Suns continue to explore Jamarra lifeline as AFL stance becomes clearer, great voices doubts

The AFL is pro Jamarra Ugle-Hagan joining the Suns to help revive his career as Gold Coast continues to explore a move for the troubled former No. 1 pick.

Suns list boss Craig Cameron said the club was still talking to the league and doing its due diligence on Ugle-Hagan, who’s yet to complete a medical at his potential second team after flying to Gold Coast last week.

But Cameron put the onus firmly on the 23-year old to commit himself to getting back to footy after missing the entire 2025 season due to personal issues.

Watch every match of the 2025 NAB AFL Women’s Season LIVE ad-break free during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

“There’s still a few things to tick off,” Cameron said on Monday.

“He’s someone we want to explore, but there’s some things we need to still work through. We haven’t done a medical or any of those things just yet.

“At the end of the day, if we go down that path with Jamara, he will be getting a second chance. The onus will be on him to make a commitment to football.

“So it’s not for me to decide what he thinks. He’s actually got to make the commitment.

“We still have some things we need to talk to the AFL about in regards to his current status. I don’t think this will happen in a rush.”

It could see Gold Coast acquire Ugle-Hagan from the Western Bulldogs in exchange for a late pick by next Wednesday’s trade deadline.

And mark the end of a rocky relationship between the Dogs and the forward, who took part in an Indigenous football carnival on the weekend without the club’s permission.

Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph revealed the AFL is in favour of the Suns giving Ugle-Hagan a lifeline.

“My view tonight is the AFL is absolutely on board with this,” Ralph said on Fox Footy’s Trading Day.

“They very much feel they want to get players like this back into the game with a second chance. Also with the dwindling Indigenous numbers.

“He’s a different footballer to Charlie Curnow, who the club has said they do not want and do not believe he would function alongside Ben King.

“Just in terms of the risk profile, Damien Hardwick is the bloke who played a first-gamer (Marlion Pickett) in a winning grand final. And Craig Cameron is the bloke who helped bring on Ben Cousins a the Richmond Football Club.”

=

Ralph said it would be “effectively a new two-year deal” for Ugle-Hagan, who’s still contracted at Whitten Oval for 2026 on big money.

However Saints great Leigh Montagna questioned if it was a risk worth taking for the Suns, who’s also locked on to landing Melbourne star Christian Petracca, after Gold Coast has made such great inroads under Hardwick.

“I thought a club would take a risk (on Ugle-Hagan). For me it’s interesting it’s the Gold Coast Suns, I don’t know if they’re the club that need to take the risk,” Montagna said.

“With the amount of young players they’ve got, the trajectory they’re on, the culture they’ve built with this playing group.

“I know it’s Damien Hardwick’s way and he has some experience and he’s prepared to take the punt.

“It’s just a risky one for me for Gold Coast, whereas Christian Petracca makes complete sense.

“Good luck to him, we all want him to succeed, absolutely.”

If Gold Coast can make it work, however, Montagna believes Hardwick’s side, coming off its first finals appearance, could be a force.

“We spoke about getting Petracca would make them frightening. Imagine if they got the best out of Jamarra. Good luck to the rest of the competition trying to stop them,” the St Kilda legend added.

“And they’ve got young talent that weren’t even getting a game this year, Jake Rogers, Leo Lombard and Jed Walter weren’t in the side in the back-end of the season.”

Dogs football boss Sam Power said the club had Ugle-Hagan’s best interests at heart.

“I think everyone wants the best for Jamarra … all through this year he has clearly had his challenges …I am really proud of the club and how the club has dealt with it, the club had prioritised him and his wellbeing through that,” he said.

“Jamarra hasn’t requested a trade … we knew he was having a meeting up north with Gold Coast but from our end there has been no indication from the Gold Coast and Jamarra is contracted so at this stage we have had no trade request.”

Click here to read article