While Sydney Swans fans haven’t been treated to the quantity of goals the pacey midfielder put on the board in his standout 2012 season, Jetta, who will play his 100th career game on Saturday against Richmond, has proven recently that he still has some pretty handy tricks up his sleeve.
In the opening term of last week’s win over the Western Bulldogs, Jetta received the ball from Lance Franklin, took three steps towards the boundary and slotted a fine goal from a near-impossible angle.
Speaking to SwansTV ahead of his milestone match, Jetta said although he hasn’t hit the scoreboard as much this year as he has in previous seasons, he still backed himself to get the job done.
“I practice that (kick) 20 times at training and after training, and as soon as I kicked it I knew it was going straight through,” Jetta said.
“I haven’t really celebrated a lot after goals other than a bit of a first pump, so I thought I needed to do something and celebrated a little bit.
“(Buddy) is unbelievable with the way he kicks it from the boundary, so I wanted to show that I had some little tricks up my sleeve as well.”
While Jetta hasn’t played the style of football which saw him named in the 2012 All-Australian squad this season, the 25-year-old has still had a major impact for the Swans in 2014.
Instead of multiple goals, Jetta has averaged over 17 possessions and three tackles per game, and said he’s learning while playing a more defensive role for the Swans this season.
“I’m feeling good,” he said.
“My footy has been pretty good at the moment … and I’ve managed to get the defensive side of my game up, which I worked on in the off season.
“If I can start averaging five tackles a game and keep up my pressure, then I’ll be pretty happy.
“I do try and do the team thing these days, except for last week when Buddy gave me one -I had to kick that one!
“If I can do that every week then I’ll be pretty happy but I also just want to provide an option for the inside mids and play my role for the team each week.”
Jetta, who arrived at the Swans five years ago via pick 14 in the 2009 National Draft, has enjoyed a largely consistent career in the Harbour City, with the boy from Bunbury averaging almost 20 games per season since making his debut.
While an injury-laden 2013 season put a dent in his consistent playing record, which has seen him play every game this year, Jetta said he felt fortunate to reach the 100-game milestone this week.
“It means a lot,” he said.
“A lot of players come in and fall out of the system before they can get to 100 games, so for me to get to 100 games is a great achievement for me.
“I’ve been really fortunate to play as much as I have, and I think I was averaging 20 games in my first four years, but last year it was only 13 games.
“I’ve been pretty lucky injury-wise and obviously with the opportunity I got from the coaches to play.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family’s support and my partner Jess and the kids as well.”
