“It's a circus”: Jamarra should be removed from AFL program

Kane Cornes is urging the Western Bulldogs to remove Jamarra Ugle-Hagan from their AFL program in a bid to curb the “media circus” around the troubled forward.

Ugle-Hagan has spent considerable time away from the club this off-season as he’s dealt with what SEN chief reporter Sam Edmund described as a “complex situation”.

Last week he returned to training on Thursday amid mounting speculation his future in the sport.

But in a week that will see the Bulldogs celebrate its centenary year, Cornes fears the drama and uncertainty surrounding Ugle-Hagan could derail a campaign already blighted by an ever-growing injury list.

James O’Donnell broke his jaw in the side’s 16-point win over North in Round 1 while and Luke Cleary is under concussion protocols having spent Saturday night in hospital following a horror collision with Jackson Archer.

So what is the best course of action for the Bulldogs and how thewy move forward with the Ugle-Hagan situation?

“How are they going to manage what has become a circus,” Cornes said on Fireball. “Is it better send him away full-time or have him back full-time. But if he can’t commit to being there full-time is it best he’s not there at all?

“Do you send him back to the VFL program? They did that in the pre-season and they took him away from the main group. If he’s not ready to commit every day or he’s expected to be there and then he’s not, it’s an issue. It’s a tricky situation.

“Unless you are prepared to commit, this is a footy club, you can’t just be rocking up willy-nilly. Of course they’re not going to cut him loose, they help him through that. Manage him away from the AFL program is what I’m saying, as they did in the pre-season.

“It has become a public circus. They will get sick of being asked about it. If he’s not there at least you can say ‘we love Jamarra, we’re caring for him, for now he’s not a part of the program and when he is we will give you an update on that’.”

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge meanwhile has conceded that Ugle-Hagan may not be in contention to play at all this season.

“I can’t answer that definitively … we are hoping,” he told AFL360.

“Like some of the other answers, time will tell.”