Agent Bond ready for deployment

South Bunbury’s bid for a third consecutive undefeated season begins away at Donnybrook. And in a chilling warning for rival clubs, South captain Bethany Bond believes the team “has trained a lot harder” under Maxwell Jetta over summer. “Our pre-season has been really tough,” she said. “I think it has been definitely harder than the few years — we have upped it for sure — and it really showed against South Mandurah in our first game, where it was all about getting our match fitness back again. “Against HBL, I thought we played really well, especially because we have a lot of young girls coming through.” Bond, who works in the fitness industry full-time, believes Jetta has instilled a desire to leave no stone unturned at Tigerland. “I think Max really upped the ante this year,” she said. “He made sure there was no stuffing around and that we were straight into it, doing extras as well. “So before training, we would do suicide sprints as soon as we got there. We all did them up and back on our own and then we started kicking after that.” While all focus is on round one, Bond would love to see her close friend, Fremantle Dockers AFLW talent Katie-Jayne Grieve, return to the Tigers after her WAFLW season concludes with Peel Thunder. “It’s funny — I was actually thinking the other day that I should give her a call and ask her to come down,” Bond said. “But she has been really helpful and drawn out some drills for me. “However, the next step is to try and get her down for a game or two for sure.”