Impey embracing ruck role at Swans

Lucas Impey made the move west to join Swan Districts for a rare opportunity across the country to lead a club in the ruck and he has no doubt he’s improved rapidly as a result and wants to keep that going.

Impey has turned 20 since joining Swan Districts this season and having arrived on the back of having spent time both playing in the VFL at Williamstown and in Bendigo over the previous couple of years, he’s embraced his chance to lead the ruck in the WAFL so far in 2026.

He made his debut back in Round 3 in the win against West Perth where he had 13 possessions and 45 hit outs and has continued to battle hard since before a slight hiccup with a minor knee injury that kept him out last Saturday against Peel Thunder at Steel Blue Oval.

He is expecting to return to take on Oliver Eastland and Claremont this Saturday as he continues to look to every challenge and opportunity against some of the best rival big men in the competition.

“I think I’ve adapted pretty well to it and it’s been a very solid standard of competition and I’ve been challenged every week, and have had to bring my best footy every week,” Impey said.

“So it’s been good and I think I’ve learned a lot going against these older guys who have played state league footy for a long time. I’ve had to bring my best every single week so it’s been a really good challenge.”

Holding up well against top ruckmen

Sometimes the only way you can quickly develop and learn what it takes to be among the elite players in your position is by being thrown in the deep end.

That’s exactly what has happened with Impey this season at Swan Districts and he has no doubt that challenging himself up against the likes of Eastland, Scott Jones, Hamish Free and Matt Flynn has rapidly hastened his development.

“Playing against them and also playing reasonably well kinda gives me a bit of a confidence boost and knowing that I’m 20 and have got a lot of footy ahead of me, if I can compete against these guys who are at least eight-plus years older than and some of them have played nearly 150 games of state league footy,” Impey said.

“So to be able to compete against these guys and win some of the battles has been kind of a big confidence booster with how I feel I’ve contributed this season.”

Becoming a better player all the time

Even already if Impey compares the player that he was when he first arrived at Swan Districts for pre-season to the one he is now almost to the end of his first full season, and the improvement he has made has been significant.

“I’ve definitely had to adapt how I’ve played and going up against bigger guys, I’m not the heaviest kinda fella going around compared to guys like Scotty Jones or even Matt Flynn,” Impey said.

“So I’ve had to learn and adapt on the fly and I think that’s definitely sharpened some craft for me. I’ve had to think outside the box of how to compete with those guys so it’s definitely made me a better player already.”

Being thrust into No. 1 ruck role

There’s precious few No. 1 ruck roles at a level like the WAFL in the country especially for someone as young as Impey and at a club that doesn’t have an AFL alignment in one form or another.

That’s why Impey is thankful to Swan Districts for the faith they have placed in him and he has no doubt that the role he’s playing leading the team in the ruck is only going to help him turn into the player he hopes to become all that quicker.

“Not everyone gets this this opportunity at 19, 20 years old to be the main kinda guy in a state league team so I definitely think it will further my development,” Impey said.

“It will also rapidly increase how good I can get too over hopefully a short period of time and over the next two or three years hopefully people can start to consider me one of the best ruckmen in the comp. It definitely is helping with the opportunities I’m getting.”

Embracing the challenge to play WAFL

Impey was excited as soon as Swan Districts reached out to him last year and was excited by the move west and to join the club, and so far the whole experience has surpassed all expectations on a football and lifestyle front for him.

“Ever since I walked into the door on day one everyone has been supportive and really welcoming,” Impey said.

“I haven’t regretted it one bit and have loved every minute of living in WA even though obviously it’s hard being away from your family. But I’ve been home twice over two of the byes and I’ve enjoyed every minute of being here and I love Swans.

“Hopefully I’m here for a long time because I think we’ve got some promising signs going forward with a pretty young list. I think we’re gonna be good for a long time.”

Settling into living in WA

The only downside from the move to Western Australia for Impey is the distance it has put between him and his family, but even his dad came to see him not too long ago and he sees no reason why this can’t become a long-term stay for him.

“My dad came over during the bye we had before this last one, so it was about six weeks or so ago when came over and he spent a couple of days here,” Impey said.

“It was good to go and play a little bit of golf with him to take my mind of footy for a second and just catch up with my dad so that was good.

“I think with the friends I’ve made at the footy club and even at work, I’ve made some pretty good relationships and I could definitely see myself staying here for a while.

“I could see myself settling down and I do enjoy living here and it’s been good. I actually feel like I haven’t explored much of WA so that’s one thing that they will want to do once the season is done is actually just go out and explore the place that I’m living so that will be good.”