The player Ugle-Hagan could force out of Western Bulldogs side

Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney says Western Bulldogs’ number one draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan could force Josh Bruce out of the side in 2021.

Ugle-Hagan, who landed at the Bulldogs as part of the club’s Next Generation Academy in Wednesday night’s National Draft, has long been touted as the best player from this year’s draft crop despite not being able to play any football in 2020.

Bruce kicked just 14 games from 17 games last season, with six of those goals coming against North Melbourne in Round 5.

Cooney saif if Ugle-Hagan can put on size during pre-season, the 194cm prodigious talent could push Bruce out of the Bulldogs’ best 22 at some point next season.

“Josh Bruce needs to improve, there’s no doubt about that,” Cooney said on SEN Summer Breakfast.

“I don’t know whether (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan) is ready to step in and play senior footy straight away, but I would suggest that if he puts on the classic three or four kilograms over summer then he walks into Josh Bruce’s spot.

“And then Bruce plays in the seconds (to start the season).”

Asked whether Bruce could potentially reinvent himself as a defender if Ugle-Hagan takes his spot in the forward line, Cooney said Bruce didn’t have the required concentration levels to hold down a spot in defence.

“I would have no idea whether he’d be able to play as a defender or not,” he said.

“This is going to sound harsh, but the concentration levels to play as a defender – you need to be on all the time.

“He’s a forward that is mercurial at times, but then has gaps in games and sometimes weeks where he doesn’t perform.

“It sounds harsh on Josh Bruce, but that’s what I think where you bring up his name, especially at the Bulldogs.”

Bruce is currently contracted to Western Bulldogs until the end of the 2023 season.