Jess Hosking opens up on overcoming ‘Kill B***hes’, jetski drink driving controversy at Tigers

After being caught with inappropriate language on her shoulder and getting done for drink driving on a jetski, Jess Hosking was delisted. The new Eagle reveals how she found her wings again.

Jess Hosking is a living embodiment of the notion that bad things happen in threes.

And she’s finally ready to talk about it.

When Hosking kicked two goals on debut for the Eagles to guide them to a one-point win over her former club Richmond in round one, it represented redemption. It represented the end of a messy chapter in an otherwise lauded AFLW career.

In the space of 12 months, Hosking went from being one of the faces of the AFLW to the scourge of it.

It started in November 2022 when she was issued an official warning from the league for inscribing an inappropriate message on her shoulder strapping. A month later, Hosking was charged after driving a jetski while under the influence of alcohol on an end-of-season holiday in Queensland. Then in November 2023, Hosking was delisted by Richmond after playing just three games that season due to injury.

Jess Hosking explains what really happened with that message on her shoulder strapping in her time at Richmond. Picture: Getty Images

“I was made out to be this kind of bad girl, Aussie bogan getting caught on a jetski and with some slang on my arm,” Hosking told Code Sports. “Someone had to be made an example of. And I’m glad it was me because I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.”

Taking to the field with the words ‘Kill Bitches’ clearly visible on her shoulder strapping was the start of a series of unfortunate events for Hosking.

The Tigers were issued with a ‘please explain’ from AFL headquarters for the offensive language, compounding Richmond’s semi-final loss to North Melbourne.

Not only did Hosking dedicate her other shoulder that day to cleft awareness week, having herself undergone 17 surgeries to treat a cleft lip and palate she’s had since birth. But the origins of her striking strapping are a lot more sentimental than murdering she-devils.

“Trent (Mosbey), our list manager at Richmond, had a family member pass away and he couldn’t be with us on one of our away trips,” Hosking said. “I decided to write the name of his family member on my tape.

“A few of the girls picked up on it and asked if they could write something as well. A lot of it was really meaningful. Each week, a new player or staff member wrote something.

“There would’ve been 20 or 30 messages on that tape that day. There was no malice behind it. It was intended to pump me up for the game.

Hosking’s infamous shoulder strapping. Picture by Michael Klein

“It was my 50th game and it was also cleft awareness week and I ran through the banner with two kids who had cleft because it was something I’d always dreamt of doing as a mad footy supporter growing up but there was no awareness of it.

“I reached out to a few media platforms that week to see if they wanted to do a story on it. But unfortunately what got picked up was the ‘Kill B**ches’ despite there being a different, positive story on my other arm.

“I wore it. I take full blame for that because I let people write on my tape. I’ve overthought this hundreds of times about whether I could’ve nipped it in the bud earlier.”

A few weeks later, Hosking was on holiday with teammates Grace Egan and Eilish Sheerin. The trio had travelled to the Gold Coast to celebrate the end of Richmond’s season.

Hosking was stopped by police on the morning of December 4 while riding a jetski on the Nerang River. She registered a blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.137, more than double Queensland’s limit of 0.05 while using boats, and was charged for operating personal watercraft while under the influence.

Hosking avoided conviction for drink driving on a jet ski. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Blake Antrobus

“I had no ill intent to go out and jump on a jetski drunk and get done for drink driving,” Hosking said. “It was actually from the night before.

“I didn’t realise that I was over and thought I’d jump on the jetski with the neighbour at 9am. I’m glad nothing went wrong.

“As soon as that happened, I had a lot of people questioning my morals and values. I received a lot of hateful messages in my inbox from people.

“Instead of it being about what I’d done, it became about my looks. I’ve got some insecurities around my cleft and I was getting messages from people about it.

“What football has given me is the ability to be involved with and work with some charities. But unfortunately one of them, who I’d done a lot of work with, was very quick to say ‘Sorry, but we can’t work with you anymore.’

“I’d run a marathon for them and raised $200,000. I understood the decision from a branding point of view. But I was already shattered from what happened.”

The emotional toll of Hosking’s turbulent end to the year was one thing. But she also began to suffer physically.

“I was under that much stress at the time that my ear drum actually burst flying back up to Queensland for my court date,” Hosking said. “I ended up with a severe infection and my ears were bleeding and weeping for three weeks.

“I couldn’t hear my own family at Christmas.

“I have to give a lot of credit to my teammate Courtney Wakefield. She allowed me to come and stay with her at the family farm in Top Hut (1200km round trip from Melbourne). I escaped for a good 3-4 months and did all of my healing up there. They saw me at a pretty rough time.”

Hosking also decided to quit her full-time job outside of football, giving up $100,000 worth of income. She was grateful that Richmond kept her on despite a controversial end to the season. But with two mortgages to pay, Hosking quickly backflipped and returned to full-time work ahead of the 2023 season.

Hosking left the Tigers before the 2023 season. Picture: Getty Images

Hosking’s Tigers career finished after three games, suffering a syndesmosis injury that required surgery. In hindsight, she’d checked out a few months before that.

“I wasn’t able to commit fully to football,” she said. “My headspace going into that season wasn’t great.

“I was struggling to find the passion, enjoyment and drive to play football after all of those incidents. It was nothing against the girls or the staff. I loved them. It was purely off-field.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be delisted. But I’ve realised in the past nine months that if you’re not giving this sport everything you’ve got, you’re missing out on the opportunity in front of you.

“You need to give 100 per cent. I was probably giving 80.

“You don’t realise what you’ve got until it’s taken away from you. There was a two-week period where I had to come to terms with the reality that I wasn’t going to play again.

“I knew that if I was to get another chance, I was going to give it everything. That meant moving to the other side of the country away from family and friends.”

Hosking didn’t know a single soul in Perth when she signed with West Coast as a delisted free agent. Now, the club feels like home.

“I can’t speak more highly of a sense of belonging at the club,” she said. “When I leave, I’m already excited to go back.

“I just want to be there. We’ve got such a connected group.

Hosking celebrates a win over her former side. Picture: Getty Images

Hosking’s renewed enthusiasm for football was certainly on show, getting the last laugh against her former side, even if the AFLW was denied the latest instalment of ‘Hosking-Ball’ due to twin sister Sarah’s hamstring injury.

“There was a little bit of satisfaction,” Hosking said. “People talk about being nervous to play their old club but I was just excited.

“There was plenty of banter in the lead-up and talk about the entire family coming over. It was all about where they were going to sit and who they were going to support. I managed to convince Mum and Dad to sit on the balcony with an Eagles cap.

“It’s been months since we’ve seen each other. The longest we’ve ever spent apart has been three weeks.

“We have this weird twin telepathy thing. To not be around each other and be able to hang out, that’s what we’ve most struggled with. We were kind of relying on round one to be our reunion. We were planning a few cheeky pushes and shoves but it would’ve just been nice to catch up.

“She saw how much that time impacted me. She’s ridden every bump and been with me on that journey of where I’ve come from.”

Jess with her sister Sarah. Picture: Jay Town/VRC

Hosking was a standout against the Tigers, finishing with two goals, 15 touches and six marks. But like Sarah, she almost didn’t get up for the game.

It took the 28-year-old four months to fully recover from her burst eardrum in December 2022. But she’s had problems ever since.

During pre-season, she suffered her third infection in a matter of weeks after returning home to Melbourne for a few days. After consulting with doctors, it was decided that she’d need urgent surgery.

“My eardrums are like tissue paper,” she said. “Knowing we were going to be doing a lot of flying during the season, the best solution was going to be surgery the week before round one.

“The plan was to train Friday morning, have the operation Friday afternoon and then train the following Monday. I was a little bit naive and didn’t realise how they actually were.

“Walking into West Coast, it’s a young group of 30-odd girls and probably not the environment for a pair of healing ears. I felt so bad. There were a few debutants announced early in the week and I was sitting up the back with cotton buds in my ears and noise-cancelling headphones on.

“I was getting tingles in my hands and at the back of my head from certain pitches of people’s voices or door shutting. Even water boiling on a stove. We’re also under a flight path at the club so every time a plane came remotely near the oval, I couldn’t hear anything the girls or coaches were saying.

“It was deafening. I was in a world of pain on the Monday but each day I got better.”

With a new set of ears and a new lease on life, Hosking has moved on from the 12 months that nearly derailed her life. But she won’t forget them.

“In hindsight, if none of that had have happened, I wouldn’t be where I am now at West Coast enjoying myself again,” Hosking said. “I’m very grateful that I’ve been given an opportunity to turn things around.

“I’ve got a bit of cheek about me but I’m not a bad person. Those people who know me know that I wasn’t out to hurt anyone.

“It’s shaped who I am today. They’re two mistakes that I’ve been forced to learn from. Now, I can help others and stop them from going down a similar path.”

Originally published as Jess Hosking opens up on overcoming ‘Kill B***hes’, jetski drink driving controversy at Tigers