Loftus embracing WAFL challenge at Swans

Having already achieved what he could with his hometown Torquay Tigers and having experienced playing in Darwin, Chase Loftus was looking for his next football challenge and is delighted it’s turned out to be with Swan Districts.

Having grown up in the Victorian coastal town of Torquay, just south of Geelong, and playing all his football there including a stint with the Geelong Falcons, it was a new challenge that the 21-year-old was after in 2025.

Having been a best and fairest winner and helping Torquay to back-to-back premierships in the Bellarine Football Netball League, and having played the past two seasons in the Northern Territory Football League with the Darwin Buffaloes, Loftus couldn’t be more excited to join the WAFL.

It was a league he was always interested in testing himself in, but it wasn’t until Swan Districts’ GM Football Operations Phil Smart called that he thought it was a realistic possibility.

Fast forward a few months and Loftus has settled in at Swan Districts and got three pre-season games under his belt. He now can’t wait to experience Round 1 this Saturday against West Perth at Steel Blue Oval.

“I’m feeling very excited to start the season and I’m still getting used to the difference in the ovals that are a lot bigger over here, which means there’s a lot more running involved,” Loftus said.

“The game is a lot more open so I’m just getting used to the amount of running involved especially in this heat, but I think I’m doing pretty well to start.

“I’ve been able to play a few practice matches now and am feeling alright, and all the boys have made me feel welcomed and it’s been really good to start. I’m loving it.”

While Loftus had always thought about wanting to play in the WAFL, he didn’t know it was actually something possible even though some new teammates like Jye Chalcraft and Jackson McLachlan do hail from the Geelong region.

However, it didn’t take long for he and his girlfriend to pack up and move west once the call came from Smart that Swan Districts wanted him on board.

“I had heard a lot about guys like Jye and Jacko coming over and I had a few mutual friends with them, but I’d never actually met them before,” Loftus said.

“But since I got here, they’ve been great for me and have talked a lot about what it’s like and the differences with the play style and helped me settle in. How it happened though, I actually don’t know exactly.

“Phil Smart just got in touch with me and said he’d watched a few of my games in our finals series, which is crazy to me that he’s watching a league like that given how far away it is.

“But I got the call that there might be an opportunity to come over and give it a crack so I moved over with my girlfriend and we’re loving it.”

Having played in the underage Victorian Talent League, with Torquay in the BFNL and then in the NTFL, playing in the WAFL this season will be the highest level of football that Loftus has been part of.

However, he’s always been a standout prolific ball winner wherever he’s been and is confident once he gets used to the bigger grounds and the WAFL playing style that he’ll only keep fitting in better and better.

“I think given time I’ll pick up the differences in coming over here. The training standards to start with is big jump with how hard these guys train and it’s a bit new for me right now still,” Loftus said.

“Within a few months I’ll start to feel a bit more comfortable with it all, but the club has made it really easy for me to come in and knowing I can just go at my own pace while also pushing me to be giving my best.

“The first two practice matches I played I felt a bit unfit just coming off almost only half a pre-season because of the move and everything. I’d started the pre-season back at Torquay but it’s nothing compared to what you do here with the amount of running and everything.

“I’m just trying to catch up a bit still before the season starts, but over the next few weeks I’ll start to feel a lot more comfortable and confident, it’s just all about getting used to everything and I think that’ll come the longer I’m here. I’m definitely very excited for the year.”

Now that Loftus has started working in Perth as a commercial electrician, he and his girlfriend are settling in and enjoying the weather and lifestyle, and he’s settling in at Swan Districts, he can’t wait to find out what the WAFL is all about starting this Saturday.

“I knew a little bit about Swans and the WAFL because I’d always check it out because it was always somewhere I thought I’d love to try playing one day,” Loftus said.

“Coming over here, I’ve heard a lot about the rivalries and I’m just keen to see what the culture is like from Round 1 now and experience it for myself. I can’t wait to find out what the atmosphere is like, apparently it’s amazing.”

Home game tickets are now available. Join us for Round 1 here.