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Sport Nation
Cornes: Bevo should have made hard call on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
SEN • March 7th, 2025 11:13 am
Kane Cornes has weighed into the Jamarra Ugle-Hagan situation turning the spotlight on the role of Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge and the decision making process at the club in the lead up to the 2024 Elimination Final.
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”.
This week it’s been reported 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.
While little has been said on Ugle-Hagan since January, Cornes and David King debated how things have been handled behind the scenes on SEN Breakfast.
“There was an intense discussion it sounded like in the rooms about an hour before they were set to run out,” Cornes said.
“Surely you make the call then. If you are two hours before a game, meeting with the captain and leadership group discussing a player, how distracting would that be?
“Hindsight is wonderful, but do you think the coach just goes ’no I’m not sure about this, I’m not getting the players involved I’m just withdrawing him, we can say he’s got the flu or something’.
“In the end there was a compromise to start him on the bench and the Bulldogs got smacked after being the hottest team going into finals.
“What’s wrong with the coach just being able to make a hard call now? Everyone feels like they have to get everyone involved. You’re the coach make the call.
“Do you think Dennis Pagan would have been talking to players two hours before a final? It’s just got too much. Surely Bevo has the power and standing in the game to say ‘I’m not playing him’.
“I think there’s room for a coach to make a hard call.”
King meanwhile questioned the role of Ugle-Hagan’s manager and what they may or may not have done behind the scenes.
“How does it get to this point when they’re so closely monitored by their managers?” King asked.
“How is it allowed to get to this stage? It’s a real concern for me. I’m wondering when was this notified as an issue for Jamarra with his manager and what did they do about it?”
