Player Watch #26 Luke Parker

[Kennedy Parker]

Luke Parker
Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

31

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

has plenty of football ahead and has already compiled a resume packed with impressive achievements. Since landing at the Sydney Swans via the 2010 AFL Draft, he has won a 2012 premiership medal, earned All Australian selection and won two Bob Skilton medals. In 2015, he was added to the club’s leadership group at the age of just 22, and has led the team as a co-captain alongside Josh Kennedy and Dane Rampe

24

Dane Rampe

Age

34

Ht

187cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

10.6

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

2.5

4star

MG

358.8

5star

D

14.1

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.1

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

1.5

2star

MG

284.5

4star

D

10.6

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

1.4

4star

since 2019. While Parker is among the league’s elite midfielders, his strong marking and expert game awareness make him a genuine threat when rotating through the forward line.

Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

31

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

DOB: 25 October 1992
DEBUT: 2011
DRAFT: #40, 2010 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Langwarrin (Vic)/Dandenong U18

Luke Parker | AFL

Follow Luke Parker's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[TasSixer]

Gonna suck watching him play his 300th for North.

 

[bedford]

Gonna suck watching him play his 300th for North.

Don't watch

 

[KingV23]

Hopefully he plays his 300th in Melbourne. I'll go.

 

[bedford]

Still the best 26 is Stevie Wright

 

[Mister B]

Don't watch

Lol. It's Norf. Nobody does, including their own supporters.

 

[SSwans2011]

Difference being Macrae is basically only able to play one role in the seniors and Beveridge has pushed a lot of players out, for better or worse. Not entirely sure it's the best comparison to make to justify the club's stance.

It was more a general point that its not abnormal for a once gun player to find themselves on the fringes when the game style that the club wants to play becomes less compatible with what they have to offer. I don't think the treatment of Macrae at the Bulldogs has been disrespectful either.

When Parker became available, Wicks was ordinary to invisible most weeks and Taylor was a solid contributor at best. At that point in time, telling a 250 game club champion and former captain to sit tight in the VFL behind a bloke in his first year playing the same position but worse, and another who was dropped for alienating the playing group off the field while offering little on it was insulting.

I said that at the time.

What has happened since simply reinforces how poor that decision was. I don't agree at all that Parker looked as poor as the other 2 in the finals. Given the negating role he was assigned he was still more productive than Wicks and about on par with Adams. In the time he spent in each of those roles through the second half of the year he performed significantly better than Adams or Wicks did when playing them exclusively. When he went forward he marked and goaled often when Wicks did neither, and when he was thrown into the middle, he tackled, won contested ball and went inside 50 more efficiently than Adams.

Parker was quite simply better than both Adams and Wicks across the course of the season when available and should have been playing ahead of them.

I would imagine that in any selection debate surrounding Wicks and Parker, the coaches would have been more concerned about the broader consequences, rather than who offers more on an individual level. Wicks is much quicker and is therefore able to cover far more ground than Parker which creates far more space and chaos forward of the ball. Wicks' form did drop off to such an extent that they had to drop him, but I don't think they wanted to because he's not at all a like-for-like swap for Parker or Adams.

Though I was for Parker or Adams taking that final spot in the finals, I would now say that was a bust and we would have been better off with Cleary there. I'm not certain Cleary will be ahead of Wicks next year, for the reasons I mentioned above, I think an in-form Wicks still has an important role to play in our forward line (not complaining if Cleary takes that spot though). I also think it's a bit unfair to bring up the off-field stuff given we know so little about it and our best form of the season came after Wicks came back into the side, so I'm not sure how "alienated" his teammates really were.

As for Parker vs Adams, you make it sound like it was an obvious choice based on their returns this year and I just don't see it that way. Both had some really strong games and both had some really average games. If anything, I'd say the coaches have been vindicated in not changing a winning set-up because ultimately it made bugger all difference.

in fact, look at their stats - Parker and Adams were about as productive as one another this season:

Luke Parker and Taylor Adams AFL Stats Comparison

Luke Parker and Taylor Adams AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

Sure Parker scored more goals, but he also played deeper which leaves less space for our other forwards (or even our midfielders when charging forward). I'm still not convinced our team is better with him in it than Adams, but I don't think it makes a huge difference either way, and would go with someone quicker next season.

I was one of those at the end of last season that was of the opinion that Parker had to be played as a forward this year, so his VFL form wasn't overly relevant to me as a midfielder, and Adams was playing that role well enough in a team that was playing really well, so I personally have just consistently failed to understand what all the fuss is about.

I generally think this notion of the club disrespecting him has to stop given it wasn't exactly an unpopular opinion to leave him out of the best 23 and I don't think everyone that held that view has a personal vendetta against Luke. We all acknowledge he's a club legend, and the club does too based on all the talk from the players and coaches this season.