Emerging star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is a surprise omission for the under-fire Western Bulldogs, who will be desperate to secure a win against St Kilda without another vital player in midfielder Tom Liberatore.
The Bulldogs said Ugle-Hagan will miss for a personal reason. They have been under intense scrutiny over the past week after suffering a bad defeat to Essendon at Marvel Stadium last Friday night.
They took a conservative approach with Liberatore, ruling him out of Thursday night’s game against the Saints not long after the in-and-under player fell to the ground without explanation late in the loss to Essendon.
The club said Liberatore had not suffered concussion but opted to have him skip a game as a precautionary measure.
Ugle-Hagan’s omission allows Rory Lobb to return to the seniors. Former Demon James Harmes and Riley Garcia are the other ins at Whitten Oval.
– Scott Spits
ST KILDA
Backs: J.Battle 26 Z.Cordy 21 C.Wilkie 44
Half Backs: L.Stocker 14 J.Sinclair 35 N.Wanganeen-Milera 7
Centres: R.Byrnes 13 S.Ross 6 B.Hill 8 Half
Forwards: J.Higgins 1 C.Sharman 43 M.Owens 10
Forwards: D.Wilson 22 A.Caminiti 47 T.Membrey 28
Rucks: R.Marshall 19 J.Steele – C 9 M.Windhager 2
Interchange: Z.Jones 3 D.Butler 16 M.Phillipou 25 H.Garcia 34 R.Bonner 36
Emergency: J.Hayes 18 D.Howard 20 A.Hastie 24
In: Z.Jones
Out: M.King (knee)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Backs: E.Richards 20 L.Jones 19 J.O’Donnell 18
Half Backs: T.Duryea 15 B.Khamis 24 J.Johannisen 39
Centres: B.Williams 34 A.Treloar 1 H.Gallagher 12
Half Forwards: L.Vandermeer 23 A.Naughton 33 R.West 14
Forwards: S.Darcy 10 R.Lobb 7 C.Weightman 3
Rucks: T.English 44 M.Bontempelli – C 4 J.Macrae 11
Interchange: L.Bramble 29 B.Dale 31 R.Garcia 38 J.Harmes 22 R.Sanders 9
Emergency: C.Daniel 35 A.Jones 32 C.Poulter 25
In: R.Lobb, R.Garcia, J.Harmes
Out: J.Ugle-Hagan (personal reason), T.Liberatore (concussion protocols), O.Baker (omitted)
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