FORMER Melbourne defender and Collingwood assistant coach Neville Jetta has been nominated for Coach of the Year at the National Aboriginal and Torrest Strait Islander Awards.
Jetta was nominated for his work in coaching the Fitzroy Stars to their first premiership in 35 years, guiding the team based out of the local Indigenous community to victory over Laurimar in division three of the Northern Football Netball League.
With goalkicking great Eddie Betts and former Richmond and Fremantle star Lionel Proctor among the Stars side, Jetta's side won 15.10 (100) to 7.5 (47) in September.
The Stars were formed in 1973 out of the Indigenous community in Melbourne's inner north, and are based out of the Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval in Thornbury. The team is run by the Indigenous community and feature Indigenous and non-Indigenous players.
Jetta, 35, has long been a respected figure in football circles, emerging as a Indigenous leader during his 159-game career at Melbourne.
After retiring at the end of 2021, Jetta immediately moved into coaching, joining Collingwood as a development coach. He continued at the Magpies in a coaching and development capacity until early 2025, when he relinquished his role as a VFL assistant coach to take up the reins at the Stars. He remains working at Collingwood in the development space.
Jetta is one of nine nominees from Australian football in the running for an honour at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sports Award, with the winners to be announced in Brisbane on Saturday, November 15.
