Swan Districts midfielder Jesse Turner has joined an exclusive group of club greats after claiming his third Swan Medal after another stellar season. 

The Swan Districts captain played a key role in a difficult season for a side decimated by injury, to come away with one of his best seasons to date, averaging more than 30 disposals. 

It was tight at the end of the evening, with one vote separating Turner and teammate Jye Chalcraft, while Josh Cipro claimed third place with 62 votes, despite injury limiting his game time this season. 

In 90 years competing at WAFL level, only eight players have won the Swan Medal three or more times, placing Turner among some of the club’s legends.

Speaking to SportFM, Turner says it’s a proud moment for him. 

“I know there’s only a handful of guys at our club that have won three or more, and all of them are absolute legends,” he says. 

“It definitely doesn’t feel right that my name’s next to some of them, but it’s something that I’m truly proud of. 

“I’ve always been a person who just tries to be available to my teammates, and week in week out, I just give everything I’ve got.

“It’s definitely something when I’ve finished my career, I’ll look back on and be pretty proud of how far I’ve come from where I was when I was at 17, 18, 19 years old and getting cut from Colts teams.” 

Turner became the sole club captain this season, after sharing captaincy duties with Brandon Erceg throughout the 2024 season.

Reflecting on his leadership, he admits he isn’t the full package yet, but is definitely on the way. 

“I’m always trying to improve as a leader. When I first started getting leadership roles as like a vice captain, because of my mindset to training that I could only see it one way,” he says

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely been able to see other sides and be able to communicate with my teammates because obviously everyone’s different. 

“You got to approach boys in different ways, and I’ve definitely gotten a lot better at that. I absolutely love it. It’s a challenge.”

He also credited support on and off field from other senior players and coaching staff, especially in a season where they won six games. 

“Seasons like this season, when you’re not doing as well, when we definitely expected to be doing well, it definitely made it quite hard at times,” he said. 

“I have great support in some of the other leaders and then our coach, Pruey. He’s great for me and great for the boys, it definitely makes my job a lot easier. That’s for sure.” 

Swan Districts were unable to back up last year’s performances, falling from top three to bottom three as injuries ran rife through the club, striking down several key players. 

Additionally, 2024 joint-Sandover Medallist and Swan Medallist Nik Rokhar departed the club after one season and was a massive loss to the Swans’ midfield after having such significant impact. 

However, all factors considered, Turner believes this season’s showing does not reflect where his side truly is. 

“Considering where we were last season and where we were expecting to be this year, it was definitely a wake-up call for a lot of us,” he said. 

“I know that going into next preseason, we will go back to being the hunters and really get ourselves fit. Hopefully, we can get back to being in that top three. 

“We know we’re good enough. We need to go out, prove it and show that we’re a consistent team.”

IMAGE: Swan Districts FC