Goulburn Valley football fans should be keeping tabs on how Swan Districts fair in the West Australia Football League this season.
The Swans are boosted by an influx of Goulburn Valley footballers with four players: Jye Chalcraft, Mitchell Roche (Shepparton United), Tom Pannucio (Euroa) and Nik Rokahr (Shepparton), donning the black and white for 2024.
The WAFL’s season began on Good Friday, while Swans opened their account with a 64-point victory over the West Coast Eagles’ reserve side on Saturday afternoon at Steel Blue Oval.
Making their debuts for Swan Districts were Chalcraft (a two-time Geelong VFL best-and-fairest winner) and Rokahr (a two-time best-and-fairest winner at Norwood in the South Australian National Football League).
Rokahr was busy during his first appearance in the WAFL, collecting 32 touches (19 kicks, 13 handballs) to go with nine marks.
His Shepparton counterpart, Chalcraft, was arguably best-on-ground as he finished with 35 possessions (15 kicks, 20 handballs), six marks and three inside 50s.
State league veteran Rokahr was full of praise for Chalcraft, believing the pair will be able to create a formidable midfield duo this season.
“He (Chalcraft) played a really good game on the weekend,” Rokahr said.
“I think his inside work is just brilliant; he just knows where to go at the drop of the ball and he showed that on the weekend.
“I am really looking forward to playing a lot more footy with him and I really think we are going to complement each other as the year goes on, so it was a really good start for him as well.
“I usually start seasons a little bit slower in rounds one and two for some reason, but it was nice to hit the ground running.
“I found a bit more open space on these big decks over here, so it was nice to find a bit of the footy and contribute to a good win.”
Rokahr, 28, may have a couple of years’ experience on his Goulburn Valley compatriots, but the star midfielder said it was nice to share a similarity with his new Swans teammates.
“It is always good to have something in common when you have made a big move,” he said.
“I moved for different reasons to those boys and it was a bit of a coincidence that we all landed here together.
“I hadn’t really had much to do with any of them before and I think they are a couple years younger than me, but it is always nice to have something in common and something we can relate to.
“It’s good to get out there with Jye and some of the boys, and I think on paper we are a really good team; if we can mesh it together, I think anything is possible this year.”
In the Swans and Eagles match, there was another Goulburn Valley export out on the field as West Coast’s 2023 draftee Clay Hall (pick 38) played his first game in the blue and gold.
Hall was raised in Mooroopna until the age of 10.