Versatility continues to be key for Ernst

When Caleb Ernst joined Swan Districts 12 months ago his versatility was being touted, and now he continues to show why, having established himself as a key defender but now showing what he’s capable of up forward too.

Ernst joined Swan Districts midway through last season having signed on for the rest of 2025 along with the 2026 and 2027 seasons with an eye to him providing tremendous flexibility with his ability to hold down key position posts at either end of the ground.

The 23-year-old fits right into the bracket that Swan Districts are trying to build a team around set up for sustained success and he continues to show that he’ll be a key part of that with what he’s delivered over his 12 games this season.

Ernst had spent a lot of that time in defence while also pinch-hitting in the ruck at times, but up forward in Saturday’s win against West Perth saw him show what he can offer in attack kicking two goals from five scoring shots to go with 14 possessions and six marks.

Looking at the big picture of the 2026 season right now and how Swans are tracking, Ernst is realistic enough to know they’re not where they want to be, but can see what they are building towards at the same time.

“It’s been good to be able to get the opportunities I have but obviously the results as a team have been pretty disappointing up until this point,” Ernst said.

“But overall, we are building something good with a lot of younger fellas coming in and the other local younger boys coming through and getting some league games at the moment.

“So there’s still a bit of purpose going forward for the rest of the year to get some games into them and obviously building towards next year.

“As a whole, it’s disappointing how we’ve fared but there’s still positives to round out of the year to build towards something a bit bigger.”

Versatility a great strength

Now that Ernst is earning regular selection in the team this year, he’s feeling more and more comfortable at WAFL level and his ability to play virtually every position on the ground is a great strength.

While ideally he only has to be a pinch-hit ruckman, he has already shown that he can be a rock solid key defender and now last week showed what ability he has to create opportunities for himself when playing in the forward-line.

“I’m definitely growing in confidence as the weeks go by and obviously playing a multitude of roles sort of keeps you on your toes a bit,” Ernst said.

“It also keeps the game fresh as well and you learn different things from different perspectives playing in different roles.

“I think my versatility is valued and I like to keep working on that and keeping that as a positive so it keeps my potential spot in the team sort of fluid.

“I don’t mind it too much and obviously wherever Pruey wants me to play I’m more than happy, but more so for at the level I’m definitely growing in confidence each week.

“I’m just trying to continue to build on the work that I’ve done already with a more solid eye to next year when hopefully we’re more than competitive again.”

Still having a favourite position though

Even though Ernst is happy to admit he might feel a little more comfortable playing down back right now, he’s also more than happy being a target in attack and is going to continue to make it a focus to work on his kicking at goal.

“I probably do feel a bit more comfortable as a backman, but again I am happy to play wherever and I think I can have a pretty good impact up forward as well,” Ernst said.

“My biggest thing when playing forward is goal kicking so I have to keep working on that so I can make the most of the opportunities that I’m getting with the looks in front of goal.

“But personally I’d say if I had to pick one it would be the back-line, but I’m more than happy to play wherever I’m needed for the team.”

Direction is still positive when healthy

There was a clear plan of attack of what Swan Districts were trying to build for the future in 2026 by bringing together a whole core group of players of a similar age both with the recruits and locals that can build towards success.

A lot of those plans haven’t been able to come to fruition yet in 2026 just because of injury, but there’s a clear direction there and Ernst is still excited by what it would look like when they have a bit more luck on their side.

“Obviously injuries have played a big part so we’re all very optimistic about the group of guys that we have and what we’ll be capable of when we’re closer to full strength,” Ernst said.

“That seemed to be the strategy for Smarty and Pruey was to recruit a bigger bunch of young guys who can all grow together so we can reap the rewards of that more as time goes on as we can build with the rest of the group.

“Obviously it hasn’t played out immediately exactly how we’d like, but I still think the strategy makes sense with what they’ve done.

“Just getting games into the younger fellas whether that’s the local ones or the Victorian boys, a lot of our group is relatively inexperienced at state league so it should help to set us up for the future and we see the benefits of that over the next couple of seasons.”

Signs are largely positive

While it has been a challenging season for Swan Districts so far in 2026, they are fresh off a fourth victory last Saturday at Joondalup against West Perth.

Ernst is now hoping they can build on that to finish the season strongly because for the most part, they have been right in with a chance in most games so far this season despite the obstacles they’ve been dealing with.

“We have been competitive in a lot of games too and only really been outclassed by a couple of the teams at the pointy end of the ladder, but the fact that we’re still highly competitive most weeks is a good sign,” Ernst said.

“A lot of the things that leads us to those close losses are our own mistakes and things that we can control rather than necessarily being dominated by the opposition.

“So that’s another positive and we have to keep trusting the work we’re putting in and that in the years to come we can have smaller injury lists so the fight for spots is competitive and we can win some more games.”

Looking forward to the future

It didn’t take long from when Ernst arrived at Swan Districts just over 12 months ago that he knew it was a club he wanted to spend a significant chunk of his career playing at.

Those feelings have only strengthened now that he’s managed to cement a role in the team in 2026 and he already can’t wait for 2027 and potentially beyond.

“I’m loving the club and being here, and I see my immediate future here at the footy and that hasn’t really changed from when I signed last year,” Ernst said.

“I’m enjoying the group and the coaches, and just enjoying the club as a whole so I definitely see my near-term future playing at this footy club and I’m excited for that.”