Swan Districts stalwart Turner on sole captaincy, next generation, State successWednesday, May 28, 2025 - 12:00 PM - by Denholm Melrose - Perth is OK!

There is a new sole captain at Swan Districts this season and Jesse Turner is shouldering the responsibility of leading the historic club back to its first premiership flag in 15 years.

Though they have started slowly, the Black Ducks are looking to get back on track after a spurring win over Subiaco and Turner’s successful stint with the Western Australian State team has him rejuvenated heading into the rest of the WAFL season.

We caught up with Turner upon his return from Adelaide where WA won their first State Game since 2018, of which he played a pivotal role.

“There were a number of things that went into the State win,” Turner said.

“Having a lot of new players brought a lot of new life to the group. We had a lot of individuals who came in with a lot of excitement, and a new coach in Adam (Read) who brought something different too."

Turner credited the buy-in of the group, saying that the team put their egos aside and players were happy to play new and sacrificial roles in order to compete.

He felt that the selection of players who could play specific roles rather than just those who were atop the stat sheets, was a formula that the State selectors may look to adapt more often going forward.

“I think we should look to approach that the same way and hopefully that will give us a good chance to win a few in a row,” Turner said.

Asked about his leadership role among the group as a four-time State representative, Turner stated that he wanted the State debutants to be themselves.

“You’re in the team for a reason and that’s because you’re a team player and you know how to play footy. Being selfless and embracing the new style allowed us to get the win”.

Swan Districts began the season 0-5 before defeating Subiaco in Round 6 by 75 points to break through for their first win.

Asked whether the expectation around the club was that they were close to a win or if something needed to change, Turner noted that the club has been dealt plenty of injuries and lost some key players that had likely affected some of the results in the early part of the season.

“I felt that we weren’t playing our best footy, but we had a few games that we had put ourselves in a position to win," he explained.

"We were without Leigh (Kohlmann) against Subiaco, and we weren’t even sure ourselves who the goals were going to come from, but the new-look forward line was quite hard to defend without a key player to focus on."

Turner felt that the win might spark the side back into the form of last season, assured that though the side was very different to last year, Swans had been training hard and staying positive.

Questioned as to how much his role had transformed around the club since taking over as sole captain, Turner quashed the notion that he was leading by himself but drew on moments last year when then co-captain Brandon Erceg was injured, and Turner was the only official captain on the ground.

“It felt at times last year like I was the only captain out there, but I still lean on ‘Erc’ a lot and we have a great leadership group that help me and make my job easier," he said.

"Aidan Clarke, Jarvis Pina, Anthony Stevens and Brad Lynch make it easy for me."

Turner credited the emerging leaders at the club too in Luke Kelly, Lewis Tester and Ben Hewett with lifting the standards within the four walls. He mentioned that he has a close relationship with head coach Andrew Pruyn dating back to 2015 when Pruyn coached Turner in the reserves side, and that they both felt comfortable challenging each other to get the best out of themselves.

Regarding the loss of star young forward Tom Edwards during the pre-season, Turner stated everyone at the club was “so happy” for Edwards and devastated about the news of his ACL injury.

“I was thrilled that he got given another year at Essendon because I think he’ll be playing AFL footy for plenty of years to come," he said.

“It’s a challenge when you lose someone like that. He’s not exactly a player you can just replace, so it was important that, though we struggled with it early, we find other avenues to goal and other players to step up and take their game to the next level."

One of those players who has elevated his game in 2025 was Jye Chalcraft, who has established himself as one of the premier midfielders in the WAFL competition.

“Jye is a great player, and he was last year too. I think what makes him so good is that he is always trying to get better, and it is good to see him driving training standards because that is felt among the group," Turner said.

"He’s a great inside mid and wins plenty of contested ball, but he ran his quickest 2km time trial and now has a useful outside game too."

Turner joked that while “AFL clubs would be silly not to look at him, I don’t want to pump him up too much, but he’s definitely someone that could step into an AFL system right away”.

Turner was able to share that fellow midfielder Josh Cipro was hoping to return to the side after the Round 9 bye, which would be a boost for Swans heading into the latter half of the season.

Turner rejected any thoughts of the Sandover Medal at the end of the year, despite playing some excellent football.

“My focus is purely on what I can do to help this group of boys to improve and get back to where we were last season," he said.

“I think I can be better and help my teammates to win a few more games from here."

Turner felt that for Swan Districts to make the finals from here it would come off the back of intensity and pressure.

“If we can play the contested brand of footy that we did last year and against Subiaco we feel like our outside run and ability to move the ball will naturally flow from that. The biggest thing is to be able to hunt, put pressure on and cause turnovers and then we can play our free-flowing and attacking style of game," he said.

With the reserves side sitting first on the ladder and some talented players such as Max Chipper, Ayden Cartwright and former captain Brandon Erceg listed in the ‘twos’, Turner maintained that the injuries the club was dealing with was proof that depth across the squad is vital.

“More than ever, we are proving that you need a deep squad to compete. ‘Chip’, ‘Carti’ and ‘Erc’ are killing it, as are some young guys in Otis Harvey and Luke Cotellessa so though it is a very young side, it’s great to see them develop quite quickly and there are a few players in that team that are going to have long WAFL League careers," he said.

Just as important, Turner stated, was the talent coming through the colts side as well.

“We certainly have a few players that have trained with the senior squad and that are going to be prospects if not for AFL clubs than for our League side going forward," he said.

Turner mentioned that he worked with some of the younger players over the off-season during his own training away from the club and that he was impressed with Blake Kelly, the younger brother of senior teammate Luke.

“He’s an outstanding young player and for his age he is mature beyond his years. He goes about his business like a player in their mid-twenties. I know they’ve had a few losses over the last couple of weeks, but they are an exciting bunch of young men, and they could probably step in and play some senior football this year," he said.

Among those colts players that could spark interest with AFL clubs are Kelly, who is having a fantastic top-age season, Leon Kickett, Tylah Williams, Leo Steed, Jai Debono, David Shanahan and Harley Cummings.

Another potential young prospect in the eyes of Swan Districts future colts squad is Turner’s younger brother, who is an avid fan of Jesse and the Black Ducks.

Having recently kicked four goals in a half of his junior football game for Bassendean; he’ll have a decision to make at some point between football and basketball. “Little brother Jyden loves both (football and basketball)," Jesse said.

"I ask him which one he loves more but he says he can’t pick. I think he’s a slightly better basketballer given he plays all-year round, and this is his first season of WABL basketball.

"His footy coach has him playing full forward which he’s loving because he’s kicking a few goals.

"He always tells me that I need to stay in the league long enough for us to be able to play together... he’s going to have to get better quickly, but you never know, hopefully one day we can wear the black and white together."

Swan Districts host West Coast at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday, hoping for their second win of the season.