up the ground can mimic that of the star Cat.

The aerial ability is as good as the ground-level work and his endurance and skill will eventually make him a great release valve option for his exiting defenders in the future.

The Bulldogs’ young gun averaged just 10 disposals at Oakleigh in his draft year, but with a stacked midfield providing silver service, he didn’t need to regularly push as high up the ground as Cameron has this year, despite having the ability.

All-in-all though, Ugle-Hagan is such a uniquely gifted prospect though that straight comparisons are often misguided and again, only act to place more unnecessary expectation on a key forward not two years into his career.

It isn’t controversial to suggest a player taken with the first pick of a draft projects to reach great heights in the AFL, but amongst all the criticism and impatience, just how well-rounded Ugle-Hagan is as a prospect has seemingly been lost on many.

His fitness will improve, his strength will improve as he grows and new challenges will arise as he begins to consistently impact games for the Bulldogs.

Yet since his return to the senior team in Round 14, we have seen the 20-year-old play multiple roles, showcasing his contested marking ability, his lead-up work, his capability to play 70 metres out from goal, and his scoreboard impact.

As far as future tall prospects go, the Bulldogs are well set in defence, ruck and attack with Sam Darcy, Tim English, Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

Finishing with five goals against the reigning premiers has taken all the headlines, but Ugle-Hagan's form has been building for weeks , with the young star becoming a vital part of the Bulldogs’ 2022 prospects, and not just their long-term future.

Ugle-Hagan has certainly arrived and there’s no player like him.

(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)