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The has club re-signed Ugle-Hagan for two years and Naughton for nine, locking in a two-pronged attack that is yet to match the heights of Carlton’s forward duo Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay. Once Ugle-Hagan’s contract kicks in next season, that is the output they will be expected to meet as they will be on similar money.
Smith and English remain unsigned beyond this season, while Bontempelli’s and Darcy’s contracts finish at the end of 2025. Bontempelli offers more value than any contract he has ever signed, but there is an acknowledgment he needs others to share his burden while English, last year’s All-Australian ruckman, is holding up his end of the bargain. However, clubs constantly debate how much TPP money should be invested in ruckmen.
The Bulldogs know there are gaps, trading into the top 10 in last year’s draft to secure midfielder Ryley Sanders, having landed Ugle-Hagan and Darcy in consecutive years in 2020 and 2021 at pick one and pick two respectively as a Next Generation Academy graduate and a father-son recruit.
They also drafted tall defender Jedd Busslinger in the first round in 2022. He is yet to play a senior match but has been reasonable in the club’s undefeated VFL team.
With Rory Lobb and father-son Jordan Croft also on their list, one recruiter suggested the club trade out a quality tall, split the pick and add speed to what is – although damaging when they get on top of the opposition – a one-paced midfield.
Another recruiter agreed, saying many of the talls operate better “when they are the main man” and wondered whether that was a reason why the big names weren’t functioning as well as their fans expected.
Losing Josh Dunkley to the Lions robbed the Bulldogs of their key defensive midfielder.Credit: AFL Photos
That recruiter said he found the list “confusing”, with the addition of Lachie Bramble and Oskar Baker as mature-aged players through the pre-season supplemental selection process making “no sense”.
Even the recruiter who assessed the list as A-Grade admitted that the bottom six players selected in the team each week were not as strong as those who played for other contenders.
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One recruiter also said the loss of Josh Dunkley to Brisbane and Patrick Lipinski to Collingwood – both of whom played in last year’s grand final – was a misstep the club is yet to recover from, with Adam Treloar the only player traded in since 2020 who has had an impact.
The club-wide review that saw major changes made to the coaching set-up underneath Beveridge was followed by the Peter Jackson review, which backed the coach while recommending that the workload be shared among football department leaders with Matthew Egan being given an operational role as football manager.
But a bounce is yet to occur.
Having missed finals last season after losing eight of their final 11 matches, the club have won just three of their first eight games to sit in 11th spot. Seven of the 13 losses in that period have been by a margin of seven points or fewer.
Although they do not have a first-round pick this season, they would be likely to gain one if the injured Smith departs, with Geelong and Hawthorn among his suitors. Gaining an early pick would be handy, said one recruiter, as it could be split and used to draft talent in what recruiters say is shaping as an even and deep draft.
Watson-Wheeler said finals were the obvious ambition at the start of the season, with the Dogs having finished ninth the year before. They play Richmond this weekend before games against the Giants, Sydney and Collingwood.
“I think that we are in a bit of a phase of evolution within the team in determining how we make sure we deliver that high performance that we have the ability to do,” Watson-Wheeler said.
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