An emotional Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will make his Gold Coast Suns top-flight debut on Saturday against Hawthorn in Launceston.<\/p>\n
The former No.1 draft pick joined the Suns in the off-season from the Western Bulldogs after not playing a game last year due to off-field issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been 596 days since his last AFL game,\u201d Hardwick said on Thursday in confirming the 24-year-old forward\u2019s weekend selection.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible story \u2026 he\u2019s done a power of work for us, we\u2019ve made him earn it and we\u2019ve been so impressed by what he\u2019s brought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe told Jamarra in front of the playing group this morning, and I\u2019m not going to lie, there was a tear from player and probably the coach as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have done a lot of work with Jamarra to get him the opportunity to make his club debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited about what\u2019s he going to offer. We\u2019re not expecting a world-beating performance, but what we do know is we think this kid is going to be a big part of our future moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ugle-Hagan overcame a leg injury to kick five goals for Gold Coast\u2019s VFL team last weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what he can do offensively, but we\u2019ve been really impressed with his defence and his combativeness in the contest as well,\u201d Hardwick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows some things that we\u2019re after in his game to get better. He\u2019s not going to be perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe offensive flair is just always there. That\u2019s the way he\u2019s played, but the way he\u2019s bought into our Suns mentality of how we want the game played, especially from our forwards, has been evident.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s also a great teammate. The players love him, and the players love being around him. He\u2019s going to add to our forward craft, no doubt about that, but more importantly, he\u2019s going to add to our group.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have done a hell of a lot of work with this young lad to give him the opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Gold Coast Suns Football Club should be commended for giving this young man an opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s his story to write. He gets a second chance. He\u2019s been through his ups and downs, but more importantly, he\u2019s got a long career in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Suns will chase their fifth win of the season when they meet the Hawks, who have only lost one from six in an impressive start to their 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we do know is that Hawthorn are a very good side, well coached, well drilled and very hard to beat on a Tasmanian deck where they play three or four games a year,\u201d Hardwick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably go in as underdogs, but there\u2019s no better place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n