AFL: Former Bunbury star Neville Jetta wins Phil Walsh Memorial Scholarship as coaching career begins at Pies

His playing career may have ended just six months ago, but former Melbourne Demon Neville Jetta has received the most prestigious scholarship for young coaches in the country, named for a much-loved former mentor. The Bunbury product, who recently joined Collingwood as a development coach and VFL player, has been given the Phil Walsh Memorial Scholarship by the AFL Coaches Association. The $10,000 grant will help the former defender launch his coaching career with the club. Walsh, who was an assistant coach at West Coast and Port Adelaide before becoming the senior coach at Adelaide, was tragically murdered in 2015. Jetta said he wanted to bring Walsh’s qualities to his own burgeoning leadership career, and thanked the Magpies for giving him his first crack. “Phil Walsh was someone who continued to get the best out of himself to better those around him on and off the field, and those are the qualities I’d like to embody,” he said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity from Collingwood to start my coaching career and blessed to have some great mentors around me. I’m already learning a lot about myself in this coaching world and having fun. “I will be using the opportunity to continue to grow my education and development to become the best coach and person I can be.” As part of the scholarship, Jetta will complete the level-three coaching course while continuing his role at Collingwood, which will also include playing for the club’s State league team. Jetta, who spent 13 years at the Demons, missed out on a spot in the club’s 2021 premiership team, but was a stand-out with a move to the midfield for the Casey Demons. New Collingwood senior coach Craig McRae said Jetta had made an instant impact at the powerhouse club. “It’s not too often that younger coaches come in and impact straight away … he has a real presence already and has formed great connections in a short period of time,” he said. “The sky’s the limit for Nev, he’s a capable young man who I know is driven to be the best he can be. But I think it’s bigger than that for him, and based upon what he has already displayed in coaching, he will be whatever he wants to be.”