Co-captain daring to dream of Swans triumph

Eliza Gelmi has spent her football lifetime with Swan Districts and she’s not afraid to dream of what it would be like to be a WAFL Women’s premiership captain come Sunday while fully aware to make sure nobody takes anything for granted.

Gelmi first played at Swan Districts in the previous WA Women’s Football League as a teenager 13 years ago and did enjoy premiership success in those early years, but it’s been a building process to now get another chance in the WAFLW.

Now the 29-year-old is a senior member of the team and actually the closest in the squad to 30 alongside leading goalkicker Ash Sharp as Swan Districts now chase premiership glory this Sunday.

On the back of last year’s heartbreaking one-point Grand Final loss to Claremont, Swan Districts have been on a mission all through 2026 just to give themselves another opportunity to go two points better.

They have been the top team all season long, beat Claremont fittingly by a point in the second semi-final and now are preparing to play East Fremantle in this Sunday’s Grand Final at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Gelmi is co-captain at Swans alongside Demi Liddle and as Sunday approaches, there’s a whole mixture of emotions she is feeling as the week unfolds.

“I think it’s a real mix of nerves and excitement. I’m really excited for the challenge,” Gelmi said.

“Honestly, it feels like we were just here last season so it’s nice to have another opportunity to go one better and hopefully go all the way this time.”

How much premiership would mean

Having first played at Swan Districts in 2013 and now having been a mainstay of the WAFLW team ever since the league underwent that transformation in 2019, Gelmi has dreamed of being part of a premiership.

There has been plenty of close calls along the way including the Grand Finals that she played in both in 2021 and 2025, but she knows the hard work put in by everyone at Swans to get another chance whether that’s her teammates, the coaches or the support staff and volunteers.

As a result she knows they’ve given themselves the best possible chance to break through come Sunday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and she’s not afraid to dream of what it would be like to be triumphant.

“I honestly don’t think I can put into words how much it would mean to win a flag with this team,” Gelmi said.

“I’m already so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had with this club and for the memories I’ve been able to make along the way, and to have the chance to hopefully add this to it would be incredibly special.

“I just genuinely want it for this group. To see everyone’s hard work, commitment and everything we’ve put into this season come together would mean the world.”

The feeling around the club

Not only have Swan Districts qualified for the WAFLW Grand Final this Sunday, the Rogers Cup did the same by winning their second semi-final two weeks ago at Steel Blue Oval against East Fremantle.

Swans will also be playing the Sharks in the Rogers Cup Grand Final just as the WAFLW team will be come Sunday and as a result, the feeling around Bassendean the past two weeks couldn’t have been more exciting in the women’s program.

“It’s a reflection of the depth we have across our female program and the amount of work that’s gone into building what we have at Swans,” Gelmi said.

“We have to highlight the talent, connection and commitment of the whole playing squad and only 21 players are lucky enough to pull on that jumper and run out on the day, but it’s so much bigger than that.

“You have the extended squad, our coaches, volunteers, medical staff and everyone who puts in the work behind the scenes. So to have both teams playing on the biggest day is very special.”

Chance that’s 12 months in the making

Ever since Swan Districts suffered that heartbreaking one-point loss in the Grand Final to Claremont last year, the mission was just to give themselves another chance to be in that position once again.

Having been so close, Swans had the belief that should they get that opportunity once again, the lessons they learned would mean they could go one step better, but getting back there was never a guarantee.

That’s why Gelmi is so proud of everyone involved at Swan Districts where they have now given themselves that chance they were craving from 12 months ago.

“I feel like I’ve repeated this quite a few times but we have really focused on the idea that an inch and that any moment can be the difference,” Gelmi said.

“So come Sunday, we want to own every inch, moment and opportunity we get. We know how quickly a game can come down to those little moments as we’ve seen in the recent finals and after what happened in the grand final last year so we’re determined to make them count this time.”

East Fremantle as Grand Final opponent

Many might have been thinking it was just about a lock that it would be Swan Districts and Claremont meeting once again in the 2026 Grand Final given they had been the top two teams right throughout the WAFLW season.

However, East Fremantle have come storming home and then beat Claremont in extra time in the preliminary final last Sunday.

Gelmi knows they will be an opponent bringing great momentum with them into Sunday’s Grand Final.

“They had a really exciting win on the weekend, especially with it going into extra time!” Gelmi said.

“Similar to us, both of their finals have been really close and that shows their ability to stay in the contest.

“We know they’ll bring that same fight on Sunday and we’re really looking forward to the challenge and backing ourselves to bring our own game.”