Growing Gungahlin Jets call for AFL Canberra investment boost

The first grade Jets men claimed a 11.11 (77) to 10.10 (70) win over Eastlake on Saturday, which was also their third triumph of the season and first-ever victory against the senior Demons side.

"I'm really proud of them, it's a massive win," Jets coach Paul Azar said.

While history has shown Gungahlin struggle in the competition, Azar has helped turn around the men's program, crediting their recruitment as a key factor.

"It's been a lot of hard work," he said. "When we started two years ago we had six players, no under-18s team, no reserve grade team. Now we've built a list of about 60 players."

The ACT's north is experiencing a population growth which could boost the Aussie Rules participation in the Gungahlin area.

However as country areas offer big bucks for players from the ACT, the Jets have called for a more dedicated strategy to improve the entire Canberra competition.

"Attracting and retaining players is really hard," Azar said. "Gungahlin is a growth area but there needs to be a whole of Canberra approach to how we invest.

"Every club is doing their own thing, but we need to come together, because we all keep leaking players."

Eastlake started the game on Saturday afternoon with a four-goal blitz that included an early double by Aaron Bruce, but Gungahlin stayed in touch with two majors before quarter time.

Having the wind at their backs in the second quarter, Gungahlin charged to a nine-point half-time lead.

The third quarter was one-way traffic for Eastlake with four goals - including three added to Bruce's tally - giving the Demons a 63-46 advantage going into the final term.

But the fourth quarter saw Will McTaggart and Isaac van de Kamp step up for the Jets, both finishing with four goals.

McTaggart proved a handful for Eastlake's defenders with three pivotal goals highlighted by a clever angled grubber from the pocket that ignited Gungahlin's late comeback.

Demons full forward Bruce scored a game-high six goals.

"By not having that conviction to play how we wanted, that was the result we got, but full credit to Gungahlin," Eastlake coach Damian Carmichael said.

"We couldn't stop the impact of Will McSwaggart, who played really well."

Next week Gungahlin will aim to win four games for the first time.

"The club has never won four, so we've got to work on winning the next one and build week by week," Azar said.

Men

Gungahlin Jets 11.11 (77) bt Eastlake Demons 10.10 (70)

Ainslie Tricolours 18.11 (119) bt Tuggeranong Valley 5.6 (36)

Belconnen Magpies 13.11 (89) bt Queanbeyan Tigers 10.7 (67)

Women

Belconnen Magpies 4.4 (28) bt Queanbeyan Tigers 3.7 (25)

Eastlake Demons 18.7 (115) bt Gungahlin Jets 0.1 (1)

Ainslie Tricolours 12.14 (86) bt Tuggeranong Valley 2.3 (15)

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