AFL news: Jaspa Fletcher wins Rising Star nomination for round 19
Record a tough win over the reigning premiers, earn a Rising Star nomination for round 19 and sign a contract extension with the club you grew up barracking for. Weeks don’t get much bigger!
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A rollercoaster weekend for Brisbane young gun Jaspa Fletcher has been capped off by signing a two-year contract extension with the club just six games into his AFL career.
Fletcher recorded 19 disposals and 8 marks in Saturday’s win over Geelong to be named the AFL Rising Star nominee for round 19, before the club announced he had signed on until the end of 2026 on Tuesday.
The young midfielder was elated to be continuing with the club his Dad Adrian played 107 games for and said he couldn’t wait to make his own mark for the Lions who are within reach of the top two.
“It’s very exciting, it’s the club I’ve always wanted to play for and it’s exciting that I get to do it for a little bit longer,” Fletcher said of the new deal.
“It’s obviously good when you get a bit of individual accolades but to be honest I was just more happy to get the win at home in front of a good crowd after a tough loss.
“They (Geelong) has a late surge and obviously through the week we’ve been talking about it after the week before with the loss to Melbourne.
“We’re really trying to hunt that next pack in Port Adelaide and Collingwood.”
His weekend was soured though by the knee injury to housemate and fellow father-son star Will Ashcroft.
The pair have played together since under 12s at state level and came to the club together in last year’s draft, with Fletcher shattered for his teammate after learning of his ACL rupture.
“Obviously he’s devastated but he’s in good spirits, he’s a strong person like that,” he said.
“We’re all behind him but obviously for me it’s devastating seeing my mate go down like that but he’ll be back better than ever.
“We played together in the under 12s school boys Queensland team and since then we obviously knew we were father sons and our Dads are pretty good friends.
“Through the champs last year and through the combine and training with the Lions we got pretty close and even closer now living together.”
Fletcher debuted in round 14 against Sydney and has been a strong presence on the wing ever since, providing an ageing Lions outfit with some spark.
A spectacular goal after courageously going back with the flight against Melbourne and another brilliant running effort on debut have highlighted that flair as he looks to nail down a spot ahead of the Lions’ finals campaign.
“Dad’s passed on heaps of experience and knowledge onto me and he’s been my footy idol growing up. My debut game, to receive the guernsey that he wore off him was a pretty special moment,” he said.
“It’s a tough one, we’ve got a lot of depth on our list and I just try and take it one game at a time and play like it’s going to be my last one.
“Whatever happens, happens. I’m aware of match ups and teams we come up against but I’ll just try to take my opportunities on the field and just compete.”
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Originally published as AFL news: Jaspa Fletcher wins Rising Star nomination for round 19
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