The Club
The Gungahlin Jets Australian Football Club was formed in 1981 by Graham Mumme as the East Canberra Australian Football Club and accepted into the MAFL 2nd division in the 1982 season. Vince O’Donnell was appointed captain/coach for the 1982 season, Paul Gillam was appointed his assistant and Graham Bonnett was appointed Team Manager,
The club played its first game on 1 April 1982 and was defeated by St Edmunds. After 3 more losses during the season, the Jets finished third on the ladder behind RMC and ANU. Despite being considered the underdogs of the season, the Jets flew through the Finals series to win the Grand Final, defeating RMC by 13 points.
Fast forward to 2008 and the senior club introduced Women’s Football, hailed the Jetettes, taking the Jets to a new frontier. As all new teams to a competition, the Jetettes faced a tough but rewarding season which resulted in a grand final appearance and a narrow loss.
2009 was a time for progression with both senior and junior clubs (separate at the time) competing for sponsors in the Gungahlin region. Both clubs had begun to grow large enough with the juniors beginning to have older age group teams present however the lack of a senior pathway into top divisions saw juniors moving to other clubs. As a result, the two clubs merged and the Gungahlin Jets AFC Board was formed.
In 2010 the club moved up to Division 2 in Canberra AFL and the Rising Stars (u18s) was formed.
In 2016 our First Grade Women took out the premiership after an incredible season.
In 2018 the Jets extended into netball and became the Gungahlin Jets Australian Football and Netball Club. The creation of the Shooting Stars all inclusion netball team in 2019 saw the Jets take out the 2020 Inclusive Community Award and the Minister for Sport and Recreations Award Winner for Inclusion at the 2020 CBR Sport Awards.
In 2021 the Jets make club history again by introducing their very first Second Grade Women’s Football team and Division One Netball Team.
Built on the strong foundations laid by players, supporters and administrators since 1982, the Gungahlin Jets continue to be guided by their values of respect, commitment, selflessness, professionalism and inclusivity.