'Long way off': Bulldogs temper forward's return hopes
Luke Beveridge has shut down the possibility of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan being rushed back into the Western Bulldogs line-up, declaring the star forward a "long way off".
Ugle-Hagan has not played this season, but rejoined Bulldogs teammates last week for the first time since April.
The former No.1 pick is looking to make his AFL comeback after recently visiting a health retreat in northern NSW in an effort to get his life and career back on track.
Ugle-Hagan was back in the headlines this week after detailing his mental health battle on a podcast, Rip Through It, with former Brisbane Lions players Mitch Robinson and Rhys Mathieson.
Beveridge, speaking ahead of the Bulldogs' crunch clash with Sydney at the SCG on Friday, was determined not to let Ugle-Hagan become a distraction.
"He's a long way off being ready to play," the Bulldogs coach said of Ugle-Hagan on Wednesday.
"With Jamarra, if he's going to be a weekly question, you'll just be wasting your time.
"He won't play at state league level, or at AFL level, for a while.
"This one is about Sydney versus the Western Bulldogs."
The AFL would need to approve Ugle-Hagan's comeback because he has been under the league's mental health plan since taking leave.
But Ugle-Hagan, contracted to the Bulldogs until the end of next season, said he was adamant about resuming his 67-game AFL career.
He would first need to show consistency at training, then play well at VFL level, before he could command a return in the finals-contending Bulldogs' forward line.
The Bulldogs' match against the resurgent Swans will be captain Marcus Bontempelli's 250th game.
Already in the conversation as the club's greatest ever player, Bontempelli is coming off a powerhouse performance against Richmond.
The 29-year-old has not skipped a beat since missing the first five games of the season with a calf injury.
"The games that he missed at the start of this year have been an outlier on his journey," Beveridge said of the "durable" Bontempelli.
"An incredible leader. I don't usually use the word incredible too often, but he's just been such a significant figure, player, dignitary, character in our football club for such a long period of time.
"How fortunate are we to have him."
The Bulldogs will travel to the NSW capital without Adam Treloar after the All-Australian midfielder again broke down with a calf injury.
Treloar's body has let him down three times already this year, with this setback ruling him out until at least late in the home-and-away season.
"We'll worry about that later on,'' Beveridge said.
"His future beyond this year is something that'll take care of itself in deliberations as we get towards the end of the year.
"I always hope so with a player as influential as Adam, but I haven't actually sat down and spoken to him about the emotional toll his injuries have had on him this year."
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