This week could be the perfect time for the Bulldogs to give Jamarra Ugle-Hagan his AFL debut. Photo: AFL MEDIA

Hype and expectation come as part of the package deal for No.1 draft picks entering the AFL.

They’re under a spotlight from the outset and pressure can keep building the longer the new recruit is left out of the senior side in his first season as a professional athlete – just ask Jack Watts.

The external focus is even more intense than usual when the prospect in question has been touted by experienced recruiters and talent spotters as the second coming of Lance Franklin.

And it spills over the sides of the sporting realm when the tabloids go to town on the fact that he’s dating a prominent “socialite” with more Instagram followers than most of us care to imagine.

There’s one obvious way irritated Western Bulldogs Luke Beveridge could shut down a good deal of that noise around his club’s young star this week: pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan for his AFL debut against Carlton.

Unfortunately, it isn’t always that simple, and Beveridge has hinted at areas of Ugle-Hagan’s game that he needs to address, without publicly detailing the specifics, before he earns a call-up.

Clearly the 19-year-old just isn’t quite considered ready, and with the Bulldogs (6-1) blessed with attacking options, there’s no need to rush him in.

Yet it seems to be a touchy subject for Beveridge, who has grown increasingly frustrated with persistent questions about Ugle-Hagan, when it doesn’t need to be.

Even before he fired up at a journalist – Footyology’s own Ronny Lerner – who asked about Ugle-Hagan after Friday night’s loss to Richmond, Beveridge had made his feelings on the subject clear.

“You’ve all got this infatuation with playing ‘Marra’,” a seemingly bemused Beveridge said when quizzed on Ugle-Hagan at a press conference last Thursday.

To put it simply, yep, of course we do.

Long before he was drafted, Ugle-Hagan was likened to Franklin – the dual-premiership superstar who is on the verge of becoming the sixth player in history to reach 1000 goals.

Adelaide rated Ugle-Hagan so highly that they had a crack at the Bulldogs’ Next Generation Academy product by making an audacious play for him with the first pick at last year’s national draft. The Dogs matched it immediately, ensuring their man got to Whitten Oval.

Ugle-Hagan excited fans when he kicked five goals against GWS in his second VFL match.

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After that performance, Beveridge said the 195cm forward was in the selection mix for the round-seven clash with reigning premier Richmond. But Josh Schache was one of four inclusions picked ahead of Ugle-Hagan, who was named as an emergency.

Schache replaced ruck-forward Tim English in attack and had little impact at the MCG last Friday night. The following day, in the far-less impressive surrounds of Preston City Oval, Ugle-Hagan kicked 1.1 in Footscray’s VFL win over the Northern Bullants.

It took his tally to eight majors in three second-tier matches.

“The game is played in more than one phase and he’s acclimatising to senior footy,” Beveridge continued last Thursday.

“We’re setting him up to succeed and we don’t want to hold him back. We can’t wait to play ‘Marra’ and he’s making really good progress.

“He’s being considered and we’ve got to work out whether or not if we play him and (if) he’s not quite ready for four quarters of AFL footy, whether that’s a good thing.

“(It’s about) whether we really nurture him and help him through that, and whether that’s good for the team, especially where we’re currently at, or whether we wait until he’s totally right to play and play four strong quarters.”

If playing a strong four quarters is more important, then Ugle-Hagan probably does need more time in the VFL to get his match fitness and defensive work to the required level.

If getting him some experience at the top level and “nurturing” him through a senior debut is more important, then an opportunity presents itself this week.

Very few, if any, games at AFL level can fairly be considered “soft”, but a match-up with 12th-placed Carlton’s 13th-ranked defence on the fast deck at Marvel Stadium on Sunday might be enough to entice the match committee to throw the young Dog a bone.

It’s something Beveridge and his assistants will weigh up.

The club’s finance department would certainly be keen to see Ugle-Hagan picked, no doubt equating to more fans (and their dollars) through the gate at a home game.

Beveridge will address the media on Thursday, and there will inevitably be follow-up questions about Ugle-Hagan.

We wait with bated breath.