Jamarra Ugle-Hagan Biography

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan boots five goals while making a powerful stand against racism as the Western Bulldogs break through for their first win of the 2023 season.

The 20-year-old showed maturity beyond his years after a difficult week, lifting his jumper to point to his skin with pride - a mirror of Nicky Winmar's famous gesture a few weeks shy of the 30-year anniversary of that iconic moment - after the first of his goals in the 10.7 (67) to 7.11 (53) victory.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is allegedly the target of "harmful and abhorrent racist remarks" from a St Kilda fan in a case that has sparked an investigation.

"The AFLIU (Integrity Unit) has been contacted by both the Western Bulldogs and the St Kilda Football club and will now work with both clubs to provide support for those impacted and investigate the matter, working towards identifying the individuals concerned," a statement from the AFL read.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan says fellow No.1 pick is Paddy McCartin has been offering his support on shouldering the burden of being the top draft pick.

“It's a challenging role to accept but it’s great to know that someone else on another football team understands my position and understands what we go through, which is massive pressure but we just feed off that and obviously it’s going to make us better footballers," Ugle-Hagan said.

"He just said reach out and ask for help if I have any questions about how I'm going. After the Sydney game he messaged me, which was unbelievable because I found he was a great bloke on the field, gave me a couple of confidence messages when I was out there.”

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan signs a two-year contract extension deal with the Western to remain at the club until the end of 2024.

"It's good to stay around at the Kennel. They gave me the opportunity to come here in the first place and I'd love to give back to the club," he said.

"It's a good thing that I played VFL, because I know I've got room to improve. Obviously, Bevo knew what he was doing and put me in the twos for a while. I've developed, got better, and now I'm playing (AFL) which is good."

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan makes his AFL debut for the Western Bulldogs at Docklands Stadium with 7 disposals (4 kicks and 3 handballs), a mark and a tackle in a 19-point loss to Sydney.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says a concussion and COVID-19 restrictions are the reasons why it's taken until round 17 for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to make his debut.

"He probably got to the point, just when he was concussed, where he was close (to selection). He was playing a stronger four quarters but he had to miss a month because we got shutdown and he couldn't play a state league level, either," Beveridge said.

"Now he's worked his way back in to four-quarter outlet and we're confident he will get through the four quarters."

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is selected to make his debut this weekend, ending months of speculation about the 2020 No.1 draft pick.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he feels the need to protect Jamarra Ugle-Hagan as pressure continues to build for the No.1 draft pick to make his AFL debut.

"I'm sensitive to continuing to talk about 'Marra' and his journey because it doesn't help him. Even our relationship, he doesn't want me talking publicly about him and I don't really want to do it," Beveridge said.

"My main focus is to look after him and the theme with my words around 'Marra' is he's just not quite ready yet. We want to set him up to succeed and he understands the challenges that are going to present themselves at the next revel. We're really looking forward to getting him into the team at the point where it's right."

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli says Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will need to be patient before making his AFL debut.

"Probably like any athlete, he probably wants to be ahead of where they are and he's hungry to succeed. He came in with a bit of a rush and wanted to display a bit of an influence early but sometimes it just doesn't go to plan," Bontempelli said.

"Sometimes they're good lessons to learn early in your career because they do help you as you progress, going through those challenging experiences. There's no doubt he'll be better for it as a player."

As expected, the Western Bulldogs select Jamarra Ugle-Hagan with pick No.1 in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft after matching a bid from Adelaide.

Potential No.1 pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan says he is keen to pay back the Bulldogs for their investment in him.

"They've put a lot of time and effort into me, like coming after school and doing sessions twice a week and helping my game. It's an unreal experience and I'm very grateful to be a part of it," he said.

"Given how much they've invested in me I'd obviously like to play for the Dogs so hopefully I can get there. But there are no guarantees and I have to prepare myself for any possibility."

Ugle-Hagan split his two weeks at the Dogs last December, living with Marcus Bontempelli and Josh Dunkley, and learning plenty from the pair.

"I went in there and was a sponge and got everything off the coaches and players," he said.

"It was a good experience because I stayed with [Bontempelli] that week he got announced as captain, so it was a pretty exciting week for him and for me as well.

"I watched how they got there early and were always the last people to leave as well, so it just shows how hard they work and where it puts them."

Potential top-five draft prospect Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has got Dogs fans already excited for the 2020 draft.

The quick, strong-marking, 17-year-old key forward stands at 195 centimetres and is tied to the Western Bulldogs through the Next Generation Academy.

"At the start of the season, everything was going my way. Then I ended up getting cut from Vic Country as a bottom-ager and I think that's when I started to develop as a player," Ugle-Hagan said.

"Since I got cut, I reckon it's helped me a lot, it's just made my mindset a lot better."