Geelong has once again found itself in trade speculation on one of the competition's brightest stars only months after landing Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith.

Smith's former teammate and Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's future remains uncertain, with coach Luke Beveridge unable to outlay a timeline for his return to the club as he works through personal issues.

The 22-year-old has reportedly strained relationships with Beveridge, captain Marcus Bontempelli and has spent large amounts of time away from the Whitten Oval.

It comes as rival clubs are beginning to circle, with Herald Sun journalist Jay Clark weary of the Bulldogs' past trade negotiations.

The former Pick 1 is contracted until the end of 2026.

"Don't let history repeat at the Kennel," Clark said on Fox Footy's The First Crack.

"Bailey Smith has been one of the biggest stories from the weekend, he was outstanding. You reflect back on this trade, yes, off a year out of the game because of his knee injury.

"But you tell me if this man ... in hindsight is worth Pick 17.

"The Dogs said at the time they were a bit cornered, he only wanted to go to one club and there were some personal issues at play."

Speaking before the Cats' Round 1 clash against Fremantle, club GM of Football Andrew Mackie remained coy on if they were to pursue Ugle-Hagan.

"I've got to be careful of how I answer this one," Mackie said on 3AW.

"We're observing lots of things with lots of players in the competition. We have a list management committee that works through a lot of these things, including the coach (Chris Scott) and CEO (Steve Hocking).

"We get together and enjoy those discussions... what we're up for as a club and how it looks and once again, there's lots of factors into it.

"I'm more putting Jamarra's name into a bucket of lots of players."

Geelong almost landed wantaway Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver during last year's trade period but was ultimately held to his contract at the Demons.

The perpetually contending Cats have a knack of landing big names of the AFL, whilst also giving second chances to those they see fit.

Smith and Jeremy Cameron are two of the highest profile players in the competition while All-Australian small forward Tyson Stengle was discarded by Adelaide and Richmond before landing at Kardinia Park.

The injury-prone Jack Martin was delisted by Carlton at the end of 2024 but, if any of the reports are to go by, he's on track to make an impact sooner rather than later.