Out Trentham way in particular there was huge interest shown in the AFLW Grand Final between North Melbourne and Brisbane women’s teams on Saturday night.
For 29-year-old Jenna Bruton, it became another team and individual triumph in her illustrious football career, a far cry from when she was the only girl playing footy in a Trentham under-age boys’ team.
North Melbourne went through the season undefeated with a very disciplined 6.3 (39) to 1.3 (9) victory before a sell-out crowd at Ikon Park — formerly Princes Park.
Reflecting on Sunday when still in celebration mode after the grand final, Bruton admitted she had absolutely no idea when playing footy with the boys at Trentham that this would ultimately lead to her becoming a dual AFLW premiership player — with Footscray in 2018 and now with North Melbourne.
She was thrilled with the grand final win, with pre-match confidence reflected in how well the team had played to go through the season undefeated.
Starting on the inter-change bench, the highly skilled player later had an influence on the game with two passages of play leading to vital goals.
ANOTHER TWO YEARS
“I’ve signed up (with North) for another two seasons,” she said.
Her father Ray said Jenna had shown a high level of natural football ability from a very young age.
“It was all she wanted to do,” he said.
“She’s been a really good kid, having looked after her late mother Susy through a very long illness.”
Driving tractors, picking potatoes and herding cattle have been part and parcel of Jenna’s life on the Trentham farm.
Jenna said her parents had been tremendously supportive in encouraging her to pursue her football at the VFLW and AFLW levels.
She won Footscray’s best and fairest in her first season with the Bulldogs, having been best with St Kilda Sharks in the previous season.
Then it was a progressive move to go to North Melbourne. She won the best and fairest in her first season there.
Her long-time partner, Jasmine Garner, also went to the Kangaroos and was best afield with 35 possessions on Saturday night.
Garner is rated one of the outstanding players in AFLW ranks.
Bruton said the Kangaroos had been confident, and had effectively played their system to contain the opposition. Three goals in the first term put the side on the way to victory.
Former Roos’ AFL premiership player Darren Crocker was the winning coach.
The victory made amends for the narrow loss to Brisbane in the 2023 grand final when Bruton was injured early in the first term, and took no further part in that match. She had starred in the preliminary final.
Bruton is a well-known name in the Trentham district, and Jenna said she really appreciated the local level of support.
