AFLW 2025: West Coast Eagles defender Jess Rentsch fails to overturn one-match ban at Tribunal

West Coast defender Jess Rentsch will miss the must-win clash with Carlton on Friday after her one-match rough conduct suspension was upheld by the AFLW Tribunal.

Rentsch was cited for a dangerous tackle on Sydney midfielder Montana Ham during the first quarter of the club’s 17-point loss on Saturday, which was deemed careless contact, medium impact and high contact.

With no option for an early plea, the Eagles challenged the sanction on Tuesday but were unsuccessful.

Eagles counsel David Grace KC, representing Rentsch, argued the impact should have been graded low instead of medium, and that Rentsch had no alternative option of releasing Ham in the moment.

The tribunal concluded the tackle was correctly deemed medium impact, upholding the one-match ban.

The suspension also rules the 19-year-old ineligible for the AFLW Rising Star award for 2025, having been nominated in round nine following a career-high 15 disposals against Adelaide.

Rentsch has played a key part in the Eagles’ rise this season in just her second campaign in blue and gold, playing every game in 2025 as the club pushed for a maiden finals berth.

Her loss will be a massive blow for West Coast ahead of what will be their biggest game in AFLW history.

A victory over Carlton at Sullivan Logistics Stadium on Friday night will secure a finals berth in Daisy Pearce’s second season as coach.

Meanwhile, a loss will likely see the Eagles miss out, pending other results.

Pearce said a fortnight ago that she believes Rentsch will be a midfielder in the long-term, hailing her appetite for the contest as her biggest strength.

“With the way that she attacks the game, her appetite to defend, I think she can become a pretty balanced midfielder,” Pearce said.

“But the work that she’s doing down back, and the job she does down there for us are big team roles, and it’s helping her overall development.

“The awesome thing is, you give her a big job, it doesn’t stifle her ability to help us go when we’ve got the ball in our hands. So it’s a pretty good weapon.”