DARREN MONCRIEFF
Monday, June 20, 2011
TOUGH defender Graham Jetta is becoming an old hand at playing in thrillers -- and emerging victorious -- and he was in the thick of it again when Western Australia held off a fast-finishing Queensland to win by a mere six points at Rushton Park in Mandurah on Saturday.
The interstate clash, the eighth between the two States since 1914, ended in a blaze of goals as the Queenslanders reeled in a 50-point deficit early in the last quarter to slam in eight goals (to WA's two) before the final siren cruelly ended the brave Maroons' hopes of an upset.
In the end, the scoreboard read 16.17 (113) to 16.11 (107) in the Black Swans' favour, the closest Queensland has ever come to defeating Western Australia. The return match should be good.
For his part, Jetta (pictured) was a solid contributor for the Sandgropers.
The Swan Districts defender provided WA with bounce and rebound off the half-backline while gathering 17 possessions.
Jetta, 24, won a WAFL premiership with Swan Districts in last year's epic grand final with Claremont. Inspired by Andrew Krakouer, Swans ran over a tiring Tigers side to win by a solitary point.
This is Jetta's third season in the WAFL, and he is again racking up some solid numbers. Jetta has already surpassed last season's 47 marks from 20 games (he's hauled in 50 from 11) and he's on track to better his disposal and tackle count.
Saturday's match was Jetta's first for WA.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 24/06/2011 12:36