Ross Lyon has urged Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge to hand No.1 pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan his AFL debut this week or risk losing him altogether.
Ugle-Hagan was one of the more hyped prospects going into the 2020 draft where he was the first name called out, earning comparisons to Swans star Lance Franklin.
While several first-year players including Nik Cox and Riley Thilthorpe have taken the league by storm in their debut years, Ugle-Hagan is yet to be given a game by the Bulldogs.
A concussion to high-flying forward Aaron Naughton has once again presented Beveridge with the opportunity to select Ugle-Hagan, but the young gun is no certainty to play in Round 17.
With the 19-year-old reportedly growing "disillusioned" after being kept in the wilderness, Lyon said the time was right for him to be handed a debut.
"I like what they're doing in making him earn it, but if you take all hope away from someone you can lose them altogether," he told Nine's Footy Classified.
"So get the jar of honey out. It's not always vinegar, get the jar of honey going and give him a little taste and it just might fuel him and you keep him, you don't lose him."
Lyon's comments come after leading AFL reporter Sam Edmund stated that a number of clubs had "enquired about Ugle-Hagan's willingness to entertain a trade" this off-season.
Former Bulldogs captain Robert Murphy has also voiced his opinion about potentially giving Ugle-Hagan a taste of what the next level is like.
"The word is it's about fitness levels and not being able to run out four quarters at the top level," Murphy told SEN last month.
"If you give him a taste, you show him what the standards are. The positive around it is he's a number one pick key position player – and this is me being optimistic – that he thinks he should play and is hungry to me."
The Western Bulldogs host Sydney in Round 17 at Marvel Stadium with the match scheduled for 3:20 pm AEST on Sunday afternoon.
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