Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he needed just one glance at a photo of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's powerful stance against racism to know it had been an "iconic night" for his rising star forward.
Ugle-Hagan kicked the opening goal of the Bulldogs' win against the Brisbane Lions before turning to the crowd, lifting his jumper and pointing to his skin in a recreation of Indigenous champion Nicky Winmar's famous pose from 30 years earlier.
Beveridge on Monday doubled down on his gushing praise of the 20-year-old, who bounced back from the racial abuse he received during the Bulldogs' loss to St Kilda the previous week with an exhilarating five-goal haul against the Lions.
"Right then, when you look at the photo, you realise it's been ... an iconic night for Marra (Ugle-Hagan) and the mob," Beveridge told Fox Footy.
"He's absolutely shown the way from a performance perspective, and then been willing to make a real statement ... like Nicky did 30 years ago.
"To say, 'Hey, it's not good enough ... I'm a young First Nations man and I'm not going to put up with it'. I love that.
"I loved it when he went over and embraced his mates in the crowd at the end, which is probably the opposite feeling of what he had the week before."
Beveridge was just as impressed with how Ugle-Hagan handled himself off the field, fronting up to a press conference with his coach and speaking "from the heart" about what he'd had to deal with.
"You could step back and just listen to him and hope some of his words and his statements and his expressions would have an impact on people," Beveridge said.
"I was asked whether I was proud of him. Everyone was proud of him and everyone has a right to be proud of him during those moments.
"(He's) a beautiful young man who's put up with a lot ... that drains your energy, so to be so clutch he only had five kicks, and kick five goals, was amazing.
"It's kind of like the Dreamtime really shone down on him."
