Troubled Bulldogs star set for Gold Coast move, Suns deal includes behavioural clauses

Troubled Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is set to rejuvenate his AFL career on the Gold Coast, with the player and senior club officials meeting at the club on Thursday morning as he takes another step towards football redemption.

Ugle-Hagan’s contract, however, will be heavily incentivised and will also include behavioural clauses, which will give the Suns an option to terminate his deal at the club’s discretion, after the player’s year-long battle with well -documented off-field problems.

Competition sources not willing to speak publicly about contract negotiations have confirmed to this masthead that Ugle-Hagan will fly from Melbourne to the Gold Coast on Thursday morning and is booked in for a medical at the club.

Although a trade and a potential payout with the Bulldogs will have to be finalised in the coming days, all parties have agreed that Ugle-Hagan will be a Suns player by the end of the trade period.

Ugle-Hagan’s contract is set to be a heavily incentivised two-year deal, with a minimal amount guaranteed.

The 23-year-old’s playing wage in 2026 will look closer to what he was being paid in his first season after being taken at pick one in the 2020 national draft.

He will, however, have the ability to earn substantially more based on games played, goals kicked and best-and-fairest results.

Suns defender Connor Budarick is expected to join the Bulldogs in the trade period. However, it remains unclear if he will be part of the deal to land Ugle-Hagan.

Ugle-Hagan, who is contracted at the Western Bulldogs for 2026, has more than $900,000 remaining on his contract for next season.

His manager, Robbie D’Orazio, will now negotiate a payout with the Bulldogs, but it remains unclear how much, if any, the Dogs would be willing to pay.

Ugle-Hagan didn’t play a game in 2025 and was able to train only on a handful of occasions, after a spate of off-field issues.

Craig Cameron, Gold Coast’s general manager of talent and player strategy, gave an update on the Suns’ position on Thursday morning.

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“We are looking to see someone who is going to make a commitment to get himself back to a position where he can play consistent football,” Cameron said on AFL Trade Radio.

“The No.1 thing is do we think a fit and healthy Jamarra can help us as a footy club?”

Cameron said the Suns had a strong Indigenous cohort, which could potentially assist the move. Ugle-Hagan was at the Indigenous All Stars match against Fremantle in February.

“The Western Bulldogs is a really good football club and nothing I’m about to say is meant to be detrimental …” said Cameron.

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