Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will make his Gold Coast SUNS club debut this Saturday afternoon, set to be named in the team to face Hawthorn in Launceston.

Senior Coach Damien Hardwick confirmed on Thursday that the 24-year-old key forward will play his first AFL game for the club.

“We told Jamarra in front of the playing group this morning, and I’m not going to lie, there was a tear from player and probably the coach as well,” Hardwick said.

“It’s an incredible story, it’s been 596 days since his last AFL game. He’s done a power of work for us, we’ve made him earn it and we’ve been so impressed by what he’s brought.

“A lot of people have done a lot of work with Jamarra to get him the opportunity to make his club debut.

“We’re excited about what’s he going to offer. What we do know is we think he’s going to be a big part of our future moving forward.”

The SUNS will name its final team at 6:20pm this evening.