GARRY Lyon and Tim Watson have both praised the Western Bulldogs for their handling of number one draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.<\/p>\n
Ugle-Hagan, who kicked five goals in the VFL last week, won\u2019t be rushed into the Bulldogs\u2019 AFL side after coach Luke Beveridge said the 18-year-old still has areas to work on before making his debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the way the Western Bulldogs are handling this,\u201d Lyon told SEN Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder whether all clubs would be able to handle him in this same position because he\u2019s kicked five in the VFL, he\u2019s clearly the number one target, but he (Beveridge) said amongst other things with Jamarra that he\u2019s got a fair way to go, he\u2019s got things to work on, and to build up his fitness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to take some time and I love the fact that they\u2019re going, \u2018Just hold your horses\u2019. I don\u2019t know if every club would be doing that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink Jack Watts and Melbourne back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beveridge said the VFL\u2019s anti-density rules will deny Ugle-Hagan the chance to get his fitness levels up to AFL standard.<\/p>\n
The VFL is trialling zones for stoppages in 2021, with a minimum of three players from each team required to stand inside 50.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe every club\u2019s not in the position to be able to do that either because of the talent they\u2019ve got at their disposal,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he was at North Melbourne, Essendon, Hawthorn or at the Adelaide Crows right now, there would be some form of pressure to put him in there before he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certain kids that if you hold them back a while longer and wait for them to develop and make them really earn their position, then it\u2019s going to serve them well over a longer period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ugle-Hagan suffered a dislocated thumb playing for Footscray in a VFL practice match against Essendon on Saturday.<\/p>\n