Three-time women’s premiership coach Maxwell Jetta appointed as liaison officer after quitting amid racist row

A Noongar man who quit coaching a country football team and vowed never to come back to the sport after his club was caught up in a racism scandal will return to the game. Maxwell Jetta - the first cousin of AFL stars Lewis and Neville Jetta - coached the South Bunbury women’s side to three South West Football League premierships during his time. Jetta’s new role as liaison officer for the 2023 season will see him mentor all 11 League sides while running cultural training, tribunal and vilification support, as well as NAIDOC Week and Indigenous round planning. Back in June, Jetta told the South Western Times he had been suffering mentally since the incident and would not be returning to football until more was done by the club and the SWFL to prevent similar incidents in the future. Jetta was also announced as new women’s coach for Donnybrook for the 2023 season. It comes after Jetta resigned from his position with the Tigers following the fallout of the club being fined $200 after being found guilty of racial vilification during a men’s league match against Carey Park. Carey Park forward Hayden Yarran said he was called a “yowie” during the match. Jetta said after having meetings with members of the SWFL committee, he had put his hand up to take on the new role in a bid to help make the necessary changes. “In this role, I will be sort of a landing spot for all clubs to go through for the racial vilification talks and ensuring that clubs take the necessary steps,” he said. “We really want to have some real education behind it rather than just ticking the box so if something were to happen, everyone will know how to react, who to contact and determine what is the next best step for dealing with it. “I thought about it and I thought ‘I could be throwing myself in the deep end here’ but I realised that being in this sort of role will allow me to help get more people to understand with my background and experiences and also help make more young Aboriginal kids feel more accepted in the sport they love and excel at.” SWFL general manager Jason Crowe confirmed Jetta’s position on Wednesday and said he was a high-standing figure in the South West football community. “I am stoked to have this position in the SWFL to help develop and provide more awareness around First Nations players in the South West and to educate the wider community,” he said. “Although Max will be working with Indigenous players within our 11 clubs, Max will be available for all players to speak to and assist.” In his Donnybrook coaching role, Jetta will take over from Peter Worsfold, who had coached the side for the past three seasons — getting them to their first finals berth in 2022 and reaching as far as the preliminary final. Jetta said he was excited to start a new chapter with a new club and a new group of players after spending the back half of the 2022 season dipping his toes into the club and assisting Worsfold. “After putting my hand up to help Peter, he asked me if I would consider taking over from his spot and I thought it would be good to get back into the mix as I really missed coaching after stepping away,” he said. “It will be a new chapter in a new season with a new club, new challenges and a new group of girls which will be awesome. “For me it’s about getting back to it and having some fun with it.” While he doesn’t expect to come in and win premierships straight away, Jetta said he hoped to continue building a player-based culture and develop their skills on the back of a successful campaign in 2022. “Hopefully we can take it one step further next year,” he said. “Getting them in a similar sort of position will be a big tick for myself.”