AFLW 2022: All the news from round 8: Kangaroos couple Jenna Bruton and Jasmine Garner on life, love and loss

Ahead of Pride Round, two top Roos have opened up for the first time on their relationship, and the unfathomable grief that engulfed the lead-up to this AFL Women’s season.

Suzy Bruton loved Jasmine Garner.

Eventually.

Her daughter, Jenna Bruton, found love with “Jammin” nine years ago, and while their relationship has enjoyed plenty of highs – most notably their four-legged fur babies Honey and Bronson – the Kangaroos pair have been dealt a blow far greater than most young couples.

In late 2015, Suzy – Jenna’s mum – was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“Mum was sick for six years, and Jammin’s always been around. And Mum loved her,” Bruton told the Herald Sun.

“She wasn’t too keen on her at the start. It was just before she got diagnosed, and she didn’t like Jammin very much.

“Mum hated when we would talk about it. But she just loved her and she would call her Jammin, too.”

It was the lead-up to the inaugural AFL Women’s draft, but Bruton’s football was put on hold when – still a teenager – she assumed the role of full-time carer in Trentham, northwest of Melbourne.

It took a push from Garner to eventually nominate ahead of the 2018 season, which resulted in an AFLW premiership for Bruton with the Western Bulldogs.

Suzy was at Ikon Park that day – Jenna’s player badge proudly on her jacket.

AFLW player Jenna Bruton and her mum, Suzy, after the Bulldogs' 2018 premiership. Picture: Instagram

But after fighting for six years, Suzy sadly passed away on the eve of this AFLW season. Just one week before round 1 – eight weeks ago.

Bruton fights tears when she recalls August, and what Garner’s support has meant to her as she navigates the early stages of her raw and ongoing grief.

“I definitely wouldn’t have gotten through it without her,” the 26-year-old said, her voice choking.

“She was with me when Mum wasn’t very well.

“She was actually with me when she passed away. We stayed in there every couple of nights and we were taking it in turns. She was with me staying there overnight.

“I just wouldn’t have been able to get through it without her.”

One week after Suzy passed, Bruton pulled on the royal blue and white and played at Bellerive Oval.

Being thrust into the new season has helped in her first few weeks without her mum, she believes.

AFLW players Jasmine Garner and Jenna Bruton and Jenna’s mum Suzy. Picture: Instagram

“If I didn’t have footy, you’d just think about it the whole time,” Bruton said.

“The club has been really supportive and I’m glad I had footy, to be honest. I’m glad (the season) was brought forward.”

Her resilience has astounded Garner, her teammate both in life and at the Roos.

“Just the way Jenna went about it for the last six years – she took full-time care of her mum, and she’d turn up to training and she would never complain,” Garner said.

“I’d always have a long day at work and think, ‘I cannot be bothered for training tonight’, but Jenna would show up and she’s one of the hardest workers and she’d never complain.

“Just the way she’s gone about it – she’s just so professional. It definitely wasn’t easy on her, but I’m really proud of how she’s gotten through all of this.

“I know she still has her good days and bad days, but I’m amazed at how well she’s done and what she’s done for her mum. Suzy would be super proud of her.

“The way she’s been able to come out and also perform this year is just amazing.”

Bruton and Garner met as part of an Under-18s Victoria squad; “we started talking and haven’t stopped”, according to Garner, though Bruton still maintains it was Garner who added her on Facebook first.

Bruton and Garner don’t let their relationship get in the way of their footy. Picture: Wayne Taylor

“Our parents always knew,” Garner laughs.

“It had been two years … I remember I posted a photo on Facebook, and mum commented on it, saying, ‘happy two years and many more to come’. We looked at each other and we were like, Mum definitely knows. We’ve always had support and our families – we all get along and it’s good fun.”

Their Trentham “tiny house” on wheels on Bruton’s family property has since made way for new digs in Melbourne’s northwestern suburbs, of course with Honey and Bronson in tow.

The pair has played together for so long, back to their St Kilda Sharks days before AFLW even existed, that their relationship is sidelined once they take to the field or training.

They don’t talk much footy at home, except Bruton jokes that Garner – a four-time All-Australian and two-time club best and fairest winner, with Bruton jagging her own in 2019 – “could kick a couple more goals”.

To them, this weekend’s AFLW’s Pride Round means “being who you are”.

“Footy has always been a place – North Melbourne, Collingwood, St Kilda (Sharks) – where I can go and just be myself,” Garner said.

“That’s what’s so good about football and AFLW. We’ve got the bigger voice and we can really have an impact on the community.

“I think it’s a round where we can all just be ourselves and the community can come out and watch and really celebrate.”