Provest to bring high flying flair to Swan Districts

One thing Swan Districts needed coming into 2026 was a high-flying excitement machine and new recruit Zach Provest will bring plenty of that and more as a new signing for the 2026 WAFL season.

Provest has only just turned 22 years of age, but was ready for a new challenge in his football career and to have a fresh start in his life with his partner too.

As a result, when Phil Smart and Andrew Pruyn from Swan Districts reached out to him after his last Victoria Amateur Football Association (VAFA) season with Williamstown, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for him to jump on board.

The excitement machine who loves to fly for his marks and kick big goals has now settled in with the move west, is preparing for the 2026 WAFL season and can’t wait to help the Swans’ forward-line flourish.

“Pruey and Smarty definitely made it a point that the forward-line was something that needed a bit of strengthening,” Provest said.

“Pruey sort of sold the fact that I could play that hybrid forward role which is exciting and it’s a position I really enjoy and I would love to be able to come in and play that role, and push up the ground and then work deep in the forward-line at times as well.

“It’s definitely the most exciting fact of all this that there is a chance with some hard work to have an immediate impact for the team.”

Flying for marks

One thing that Provest has been known for throughout his time at Williamstown on top of his penchant for kicking goals and especially in clutch moments, is his ability to fly for high marks.

It might not always pay off, but he’s never seen a ball coming towards him in the air he didn’t think there was a chance of him marking. He’s certainly going to be flying for everything he can in the Swan Districts forward-line once he settles in.

“I don’t mind having a go at my marks and my coach from home liked to tell me that some of them can be pretty unrealistic but I do see it as a bit of a strength of mine to be able to get up,” Provest said.

“I might make a fool of myself sometimes, but sometimes they stick too which is always nice.”

How the move came about

While Provest was in the middle of his VAFA season at Williamstown last year, he did get reached out to by Swan Districts’ football boss Phil Smart about the potential of him coming to WA in 2026.

Provest missed that initial message but he did take a phone call once his season was over, and from there, it didn’t take him long to agree to sign up and make the move.

“He’s been over the moon about the opportunity ever since.

“I think Smarty sent a message maybe halfway through the footy season but I never saw it and then I ended up getting a call from him maybe a week after the season finished just explaining who Swan Districts are, what they like and what they’ve seen, and that they were interested,” Provest said.

“Initially it was a bit daunting thinking about moving across to the other side of the country and all the other stuff that comes with it, but every phone call and meeting with Phil or Pruey after that was more than impressive.

“I met them when they came down to Melbourne with dad and absolutely loved that, and the decision came pretty easy in the end with how impressive they were and seeing the layout and structure of Swans, and the direction everything’s moving in.

“There’s absolutely nothing negative to sort of look into.”

Perfect time for it

Having just turned 22 years of age, getting close to completing his university degree and ready to start a next chapter in his life and without having started a career outside of football, it was the perfect time in every way for Provest to pack up and move to join Swan Districts to play in the WAFL.

The fact that his girlfriend was happy to come along for the ride too helped it seem all the less daunting as they can take the next step as a couple too.

“I’m just at a perfect age for it and I’ve just turned 22 and have six months left in my uni studies and just thought that if I am go and experience something different and be away from family and everything, which is obviously a tough decision, the timing couldn’t have been better,” Provest said.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity to live in WA and just everything that comes with that. I’m really excited and my girlfriend’s coming over too so we’ll do a 12-month lease together and we couldn’t be more excited.

“Although we’ll be away from our families, we really can’t draw any negatives out of the time frame for it and the opportunity.”

Setting up life away from footy

Provest is looking to complete his Bachelor of Business degree in 2026 while in Perth to go with his football commitments with Swan Districts. Then he’ll just take whatever work comes his way at this point as he settles into a new life.

“The club will help me find some work and I sort of said I was looking for something that would align with uni so a lot of my studies are with marketing sort of things, but I’d like even something with logistics or transport,” Provest said.

“Just something that I can chuck on my resume while I’m over here and if something that doesn’t eventuate, I’ll just focus on finishing my studies and find some sort of casual work while playing footy, and that should keep me busy enough.”

Coming over with fellow recruits

While it can be a daunting experience for a young man to pick up and move across the country to follow his football dreams, there are a host of reasons why Provest’s mind was quickly put to ease.

The first was that his girlfriend was on board in joining him in moving to Perth and then knowing he has fellow recruits from Victoria including Kade Chalcraft, Jovan Petric, Jez Rigoni and Lucas Impey are all joining him in the journey for the first time in 2026.

“When I signed I knew that were a few boys already on board and once the other signings started coming through, and it included even a few boys that are pretty local to me then it definitely makes things much easier,” Provest said.

“Once we all got here just before Christmas we all headed over to Rottnest too just to experience that and now we’re all back in training to get ready for the season.

“It’s always good having people around going through the exact same thing as you and who have made the same decisions and it’s exciting that we can all go through it together.

“You can also tell there’s some excitement around the club with the five or six of us coming over for this season and it’s definitely made it easier to fit in pretty quickly.”

The Swan Districts supporters

Once Provest started looking into the prospect of joining Swan Districts and making the move west, he quickly discovered that the club has a passionate and loyal fan base which only increased his excitement about coming on board.

And now since he has been in town and around Steel Blue Oval during the pre-season, what’s stood out even more is the dedicate banded of volunteers that he already is incredibly thankful for having around.

‘I’ve absolutely heard the rumours about the fan base and that’s another thing that I cannot wait to experience what game day looks like, and see their passion,” Provest said.

“To play for real, true supporters is really exciting and just being around the club so far, the mass of numbers of volunteers and staff and the feel you get from them all has been amazing.

“That volunteer base especially really creates that family vibe and it’s unbelievable. You can tell why everyone’s there for a reason and they all love the club so that creates a great feeling around the club so it’s really exciting to be part of it.”