LOCAL footballer, Jess Rentsch, found out via text she had won the Western Victoria Female Football League (WVFFL) Under-18 best and fairest last week.

The 16-year-old didn’t watch the live stream online, electing to attend a trivia night at her school and silently cheering for Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels teammates, Paige Glover and Jedah Huf.

“Our school was hosting a trivia night and I remembered on the night before the vote count was on,” Rentsch said.

“I was hoping Jedah Huf would poll really well, then I was at trivia and was told the count was on and then all of a sudden my phone started vibrating and I read some texts and I saw I had won.

“I think the first one I saw was from Loretta Kearney or Fraser Robinson.”

The bottom-age player polled 17 votes, despite missing the last four games, due to a broken leg.

Rentsch elected to play in Portland’s Under-18 team after the Hamilton Kangaroos were forced to withdraw their team, due to lack of numbers.

She played ruck for the Tigers and often played a kick behind the ball, strengthening the Tigers’ defence.

Despite only playing seven games for the season, Rentsch was best on ground in five games, including a three-game stretch from round two to round four, and also polled two votes in round seven.

A one-margin buffer at the end of the home and away season saw Glover finish runner-up.

The 16-year-old wanted to play in the Senior Women’s competition, but some maternal intervention kept Rentsch in the Under-18s, and said she enjoyed meeting new people and guiding a developing team to a fourth-placed finish.

“It is always nice to meet new people and the travel was going to be longer, but nothing was as long as it was when I had to play in Melbourne,” she said.

“Not many of the girls had played football before, so I just had to share it around.

“I played ruck then I would just try and include people.

“They improved so much, I am really proud of them all.

“I would have been happier (with my season) if I didn’t break my leg, I was doing pretty well before it all happened.”

Rentsch was at Reid Oval for the WVFFL grand finals on Sunday and said she had conflicted thoughts of the Senior Women’s decider.

“It was tough, I wanted the Kangaroos to win but was cheering for Jedah and Paige, then when Leah (cousin) kicked the winning goal, I was so excited,” Rentsch said.

“The whole time I was just like I just want to play footy.”

The up-and-coming talent’s injury occurred during an AFLW junior exhibition game, as Rentsch continues to pursue her AFLW dream.

The Good Shepherd College student supports GWS Giants and has been involved in the GWV Rebels system, which she credits for a lot of her recent development.

“I was probably not the best, but after David Loader training me at the Rebels, it helped me so much and it made everything make sense,” Rentsch said.

“It was more about fine-tuning my skills and next year is my draft year, so that is a focus for me.

“I much prefer the Rebels league, but it is good to come back and fine tune the skills and hopefully go back next year and do even better.”

Rentsch’s injury recovery will be a steady one, recently progressing to walking without crutches or any aids.

The next step is to progress her strength and fitness and is hopeful she will be right to start Rebels pre-season with the rest of the squad later this year.

“I am still rehabbing, I found out I could walk about a week ago and I should be able to work in about four weeks, then it will just be getting my strength back,” she said.

I am a natural right-footer, but before I broke my leg I was using my left a bit more.

“My goal is to become proficient on both sides by next season.”