Ernst in it for long haul to boost Swans’ key position stocks

He might be yet to play a game but Caleb Ernst is already embracing the Swan Districts culture whole heartedly as he looks to pull on the black-and-white jumper not only for the rest of this season, but at least in 2026 and 2027 as well.

Ernst is no stranger to moving to follow his football dreams having originally being born in Swan Hill and then doing most of his growing up in Mildura, and then moving south from northern Victoria originally to play with the Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League.

After a seventh place finish in the best and fairest award with Bendigo in 2021, Ernst ended up playing in the VFL with Coburg having also spent time in the Bellarine Football Netball League with Strathfieldsaye, and with the Essendon Districts Football League with Pascoe Vale.

However, when the call came from Swan Districts GM Football Phil Smart and then Ernst spoke with senior coach Andrew Pruyn, he saw no reason not to immediately head west even though the initial intentions was to bring him in for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Ernst strained a hamstring in his second training session with Swans which wasn’t ideal, but he’s now nearing a debut and he will make a welcome addition to add to the key position stocks that has been decimated so far in 2025 with the loss of Tom Edwards, Will Collins, Jake Pasini, Nathan Ireland and now the retirement of Tony Notte.

While capable of playing either end of the ground, Ernst is more comfortable as a defender and the 22-year-old who stands at 194cm sees himself strengthening the Swans’ back-line to start with.

“I will probably more so play in the back-line I think which might free up a couple of the other more experienced guys in the side at the moment to potentially go forward,” Ernst said.

“I think they wanted to get a bit more coverage down back and on the back of that the opportunity made sense to me. I definitely feel more comfortable down back.

“I did play a bit of footy in the forward-line at VFL level and mostly through my juniors, but I’ve always felt more comfortable as a backmen and Pruey and Smarty thought that’s where I would best fit in at the club too.”

Initially how it all came about was Smart reached out to Ernst when Swans were in desperate need of a boost to their key position stocks, and both player and club soon discovered there was no time like the present to come together.

“I spoke with Smarty and Pruey about a month ago now and we were probably more discussing about coming over in the off-season for next year, but then we thought there was no reason not to push it forward and make it happen pretty quickly,” he said.

“It’s something I wasn’t expecting, but once I’d spoken with them a bit the opportunity made sense and if I was going to make the move, I might as well get across early and get involved this year so that by the pre-season I could hit the ground running and already be settled in.”

“I wouldn’t say it was an easy decision and I did know a little bit about the WAFL, but I did quickly do a bit of research when it came up. I just felt like the game style and the bigger grounds with the free-flowing ball might suit my game a bit better.

“And then just speaking to Pruey and Phil about my strengths and skills that I can develop, I thought coming here would give me the best opportunity to get the best out of myself. So it was probably more driven around that and backing myself to best develop under the Swan Districts system.”

Having grown up right on the border of Victoria and NSW, Ernst always knew that if we wanted to play at a higher level of football it would mean having to move away from home.

Having now already moved to Bendigo and then Melbourne, he was always open to other opportunities and was never going turn down an offer like Swan Districts gave him to play in the WAFL.

“I’ve always been willing to move. At the end of the day, when these opportunities arise you have to take them,” he said.

“Being from Mildura, it’s a country town and very far from any major city so if you want to play any major football especially back then, you had to go.

“I’ve just been willing to take the opportunities that arise and follow my footy journey to give myself the best chance to play at the highest level I can.”

The hamstring strain on his second training session wasn’t the immediate impression Ernst was hoping to have upon joining Swan Districts, but he’s hoping he’ll be out there soon to experience representing the club for the first time.

“It should be just a minor one and it was a very frustrating setback,” Ernst said.

“When you come to a new club you want to make a good impression and the best way to do that is by putting on performances on the field. So to not be out there is quite frustrating, but I’m hoping that sooner rather than later I can be out there to help the boys.

“It’s super exciting thinking about that first game where I can get to know my teammates better and their play styles with all the support of the club and everyone so I can’t wait to play in front of all the fans.”

Helping Ernst make the immediate move west is that he’s able to continue with his same work as a finance broker and he hasn’t come over to Perth with a short-term vision.

Ernst is locked in at Swans for at least until the end of 2027 and he is keen to fully embrace everything about the rich culture he’s quickly learning about at Swan Districts.

“I’ve signed until 2027 so I’m planning to stay here indefinitely really. I’ve got absolutely no short-term plans to leave that’s for sure,” Ernst said.

“I was there for the game on the weekend against East Perth and there was quite a large crowd there and it was a great atmosphere.

“It was a big surprise seeing how much support they get and the boys were saying the crowds can get quite a lot bigger than that too when they are playing well.

“So the biggest thing that took me by surprise was just the support that they get from the wider community and there’s a lot of diehard supporters that you’re playing for.

“It seems like the jumper means a lot and has a lot of history that a lot of people are very proud of so you know you’re not just representing yourself when you’re running out there that’s for sure.”