Footy star Caleb Poulter and his glamorous girlfriend have revealed their shocking reaction to being dropped by Collingwood – the Dogs midfielder broke down and ‘ghosted’ his team-mates
Poulter stung after being axed by team Young football star ghosted his teammates Partner says it’s been tough on relationship
Western Bulldogs mid-season draftee Caleb Poulter and his dominant girlfriend have described Poulter’s shock reaction to being delisted from Collingwood last year.
Poulter, who was picked at No.30 in the 2020 draft, played just 12 games for Collingwood across 2021 and 2022 before being surprisingly delisted. He was picked up by the Bulldogs in this year’s mid-season draft.
The 194cm left-footer found out he had been axed over the phone while on holiday in Bali with partner Sam Guggenheimer and the 20-year-old footy star did not take the news well.
“I came out (of the villa) and you were crying,” Guggenheimer said on the Just for Girls podcast.
‘You just said ‘I’m off the list’, those are the words you said ‘I’m off the list, I’m off the list’.
Bulldogs draftee Caleb Poulter (pictured with partner Sam Guggenheimer) admits he didn’t react well to being delisted by Collingwood.
Poulter’s ax puts a strain on his relationships and the footy star haunts his teammates
‘From there, we tried to enjoy our holiday but I think we had a lot of questions over our heads.’
Guggenheimer said the shocking news had ‘haunted’ Poulter, including his Collingwood teammate and then-housemate Jack Crisp.
‘You were bad at communicating with people, you ghosted everybody, you ghosted your teammates, you ghosted Jack, you ghosted your coaches, you kind of ‘f—ed them’,” he said.
‘I think you were a bit angry, you didn’t really have any answers, nobody answered your questions so you were like ‘f— this’ and you just threw it away.’
The young gun believes he fell ‘out of favour’ with Collingwood’s coaches – and he dealt with it the wrong way.
‘I was obviously quite upset at the time,’ he said.
‘Instead of dealing with it the right way, I just stopped replying to everyone.
‘I think I was one of those people who fell out of favor and that sometimes happens in a professional environment.’
The former Magpie made his debut for the Western Bulldogs against Fremantle
Guggenheimer said the transition was also difficult on the pair’s relationship.
‘You’re trying to get an AFL contract but I don’t think you’re working hard enough for it, you’ve lost a bit of confidence and belief,’ he said.
‘Since you got drafted, you’ve got a full-time career in the AFL, making a lot of money, having all these friends … everything has changed.
‘Looking at you with disbelief and no drive in your spirit because you’ve been so hurt, it’s been hard on our relationship.’
Poulter had 12 disposals in his Western Bulldogs debut against Fremantle at Marvel Stadium two weeks ago, his first AFL game since playing in Round 9, 2022.