Lewis Jetta, the West Coast premiership star, has been regularly playing local football since his AFL career ended, and on Saturday he featured for a new club, the Southern Cross Bombers, in their Eastern Districts Football League clash against Narembeen.
Jetta's appearance for Southern Cross
Jetta travelled to Southern Cross, about 366 kilometres east of Perth, to line up for the Bombers. Although he was not named among their best players, the now 37-year-old showcased the silky skills he displayed across 202 games with the Eagles and Sydney in an eight-point loss to the Hawks.
Throughout the day, Jetta spent time with the club's juniors, even allowing them to wear the premiership medals he won in 2012 and 2018, and participated in a question-and-answer session. At half-time, he revealed that a connection with Southern Cross player-coach Rhaiarn Cox drew him to the club, despite his intentions to retire. "We work together, so he asked three times, three days in a row to get me out and have a game, and here I am," Jetta told Filming Footy's broadcast.
It is understood the Bombers are hopeful Jetta's appearance will not be a one-off and that he will return to feature in other games later in their season. Since leaving the Eagles at the end of 2020, Jetta had played with family members at High Wycombe in the Perth Football League and in the South West Football League with Donnybrook.
Ebony Antonio returns to footy
Former Fremantle AFLW star Ebony Antonio made a match-winning return to the field in the Great Northern Football League women's competition on Saturday. She dusted off her goal-kicking boots to slot two majors for Chapman Valley in a tight encounter against Towns at Mazzuchelli Oval. Just three goals were kicked in the grand final rematch between the competition's leading women's sides, with the 3.9 (27) to 0.5 (5) result seeing last year's reigning premiers go two games clear of Towns on top of the ladder.
Chapman Valley president Mark Houston said of Antonio's performance: "She was very keen to get in and get involved and got a bit of white line fever when she was out there as well. She went quite hard on the field, and I know the girls enjoyed being around her in the change rooms and after the game. It's fantastic that she got in and did that." After the game, Antonio was among a group who braved chilly conditions to take an icy plunge for FightMND during the seventh edition of the Big Freeze in the Valley. She showed she still bled purple by heading down the slide wearing a purple Teletubbies onesie.
Daniel Cripps appointed PFL women's rep coach
Daniel Cripps, the brother of Carlton superstar Patrick Cripps, has continued his rapid rise through Perth's amateur coaching ranks. He has been appointed to head up the PFL's representative women's side for their clash with a Country Football WA outfit next month. Cripps was appointed as the senior women's coach at Trinity Aquinas, where he starred during his own playing career and featured in their 2016 A-grade premiership-winning side, ahead of the 2025 season. His side won the women's B-grade flag without losing a game in his first campaign in charge and have seamlessly adapted to A-grade this year, winning six of their first seven games to sit second on the ladder.
Cripps said he was "very honoured" to be appointed to the role. "Women's footy is growing so quickly, and the standard across the competition this year has gone to another level. The most exciting part for me is getting the opportunity to work with the best players in the competition and seeing what they can produce together," he said.
