The new recruit that could be a ‘wildcard’ for the Suns

AFL.com.au’s Michael Whiting believes that new Sun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan could be in the side’s best 23 ahead of the 2026 season.

The former No. 1 draft pick, who did not play an AFL game in 2025 for the Western Bulldogs, was traded to Gold Coast during last year’s trade period for just Pick 74.

With a severely reduced one-year deal with the Queensland-based side, it was hoped that a move out of the Melbourne spotlight would help Ugle-Hagan rediscover some of his best form.

And if the pre-season form is anything to go by, then it might be doing just that for the key forward.

“(Jamarra) Ugle-Hagan looks fantastic,” Whiting noted on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.

“We know his problems was more away from footy last year, but didn’t play.

“He looks fitter than I probably expected him (to be). They did a little bit of match sim, and he was in the ‘B’ Team. But he looked terrific.

“I don’t know whether Ugle-Hagan gets in straight away or they make him wait a bit, but it’s a super exciting prospect if he keeps his body in one piece and he keeps himself on the straight and narrow.

“It could be a huge, huge wildcard for the Suns this year.”

And even despite the semi-finalists having key forward options such as academy players Ethan Read and Jed Walter, there is still a chance that he could be playing his first AFL match as soon as Opening Round.

But Whiting thinks that will be dependent on how Ugle-Hagan performs during their pre-season matches.

“I think he is in their best team,” he said.

“Now, whether that is straight away, that might be determined by a game or two in the pre-season.

“They’ve got a lot of options at that end of the ground, but it's still the part of the ground that I would have the biggest question mark over for the Suns.

“The forward line in general, but those key forwards. Ben King (was) terrific last year, kicked 70 odd goals.

“But they’ve got Ethan Read and Jed Walter, who are exciting and are top 10 picks, and they’re coming into season three, and we hope they make a jump (in form). But they haven’t proven anything yet.

“And we know what Jamarra can do. He can kick bags of goals against good opponents.”

The Gold Coast Suns begin their 2026 season against Geelong in Opening Round.

They host the Cats at People First Stadium on March 6.