SWAN districts have announced two more Victorian recruits for the side, with duo Tom Panuccio and Mitch Roche joining some familiar faces for the 2024 season.

Panuccio is a former teammate in the Geelong VFL team of Swan Medal runner-up Jackson McLachlan while both he and Roche are former teammates and good friends with fellow new recruit and reigning Cats VFL fairest and best winner Jye Chalcraft.

Panuccio is a young player who never imagined football could take him across the country growing up in the Victorian town of Euroa, but now after two years in Geelong’s VFL team he can’t wait to get to Swan Districts.

“It’s very exciting and I would never have thought footy could take me to the other side of the country,” he said.

“I thought I’d also be Victorian and playing a lot of VFL footy, but you can never tell what’s going to happen in the future.”

Panuccio was always an emerging and hard-running talent who then made the move to Geelong to continue his footballing progress in the VFL and that’s where he has spent the last two seasons.

Mitch Roche joins the club for 2024 on the back of being the vice-captain at Shepparton United in the Goulbourn Valley League in country Victoria.

He put together a standout 2023 season at country football level as a high ball-winning midfielder including a best of 43-possession performance and since then his travelling the country for football commenced, most recently being in the Northern Territory playing with NTFL Waratah’s.

The wider expanses of the WAFL grounds are something Roche is looking forward to taking advantage of although getting used to the Burley footballs might take a bit more time.

“It will be a little bit of a step up from what I’ve played before when I’ve mainly played just senior country footy,” Roche said.