NEVILLE Jetta was drafted by Melbourne at No.51 in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft. Originally from Bunbury, Western Australia, Jetta was recruited from Swan Districts. The cousin of former Swan and now Eagle Lewis and a distant cousin of former Bomber Leroy, Jetta made his AFL debut in round one, 2009 against North Melbourne at the MCG. After playing 41 matches in five seasons, Jetta was delisted, but reinstated on Melbourne’s list via the rookie draft in the lead-up to the 2014 season. He quickly returned to the senior side and became a regular playing 58 matches since round five, 2014. He has become an integral part of Melbourne’s side and become one of the best small defenders in the game. This round, Jetta will play his 100^th AFL game – a fine achievement, given he’s also had to contend with his fair share of injuries. He spoke to Matt Burgan before his milestone against Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Sunday …

THE MILESTONE

MB: Nev, congratulations on reaching 100 AFL games.

NJ: Thanks. You have dreams about reaching milestones as a player, but with some of the stuff I went through, I didn’t think I’d get there. Now I have and I can’t thank my family enough – my wife and kids and Mum and Dad – for their support, and the rest of the community back home in WA. And of course my teammates and all of my coaches here that have definitely helped me grow as a player and as a person.

MB: How do you reflect on your milestone?

NJ: I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to achieve, but I’m not satisfied with just 100. I want to push on and play good footy and be consistent and do my bit for the team.

MB: Does reaching the ton become extra special, given the hurdles you’d overcome – you were in and out of the side, suffered a host of injuries and were delisted at the end of the 2013 season?

NJ: When I look back at the end of the 2013 season and I’d lost a bit of passion for footy, with the way the club was going at the time. I didn’t want to play footy anymore. But that was probably the turning point. I had a long conversation with Mum and Dad, and [wife] Sam and told them that I was going on the rookie list for the 2014 season. From that point, I just wanted to enjoy it and whatever happened that year on the rookie was going to happen. Thankfully it all turned out the way it did.

THE EARLY YEARS

MB: What are your memories of being drafted by Melbourne?

NJ: Before the draft, I didn’t know if I’d be drafted at all to be honest. You don’t really know until you get picked. We had no internet or Foxtel at home, so we didn’t watch the draft. I remember getting a phone call from [former chief executive] Cameron Schwab at the time and then Aaron Davey to tell me that I had been drafted by the Melbourne Football Club. It was a pretty exciting time. Mum and Dad, and the rest of my community at home, were pretty excited and to find out Jamie Bennell, who also came from Bunbury, had been drafted with me was great. We played a lot of junior footy together at Bunbury and in the WAFL as well, and we knew both families. To come across with him was exciting. I knew I would settle better with him than a lot of other boys. Once I got to the club, there was Aaron Davey, Austin Wonaeamirri, Matty Whelan and Liam Jurrah, who got picked up a couple of weeks later. It was pretty exciting and it felt as though I was home. It was still tough being away from home, but having those guys there – they were almost like my brothers – helped me cope. But I definitely still miss my family from home.

MB: You made your AFL debut against North Melbourne in round one, 2009 – the same day Jake Spencer played his first game. Tell us about your memories that day?

NJ: I don’t feel like it was like that long ago. To debut on the MCG was pretty unbelievable. I just put my best foot forward that pre-season and due to some unlucky injuries at the time, I got the call-up. I went out and played my best in front of my family. To be able to go out and play with Jake, who is still here – I’ve definitely formed a really good relationship with him. When you look back at his body shape and my body shape at the time, it was pretty funny.

MB: You’ve become a real role model – and not just in the game. Not just for the Indigenous community, but for all people. How do you feel about that mantle?

NJ: I’m just trying to use my position to the best I can. I’ve seen a lot growing up, back in Bunbury. Some boys had heaps of support and some didn’t. And the girls as well, and seeing the choices they made at the time – I was one of the lucky ones to be able to get to my dream, whereas they weren’t able to. Me and Lewis are cousins and we’re both playing in the AFL, and Leroy did as well, so we had a pretty good support network and I’m just trying to give back, like my parents and community did for me. I know how important it can be to give back at an early age, because it can really set up their life in the future.

MB: What was life like for you growing up in Bunbury?

NJ: Bunbury is two hours a bit south of Perth on the beach. It’s a big community. There are a lot of family and friends. I went to school with all of my cousins and a lot of footy players come out of there. Footy is a bit thing there. If you didn’t play footy – you probably didn’t fit in the community too well (laughing). Being in a big footy community, it’s something that I loved and I learned to love the game early on. I think I was five when I cried to Mum and Dad to put me in Auskick. Back then, I had Lewis who was six. I was a year younger. To be able to grow up in a tight-knit community and real close family, it definitely shaped me to be the person I am today. I’m just trying to do my best and for the rest of the community that I live in as well.

THE REJUVENATED CAREER

MB: In round 23, 2013, Melbourne’s final game of the season, you were recalled for the first time in 13 matches. Paul Roos, who was appointed coach soon after, watched you play as a small defender and was impressed with what he saw. Still, you were dropped from the senior list and redrafted as a rookie. Tell us about that period.

NJ: It helped me grow as a person. I had [daughter] Nalani, who was two [years old] at the time. To be able to get things sorted and have back-up plans helped me get some perspective on footy and the bubble that we get caught in. It made me realise how much more balance I needed within my own football career and outside of it. It really showed me that I needed to do more on-field, but off-field to make me a better player.

MB: Was the belief that Roos had in you or the fact that you were getting your body right critical in your form turnaround?

NJ: It was a bit of both. Getting that role [down back] that I got and playing consistent football in the pre-season helped, and then it carried into the season. I’d had a lot of injuries and felt very stop-start in my career. Then I finally got going, when Roosy got on board and through that 2013 season in the VFL and playing the final game of that season – it felt like a farewell game, along with Aaron Davey, who retired at the end of that season. So it was a combination of getting a set role and knuckling down, and fine-tuning it for the team. I then knew what I had to do week-in-week-out and I had the belief from the coaches and players.

MB: When you were delisted from the senior list and told you would be redrafted as a rookie, did you have to think about whether you wanted to accept that scenario?

NJ: I definitely had that thought in my mind. I had some long chats with Mum and Dad, and Sam about what was best for us as a little family. Speaking to Sam, she was supportive of whatever I wanted to do at the time. I wanted to continue my career, but if it wasn’t going to be best for me, Sam and Nalani, then I probably wouldn’t have kept going or pursued my career, because family comes first with me. I wanted to make sure they were happy with my decision and not me being selfish, which you can be when you’re an AFL player, so I put my family first. Mum and Dad supported me with my decision, but at the time I’d lost a bit of love for footy, but their support was unbelievable and they gave me the passion to be able to get back and give my all, every day when I was at the footy club and then switch off.

MB: Now you’ve got to the point where you’re a highly rated small defender in the competition. How do you reflect on that, given what you’ve gone through to get to this point?

NJ: It’s definitely humbling to be seen as some consistent performer. It also comes back to the players and the coaches believing in me. I get a big kick out of it that the guys trust me out on the field. It also comes back to me working pretty hard and working hard. The coaches and teammates have helped me out tremendously on the footy field. They help me out with vision and having chats, which keeps my mind pretty clear on what I need to do. Off-field, Sam and the kids, Nalarni and [five-year old son] Kyree are good distractions when I’m not at the club. I’m able to switch off and not think about footy as much, so I come in pretty fresh and able to give my all when I’m here.

HIGHLIGHTS AND INJURIES

MB: What have been the highlights of your first 100 games?

NJ: My highlights would be being drafted and playing my first game. Being able to run out with Jamie Bennell, Aaron Davey Matty Whelan, Austin Wonaeamirri and Liam Jurrah – it was pretty exciting. But to still be here, when it could’ve gone two ways, and do what I love for the Melbourne footy club and play with the teammates I do, is fantastic. Seeing my kids’ faces after every game and seeing the joy they have and watching me play for Melbourne is what inspires me and keeps me going. It urges you on to become better on and off the field.

MB: What have been the toughest injuries to overcome?

NJ: They’re all pretty hard. When you get out of rehab and then suffer another injury – that’s pretty hard. I had a shoulder op at the end of 2011 and played two quarters in the VFL. I was pretty excited to come back and play, but in the second quarter, I got caught in a tackle and broke my ankle. I was in rehab for another four months, so that was probably the hardest one – getting through a whole rehab program and then going back under the knife and sitting out again, watching footy. That was probably the hardest one, as I was trying to get back up to my best footy and then have the belief that I could still perform.

MB: Who have been some of the best players you’ve played with?

NJ: Some of the best I’ve played with are ‘Chunk’, Nathan Jones, who has been pretty good for a long time. To see Aaron Davey, Aussie (Wonaeamirri) and Liam Jurrah go about what they did – and see some of their freaky stuff on the field – was unbelievable. I wasn’t as gifted as them, but to see them on the field and at training, I’d love to be able to do what they did. Liam probably had the best short career I’ve ever seen. He played 36 games and kicked 81 goals and probably has one of the best highlights reel going around for the amount of games he played.

MB: Congratulations Nev. All the very best for Sunday. You’re a great person and deserve every success that comes your way.  

NJ: Thanks mate.