AFL Player # 3: Darcy Parish

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent 2028 or 2029
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 18, doug85

 

[owen87]

You can get TOG from FanFooty
Parish - 14 posessions + 4 tackles, only 1 clanger from just 46% TOG.
As a comparison Tipungwuti - 12 posessions + 4 tackles, 5 clangers (almost 50%) from 85% TOG.

Parish: 90m gained from 14d. 6.4m gained per disposal.
Tipungwuti: 212m gained from 12d. 17.6m gained per disposal.

My biggest issue with Parish is that he appears to have little-to-no impact when he has the ball, if he was a 20-25 disposal player that had more impact then we'd be pretty happy with that. Either by getting in and under to give off to a Merrett or Shiel type, or by using his kicking better. Currently there's a lot of short sideways handballs, and he's much more capable than that.

For comparison; Stringer had 423m gained from 12 disposals, with 3 clearances, 5 inside 50's and kicked 1.3.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

I just woke up at 5am on the floor after a mates 30th dinner. Really need to sort my life out. Which app do you use that gives you time on ground?

The AFL App has TOG too.

 

[fairbump_playon]

This is all a bit rich. Daniel Rich, that is. I fear Dodoma may have fallen at draft time for the “ready to play” trick. Like Rich, Parish had an outstanding first year. But his upside is not high enough for a top 5 selection. At least Rich has a weapon with his left foot.

I think at his best he can be a contributing member of the best 22 but he will never be a superstar, that much is clear.

 

[Loonerty]

I can't actually ******* handle this board sometimes.

 

[VelvetSledge]

I can't actually ******* handle this board sometimes.

Preach it, sister

 

['51 Bewick]

Parish: 90m gained from 14d. 6.4m gained per disposal.
Tipungwuti: 212m gained from 12d. 17.6m gained per disposal.

My biggest issue with Parish is that he appears to have little-to-no impact when he has the ball, if he was a 20-25 disposal player that had more impact then we'd be pretty happy with that. Either by getting in and under to give off to a Merrett or Shiel type, or by using his kicking better. Currently there's a lot of short sideways handballs, and he's much more capable than that.

For comparison; Stringer had 423m gained from 12 disposals, with 3 clearances, 5 inside 50's and kicked 1.3.

Your response is skewed for obvious reasons. His meters gained don't mean much as 11 of his 14 were handballs from difficult positions to outside runners.
Also Stringer had 81% TOG as opposed to 46%.

 

[Maxabillions]

Maybe we should see how he goes in a real game before we delist him

 

[owen87]

Your response is skewed for obvious reasons. His meters gained don't mean much as 11 of his 14 were handballs from difficult positions to outside runners.
Also Stringer had 81% TOG as opposed to 46%.

It illustrates the point; Stringer is an impact player as is Tipugwuti, they provide a lot from low possesion figures.

Parish doesn't do this, he accumulates more of it, but doesn't release by hand effectively enough from a contest (like a Watson) in my opinion, or gain enough territory by foot.

I like Parish, but for him to take his game to the next level he needs to provide more impact from those 20ish disposals he's averaged from his first season. Whether that's by hand to release a Shiel / Merrett / Fantasia / Tipungwuti, or finding ways to break clear of congestion and kick. I'd also like to see him increase his tackle count, but that's a general critique of the team as well.

 

[Mercurial89]

I can't actually ******* handle this board sometimes.

I don't know how you do it tbh.
I was so keen for football to be back. Spend some time reading the analysis here and I just long for off season

 

[RedmanWasHere]

I can't actually ******* handle this board sometimes.

Even the Twitter folk are awful.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Is a victim of poorly balanced midfield without defined roles. If we still had Jobe there our midfield would be amazing and all the players would compliment each other nicely, but that gaping hole requires everyone be a little of everything. Not good for development.

 

[TheGrizz]

Are we seriously putting a 21yo pick 5 who has already played 50 games on the scrap heap?

And why? Because he hasnt shown enough - in 50% game time in two meaningless pre season games mind you - for the armchair experts on this board to suggest he wont be bog average?

A few weeks ago he was in the best for a intra club praccy and this board was ready to give him a brownlow.

Geez, us Essendon supporters really do suck sometimes.

 

[DERO]

I'd rather delist the real deadwood like Long and Laverde.

 

[madrigal]

Maybe we should see how he goes in a real game before we delist him

You need to be bold to win premierships.

 

[Maxabillions]

You need to be bold to win premierships.

maybe we should string him up in the hangar as an example to the rest

 

[madrigal]

maybe we should string him up in the hangar as an example to the rest

That certainly is bold.

 

[FlyingV]

Maybe we should see how he goes in a real game before we delist him

You can delist my balls

 

[Maxabillions]

You can delist my balls

You had me at you can delist my balls

 

[Doss]

Look I think we just need to face it, Parish will be playing VFL reserves reserves (yes the double was deliberate) by Round 4.

 

[fairbump_playon]

I don't know how you do it tbh.
I was so keen for football to be back. Spend some time reading the analysis here and I just long for off season

You guys are in the wrong room. i think you're looking for Small Footy. It's just down the hallway past Malcolm Blight's tory and our dignity as a species.

 

[Bjchan13]

I just watched JLT 2 and parish released Tippa twice from congestion and got quick hands from a looseball turnover to merrett to langfords goal. As rusty as everyone is he's tracking ok. Not a standout, but neither has langford or laverde been who we're also expecting/needing improvement from. Pigeon and francis are the standouts for me. Woosh has already proven that he will drop Parish if hes not doing what he wants. First few rounds and we'll see.

 

[Duckworth]

I dub thee the new whipping boy.

 

[BrunoV]

Rehashing what someone else said, but most people don't seem to be looking at TOG. Parish played less than half the game for 14 touches. Not saying he played well but surely that is significant? To put that into perspective, some have lumped him with Guelfi who almost played the full game for similar impact.
Langford and Myers both played just over half the game so it's not surprising their impact was limited. In fact Langford was on track for 25+ touches if he had played a full game and regardless of what he looked like out there i seriously doubt he would have copped the flack that he has had on this board if that were the case.
Smith is one who according to the stats was off the boil, but he seems to have a free pass on this board? 70% game time for 15 touches with 4 tackles? That's not up to his usual standards.
The interesting thing to take away from the preseason is that we made no effort to cement anything in our midfield. It was expected that we would take that sort of approach this year so perhaps the logic is that the players need to get used to the constantly changing mix.
At any rate we really didn't get a look at our most likely mix at all. Heppell 65%TOG, Merrett 59%, Parish 46%, Langford 54%.

My criticism of Parish has absolutely nothing to do with his rate of possession and I don't recall reading a lot of criticism of Parish not getting the ball. The criticism has stemmed from his ball use and lack of impact at the contest.

I think the starting point for this sort of discussion needs to have account of a few things I would says are realities or truths so that the respective camps are at least having the same discussion. I'm not trying to be pompous or a dick about it (though being a dick does come naturally).

Virtually no player is going to get extended periods on-ball absent the ability to find the ball, particularly sitting off the first touch mids (which is not something I would "accuse" Parish of/or suggest is not important). Yes, there will be players like Stringer who are monsters thrown onto the ball to bust packs apart, or maybe Garry Rohan or Tippa for a really quick break away, but no-one is looking at Parish as that sort of player so I think we can dismiss the "pinch hitters" as being relevant to the discussion.

We hear a lot about structur, and adherence to structure in the midfield is as rigid as it is at either end of the ground. The 3 on-ballers will be inside the contest at stoppages, with the wingers and flankers "on the outside". They will also take up positions without the ball as links to move the ball back through the middle of the ground. There have already been a number of occasions in JLT when Parish has been the link in the middle who has be used by McGrath (as a mid) or Saad (from half back) counter-attacking from half back. This is part of the reasons Parish's handball numbers are high.

We know that structure gets players the ball because we will re-shuffle our midfield this year so that Shiel ends up with enough time to get 25 possessions while playing as a midfielder.

No doubt that there is a skill in being able to find the ball, and there are some players who do struggle with modern structures who may have better much better in previous eras (ant555 said this a lot about Shaun Edwards, for example), but I think that we can say that it's a skill which is possessed by something close to every AFL player who was recruited playing midfield. I'd say much the same thing about a lot of half backs whose performances are routinely overrated simply because they play in a part of the ground that teams channel ball movement through.

In the context of the ability that would be expected of any player and the way in which structure gets players possession, I would say the accumulation of even 30 possession in the midfield, of itself, may as well mean nothing - it's like the base or 4/10 of a performance. That's not the same as saying that there is anything inherently wrong with getting a lot of the ball but it literally means nothing if what is being done with the ball is hand-balling sideways 5m, often not hitting these targets directly while under physical pressure, and not kicking the ball with any penetration (and otherwise struggling to impose himself on the contest physically not for a lack of trying).

I would say that there would be 30-40 players in second tier comps who would be competent enough footballers to get 20-25 possessions in the AFL given sufficient midfield time. Take Nick O'Brien as an example. In 2015 he averaged 25 possessions a week playing inside and was promptly de-listed as a 4th year player. He then played VFL and continued to amass a prolific amount of the ball playing as an inside mid, often getting a lot more of the ball than our AFL-listed players.

It's not like AFL players go back to VFL and automatically get 50 or 60 touches, it happens every now and then but then it also happens in the AFL too. The VFL players get the ball just as much depending on game time. I thought that Parish's time in the VFL last year was telling because all of the physical issues in AFL translated down to the lower level. In and around the ball he got 30 touches but largely struggled to impact the play an inside midfielder. He was firing out handballs and shuffling kicks to no real effect.

I think that if you're going to just be competent and play a role you need to do what you do extremely well.

I think what those querying Parish's performances are really trying to work out is whether there is better value for the 20-25 possessions Parish will get and whether there are better options to compliment our side to give it much needed physical impact around the ball or need for outside run (which would be a better result for the use of Parish's spot given that he's hardly an AFL standard first touch inside mid at this stage).

At this point in time I don't think that Parish is even close to doing his job competently nor do I think that I have ever really seen anything that makes me think that he is the player to persist with and that he should not spend as long as it takes to develop his game in the 2nds.

 

[Fear Boner]

Look I think we just need to face it, Parish will be playing VFL reserves reserves (yes the double was deliberate) by Round 4.

Why can't we be critical of a player and question their development and place in the team without people going to the extreme such as saying "He'll be in the VFL reserves by round 4" in order to shut down discussion about the many problems this list and team faces?

 

[Doss]

Why can't we be critical of a player and question their development and place in the team without people going to the extreme such as saying "He'll be in the VFL reserves by round 4" in order to shut down discussion about the many problems this list and team faces?

It was pretty clearly a joke and nowhere did I say you couldn’t be critical, but I apologise for my s**t joke making.