NEVILLE Jetta says the 2015 season was a year of personal growth and one that gave him the opportunity to grow as a leader.

Jetta was instrumental in Melbourne’s decision to wear an armband in the colours of the Aboriginal flag in round 18 in support of now retired Sydney Swans great Adam Goodes.

Speaking to Dee TV, Jetta said he felt it was something that he “needed” to do.

“I just wanted to express my feelings as an Aboriginal person for some of the issues that were going on,” he said.

“It was great by the club as well to jump on board and support me, as well as the support for me to express my leadership.”

Jetta said that he has grown more comfortable with taking on leadership roles as he gets older.

“I’m growing as a person every year and experiencing different things all the time,” he said.

“I stood up a bit this year, not only for me, but for other people within the AFL community. I’ll continue to do that.”

After seven years in the AFL system, Jetta said that he values the opportunity to build relationships across the football community.

“I’d say that every player has their own mentor or someone who they look up to and I’m no different,” he said.

“I had Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan here [when I started] so I’d say everyone tends to lean on each other, but everyone has their own mentor.”