Two-time Nola Marino medallist Jess Verbrugge signs on for East Perth in WAFLW

One of the South West Football League’s brightest women’s stars has headed for the city, with two-time Nola Marino medallist Jess Verbrugge signing on for WAFLW side East Perth. The 2021 and 2023 winner of the league’s best and fairest award has left her hometown club Donnybrook to join the Royals and has already pulled on the blue and black in a preseason game. Verbrugge is no stranger to the State league, having played four games for South Fremantle in 2022, and the 20-year-old said she was relishing the higher level of competition. “When (East Perth) asked me if I wanted to come across, it wasn’t ‘you really want to play for us’, it was more like ‘what can we do to help you’,” she said. “The culture has been super amazing and everyone’s been really friendly as well. “I’m looking to challenge myself and see how far I can go.” An apprentice electrician by trade, Verbrugge made a full-time move to Perth at the start of the month, which she said she was “really enjoying”. “There’s been massive changes everywhere. Work’s changed, living’s changed, footy’s changed, moved away from family and friends,” she said. “It’s been a whole lifestyle challenge, really.” Verbrugge said she would feature for the Dons in their first game of the season against South Bunbury, which falls on a WAFLW bye weekend, and she was hopeful of playing in the back half of the SWFL season once her Royals commitments are completed.