Inside fallen Dog’s bid for an AFL lifeline… and why it’s a risk worth taking for a rising contender

There’s clearly a lot of buyer beware with Jamarra-Ugle Hagan. But a move to the Suns could be a win-win.

Ugle-Hagan touched down on the Gold Coast this week as he prepares to meet with the Suns in hopes of revitalising his AFL career.

It’s been a rocky old 12 months for Ugle-Hagan at the Western Bulldogs in a marriage about to end, despite the forward being contracted for 2026.

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But whether he’s traded or paid out that last year of his deal, Ugle-Hagan won’t play another game in the red, white and blue.

His problems have been well publicised.

The 23-year old didn’t play footy at any level in 2025 due to personal issues, taking a leave of absence from the game including spending time at a health retreat.

It’s never been a question of talent with the former No. 1 pick. Don’t forget this is a guy once likened to the great Buddy Franklin.

It’s about getting him right off field, without knowing his exact circumstances.

No one should be able to tell Ugle-Hagan who he can and can’t be friends with. It’s just a matter of avoiding winding up in curly situations.

Enter Gold Coast.

While the city isn’t exactly known for its quiet nightlife, it does give him a fresh start out of the Melbourne bubble.

A new home. A new go-to cafe. A new drive into work. A new club. A totally new setup.

A proper chance to reset for a new beginning and fresh chapter up north. And a chance to make headlines in 2026 for the right reasons.

He’s even mentioned he’s a fan of Dreamworld!

And in a town that’s not mad about footy, where he can walk down the street and not be widely recognised. Or plastered across newspapers.

That might just be the perfect scenario for a bloke who’s been very open about his mental demons.

Players flourishing in a new environment is a tale as old as time (even if Ugle-Hagan’s situation is unique). Everyone loves a good comeback story.

Just look at Jesse Hogan.

Hogan is a living proof that, with maturation and landing in the right spot, a footballer can turn things around including a superstar breakout at 29 years of age.

Ugle-Hagan is still just 23.

“Jesse Hogan was Jamarra. Jesse Hogan had all of these issues and by the time Jesse had left Fremantle … it looked like his career was gone. No one wanted to touch Jesse Hogan, eventually the GWS Giants said ‘we’ll have you’ for a third-round pick’,” Demons legend Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 in May.

“Jamarra’s career has stalled, he’s played 67 games for 103 goals averaging 1.5 per game – Jesse averaged 1.8 when he was at the crossroads. Don’t give up on this guy, because we are now lauding Jesse Hogan as if not the most important player in the league, he’s in the best five. He’s a contested marking animal, Coleman Medallist who kicks big bags of goals – you can’t find them, they are as rare as rocking horse poo.

“Then you’ve got this bloke (Ugle-Hagan). I’m not saying he’s going to get there, but don’t give up on him. These blokes go through the trials – and I don’t know Jamarra and what he’s been up to and I know he posted that stupid thing about Nick (Riewoldt), he looks like he’s immature and battling – (but) Jesse was in a similar hole.

“He (Hogan) was given a chance, he got into an environment – I think Shane Mumford had him living out the back of his house with his family – and the penny dropped. He is now arguably the most important player in the competition – picked up for nothing, no one wanted a bar of him. Sound familiar?”

Then there’s the footy fit, which doesn’t make that much sense for Ugle-Hagan on the surface. Not that he appears to have many other options right now to extend his AFL career.

But Gold Coast is already well stocked with key forwards, so Ugle-Hagan won’t exactly walk into a forward line featuring Ben King, Ethan Read and Jed Walter, who already got squeezed out of the AFL team late in the season.

Will Ugle-Hagan be in the best spot to succeed?

In some ways, however, that added challenge of Ugle-Hagan needing to really force his way into the team could be the ideal scenario to get the best out of the 197cm player.

Compared to instantly becoming a club’s number one forward option and creating a sense of entitlement.

But let’s be honest. If Ugle-Hagan gets himself on the right track, he’ll be in Damien Hardwick’s 23.

A driven and motivated Ugle-Hagan would only be a good thing for Gold Coast too.

That’s a big if right now, and clearly the club is doing its due diligence in assessing if it thinks it can salvage his career.

You’d need to sit him down with all the key leaders and get him to look you in the eye with some strong assurances.

But again, this is a former No. 1 pick with enormous upside. He kicked 43 goals in his fourth season and was once on track for stardom, if he wasn’t already there.

Getting him now as a distressed asset is kind of the ideal time to be shopping for a player. Even though the majority of clubs have said ‘no thanks’.

The Suns being the only team into him that we know of does make you kind of worried.

But they’ll give up next to nothing (and possibly nothing in the end) to get him. So it could be a risk worth taking, pending the background checks and if you can get him on a cheap deal with triggers thrown in.

Perhaps even just a one-year deal on the rookie list.

It’s not the most obvious fit from a football sense for Gold Coast either given its crop of gun forwards.

But who knows what the future holds, with Ben King entering a free agency year and Jed Walter also due to come out of contract in 2026.

And really the worst thing that could happen from a football perspective is Ugle-Hagan plays twos.

Also, is he a better value option than Charlie Curnow? Who the Suns are also looking at.

Obviously Curnow is a better player. But he’d also come at a much greater price — both from a trade perspective and his contract.

Curnow is also five years older and there’s some concerns around his troublesome knee. Whereas Ugle-Hagan has concerns for entirely different reasons.

It’s not quite a free hit, but it’s at least a cheap one.

There’s no guarantees in life or football. The same goes for Ugle-Hagan when he was a prestigious talent coming into the league … and with whatever happens now.

And no matter what anyone says to him or he says back, there’s not a soul that knows how it would play out next year if he got a lifeline. Actions speak louder than words.

If nothing else, between Ugle-Hagan, Curnow and Christian Petracca, you’ve got to admire Gold Coast’s bold approach to try and improve its list by whatever means necessary.

A club that was once in for the battle of its life just to keep players is now shooting for the stars.

Ugle-Hagan was a star that’s lost his shine. But that doesn’t mean he can’t get it back.