“Not true”: Rory Lobb addresses Jamarra Ugle-Hagan rumours

Western Bulldogs defender Rory Lobb has addressed the circulating reports of a rift between himself and teammate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

It has been a tumultuous off-season for the key forward, who has been largely absent from club training amidst what SEN Chief Reporter Sam Edmund described in January as a “complex situation”.

Speaking on Footy Classified on Monday night, journalist Sam McClure mentioned Lobb as one of three people in particular that Ugle-Hagan needed to win back the trust of.

“(Ugle-Hagan) has trained fully for the last three weeks (at the Bulldogs) really since the Indigenous All-Stars game in Perth, that is a positive,” McClure said.

“It is more than just his physical conditioning that he has to get past in order to be available for AFL selection.

“There are three key relationships that Jamarra has to fix in order to be considered for selection again. One is with the coach Luke Beveridge, another the captain Marcus Bontempelli and another a senior teammate and a man who he lived with for several months at the end of last season, that being Rory Lobb.”

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire added further details on Footy Classified on Tuesday night.

“I’ll tell you. Jamarra has acted the goat. Last year in the finals series he was out and about before the Western Bulldogs played Hawthorn, got four touches in that game, the coach (Beveridge) was absolutely filthy, the captain (Bontempelli) was absolutely filthy and he’s had a big summer off the field, some say maybe they need to put a red rope at the front of the Whitten Oval to get him to turn up,” McGuire said.

“I’m being hard on him because I really like Jamarra. I’m watching a kid just ruin his opportunity for something that’s never going to come around again.”

The Herald Sun reported on Wednesday that Ugle-Hagan’s spot in that Elimination Final side was still being debated right up until the night of the clash, where he had two kicks, two marks and didn’t manage a goal.

The report added that teammates began to get sick of the 22-year-old’s antics in the latter stages of 2024 and his ‘dishevelled’ state at club recovery sessions, something that seemingly continued into the summer

Rumours have circled about how Ugle-Hagan’s time living with Lobb came to an end, however Lobb has taken to his own social media platform to comment on the situations surrounding his former housemate.

“I do like Jamarra, all those rumours aren’t true,” Lobb posted in the comments section of his own TikTok video.

In reply to McGuire on Footy Classified, former Essendon coach James Hird outlined Ugle-Hagan’s difficult path back to the top level, particularly given Beveridge’s strong stance on selection integrity.

“If you’ve lost the trust of the coach and the captain, it sounds like there’s no coming back. You might lose the trust of the coach, but the captain is on your side, but if you’ve lost the trust of both, it is very difficult,” Hird said.

A battered Western Bulldogs side missing Marcus Bontempelli, Liam Jones, Adam Treloar, Cody Weightman and Ugle-Hagan will face North Melbourne in Round 1 at Marvel Stadium.