West Coast made the surprising decision to delist premiership speedster Lewis Jetta, one that had the football world and even his own teammates talking.
Jetta only added six games to his career tally in 2020, finishing with 202 for both the Eagles and Swans.
West Coast defender Will Schofield was vocal in his support for the 31-year-old, calling his delisting a “poor decision”.
“Looking at specific guys, Lewis Jetta – signing Alex Witherden (will) make it tough for him to get a spot on the list, I think,” Schofield told The West Australian.
“(I’m) unsure where that will put him. Ideally, I’d personally like to see him go around again.
“I’ve been pretty public with my recognition of what he does on the footy field. He’s never been a 30-touch player, but he’s 10 to 15 touches and you’re getting five goals out of every time he touches the footy. I don’t think there’s many guys in the AFL that do that.
“I’ve publicly said he’s the best player I’ve ever played with. I would think it’d be a poor decision, list-wise, to not have him on the list. But we’ll see how that goes.”
Jetta said he was incredibly thankful for Schofield’s support, but is content in life after footy.
“Me and Will Schofield we’re pretty close and we love each other as teammates, but also we’re really close friends off the field as well,” Jetta told SEN’s the Sporting Capital.
“Same with a lot of the Sydney boys that I’m close with, but being at West Coast Will was one of the ones I was closest with and for him to come out and say that means so much to me.
“(He’s) just a good friend, a great bloke and an amazing teammate, not to mention a premiership teammate.
“It almost brought a tear to my eye when I saw that and how much he cared for me.
“In the other sense, with all the talk and stuff, I wasn’t too fazed, I’ve had a bit of free time, swimming lessons at school, my mind was purely busy on waking up in the morning, making the kids’ lunches and getting the uniforms sorted, getting their swimming stuff sorted, going and watching swimming lessons and picking them up from school.
“I wasn’t thinking about it too much. I was just making sure with all this free time to use it to my advantage and just bring a smile to my kids to be honest.”
Jetta says he has more footy in him and will play in the WAFL for Swan Districts in 2021.
“I still think I had a couple of years left, but looking back now, I’m satisfied,” the premiership Eagle said.
“I’m very satisfied, I’m happy and the way I see it, footy’s not everything.
“I’m ready for this new chapter in my life and I’m ready to spend a lot more time with my children and teach them about life, which is probably the biggest excitement that I’m getting at the moment.”
Jetta adds that he is still coming to terms with the career he has put together since being drafted with pick 14 in the 2009 National Draft.
“It’s hard to explain it … I’m just a boy from Bunbury and back in ’09 or ’07, I never thought about making it to the AFL and then having the career that I had, it was just a dream to be honest,” he said.
“Thinking back now, I still can’t believe it. I reflected with my family and a couple of brothers and still can’t believe it.
“Now my son and my daughter are reflecting as well which is even better because all they see is daddy is being dad and being … not a superstar, let’s put half a star.
“At the end of the day that’s all I tried to do, making the family proud and bringing entertainment to a lot of fans.”
Listen to the full chat with Lewis Jetta below