- Ugle-Hagan lived with Rory Lobb last season
- Lobb is at the centre of wild rumour about teammate
Rory Lobb has shot down a wild rumour about his teammate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan as the Bulldogs No.1 draft pick shows no signs of being ready to play footy after a very troubled offseason.
The 22-year-old has only made sporadic appearances at training since November as he missed lots of time due to what the club described as ‘personal challenges’.
Ugle-Hagan is reportedly under pressure to fix his relationship with some of the biggest figures at the club after leaving them unimpressed with his attitude and dedication.
He is also the subject of rumours surrounding his relationship with Robb, who is one of the club’s senior players.
‘There are three key relationships that Jamarra has to fix in order to be considered for selection again. One is with the coach Luke Beveridge, another is the captain Marcus Bontempelli and another is a senior teammate and a man who he lived with for several months at the end of last season, that being Rory Lobb,’ journalist Sam McClure told Channel Nine’s Footy Classified show on Tuesday night.
There is also a completely unfounded and wild rumour circulating among AFL fans that Ugle-Hagan pulled a firearm on Robb.
Rory Lobb (pictured with fiancee Lexi Mary) has spoken out about shocking and unfounded rumours about him and his troubled teammate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
Ugle-Hagan (pictured) is on the outer with the Western Bulldogs after personal problems saw him miss large chunks of preseason training
Now the former Fremantle and GWS star turned Bulldog has opened up about the speculation over his relationship with his teammate for the first time.
A fan asked Lobb, ‘Lobby why don’t ya like Jamarra’ in the comments section of a video the star posted to TikTok on Wednesday, with Lobb replying, ‘I do like Jamarra, all those rumours aren’t true.’
His reaction comes after it was revealed that Ugle-Hagan was involved in a dressing room drama before the Dogs’ finals loss to Hawthorn last year.
Beveridge was so worried about Ugle-Hagan’s psychological state that he spoke with his leadership group about dropping him just before the match, according to the Herald Sun.
After an intense meeting in the sheds at the MCG, it was decided that Ugle-Hagan would start from the interchange bench in a compromise reached with senior players including Bontempelli.
Ugle-Hagan went on to play his worst game of the season, recording just two possessions and kicking one behind.
The finals drama was a turning point for the young forward’s troubles at the club, the report said.
Eddie McGuire has also waded into the controversy, claiming Ugle-Hagan’s behaviour left Beveridge furious before the Hawthorn match.
Lobb shot down the rumours in a reply to a fan on one of his TikTok videos (pictured)
Ugle-Hagan split from his influencer girlfriend Olivia Kelly (pictured together) last year
‘Jamarra has acted the goat. Last year in the finals series he was out and about before the Western Bulldogs played Hawthorn … the coach was absolutely filthy,’ he told Footy Classified.
‘The captain [Bontempelli] was absolutely filthy and he’s had a big summer off the field, some say maybe they need to put a red rope [like a nightclub] at the fromt of Whitten Oval [the Dogs’ training ground] to get him to turn up.
‘I’m being hard on him because I really like Jamarra. I’m watching a kid just ruin his opportunity for something that’s never going to come around again.’
Ugle-Hagan had had a rough start to his career, experiencing some shocking racism from fans in 2023 while playing St Kilda.
The following week he kicked a matchwinner over the Lions and lifted his shirt and pointed to his skin, mirroring Nicky Winmar’s iconic gesture.
It came almost 30 years to the day after Winmar stood up to racist abuse from Collingwood fans at Victoria Park in April 1993.
‘Back in the day they would’ve had it a lot worse but now players are getting sick of it and they’re making a stance,’ Ugle-Hagan said at the time.
‘We’re calling them out and we’re sorting it out, and everyone’s getting behind our back nowadays.’
In early 2024, Ugle-Hagan took time away from the sport to deal with family matters and he later signed a new contract which saw his pay-packet skyrocket.
Midway through the year he split from his influencer girlfriend Olivia Kelly, and his off-field situation started to worry the Dogs management.
