Jordan Zanchetta (born 18 March 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the league ...

Junior football

Zanchetta began playing junior football with the Jindalee Jaguars, winning the best and fairest award in the 2010 Under 15 Girls' competition while also playing at Under 18 level for the Western Thunder. In 2013 while playing for

Yeronga Yeronga is a southern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeronga had a population of 6,535 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west and north by the Brisbane River and to the south-east by ...

, she won the best and fairest award in the Under 18 competition while also playing in the senior competition.

Australian Under 18 National Championships

Zanchetta represented Queensland at the 2012 and 2013

AFL Youth Girls National Championships The NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for women players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the ...

and was selected in the All-Australian team in both years as well as being nominated for the Rising Star award in 2012.

AFL Queensland Women's League

In 2012, Zanchetta moved to Yeronga South Brisbane to play in the AFL Queensland Women's League (known as the QAFLW from 2019). As of the beginning of the 2021 season, Zanchetta had played in four Grand Finals for three victories (2012, 2017, 2020) and one loss (2013), been adjudged Best on Ground in the 2013 and 2020 Grand Finals, and twice won the competition's Best and Fairest award (2015 and 2020). She has also been named in the official Team of the Year on four occasions (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019).

AFLW career

After missing the inaugural AFLW season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Zanchetta was recruited by

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

with its first pick (seventh overall) of the

2017 AFL Women's draft The 2017 AFL Women's draft consisted of the various periods when the eight clubs in the AFL Women's competition could recruit players prior to the competition's 2018 season. As the previous season's player contracts were all capped at one-year ...

. She was described as "the most talented player not to appear in the first instalment of AFLW". Zanchetta made her debut in the Lions' game against

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

at Norwood Oval in the opening round of the 2018 season. Zanchetta played five games for the Brisbane in 2018 and six in 2019, scoring her first goal in Brisbane's win over the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administr ...

in Round 4, but was not selected again until Round 2 of the 2021 season. In June 2021, she was delisted by Brisbane. In May 2022, Zanchetta signed with

expansion club

for their inaugural season, after playing for their VFLW side. At the end of the season, she was delisted after playing three games. Prior to the first AFLW competition in 2017, Zanchetta was selected by the

to play in the Hampson–Hardeman Cup exhibition matches against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Personal life

Zanchetta has a twin brother, Liam, and younger sister, Brooke. She grew up practising

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

before discovering Australian rules football in high school, and was educated at Centenary State High School. Apart from football, she works at a pet motel in Brisbane.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanchetta, Jordan 1995 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Brisbane Sportswomen from Queensland Brisbane Lions (AFLW) players Essendon Football Club (AFLW) players