Player Watch #26 Luke Parker

d05af3810baa11138a15ef8d759b18c8


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

 
Jun 19, 2011
11,085
15,831
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Wallabies
Doesnt get enough credit or respect here imo

Sometimes. Swings & roundabouts for the most part, I think. I've been very critical of him in the past but I thought he was very good last year and is now back to his best. I think his wider reputation around the league was greater than his output for a while, his 2014 season was insanely good but his 2015, 2016, 2017 years (imo) were not as consistent as reported. But his reputation is probably about right now imo.

His first month was not good enough for his standards or for a captain. His last 5 weeks have been excellent and he's done it almost exclusively as a midfielder from what I've seen - many think he's better as a forward but I think he's shown he is an excellent midfielder when on song.
 
Sometimes. Swings & roundabouts for the most part, I think. I've been very critical of him in the past but I thought he was very good last year and is now back to his best. I think his wider reputation around the league was greater than his output for a while, his 2014 season was insanely good but his 2015, 2016, 2017 years (imo) were not as consistent as reported. But his reputation is probably about right now imo.

His first month was not good enough for his standards or for a captain. His last 5 weeks have been excellent and he's done it almost exclusively as a midfielder from what I've seen - many think he's better as a forward but I think he's shown he is an excellent midfielder when on song.


this
 
I think he is a go-to whipping boy when he doesnt play well and then when he does play well he's barely mentioned and is just part of the Swans machine.
 
Jun 19, 2011
11,085
15,831
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Wallabies
I think he is a go-to whipping boy when he doesnt play well and then when he does play well he's barely mentioned and is just part of the Swans machine.

Yeh I think there's some truth to that. I think it has come about partly because his poor play often comes alongside our team not playing well. Whether you can attribute his poor play to the team playing poorly or vice versa who knows, but when you compare him to, say, Kennedy, whose form has always been so steady and stable, it's easier to pin culpability on Parker because his form is less consistent.

But I think you're right to a degree, Parker can be overlooked for his good play sometimes by Swans fans. I think much of the football public rate and revere him more than many Swans fans do, rightly or wrongly.

I'm just glad he's pulled himself out of a bad month of footy and is playing really spirited football as a captain now. He has been leading the way in the midfield the last 5 weeks with his physicality and consistency across 4 quarters.
 

6yearsold

Club Legend
Nov 23, 2016
2,337
1,779
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Crystal Palace
I think he is a go-to whipping boy when he doesnt play well and then when he does play well he's barely mentioned and is just part of the Swans machine.

thats because the last two seasons he has not been consistent enough
 

Skhilton14

Team Captain
Oct 2, 2016
321
484
AFL Club
Sydney
He never looked the same after he got that knee injury in the 2016 prelim v Cats. Seemed to lose the ability to launch himself at the footy and really explode from packs (not that his is fast, but use his strength). If he was down in form in the mids, he used to be able to go forward, take a couple of huge marks, and then work himself into the game. But since that injury hasn't seemed to be able to do that.

However, his last few weeks he has looked back to his best. Looks like the youth has reinvigorated him, and he has really lead from the front, taking opposition sides by the scruff of the neck and setting an example. So great to see. This guy bleeds red and white, and his passion is exactly what our next generation of players need for inspiration. The standard he sets will be passed on to them in the years to come.
 

Tedeski

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 2, 2006
21,806
26,870
Melbourne
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Mava Fan Cooler
I think he is a go-to whipping boy when he doesnt play well and then when he does play well he's barely mentioned and is just part of the Swans machine.
Don't worry, most of us know what we've got in Parker & are thankful for it & the rest can just "support how they want to support".
I think I said it right!
No?
 
I think he is a go-to whipping boy when he doesnt play well and then when he does play well he's barely mentioned and is just part of the Swans machine.


looking at three names in your sig theres a theme mind you ....
 
Jul 20, 2001
23,298
28,498
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Sydney Swans
I thought Parker led well last night especially with JPK off

He was very good.

Just a note, he had 6 rebound 50s which is a career best along with 5 inside 50s and 8 clearances. Shows how hard he worked up and down the ground.

He also had 21 contested possessions which is his best since Round 20 2016 (22, which is his career best). His best so far this year was 15.
 

MC Bad Genius

No, not THAT MC Bad Genius. The other one.
Apr 15, 2008
16,604
28,431
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
He was very good.

Just a note, he had 6 rebound 50s which is a career best along with 5 inside 50s and 8 clearances. Shows how hard he worked up and down the ground.

He also had 21 contested possessions which is his best since Round 20 2016 (22, which is his career best). His best so far this year was 15.
It was really noticeable how often he was involved in the defensive 50. Worked incredibly hard to help out all over the ground. Anyone got his heat map?
 
It was really noticeable how often he was involved in the defensive 50. Worked incredibly hard to help out all over the ground. Anyone got his heat map?


6D8805E4-39B2-4C39-8376-9842FE85AB9B.png
 
Jun 19, 2011
11,085
15,831
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Wallabies

Shows how he's transitioned this year into being a midfielder almost exclusively. With our midfield stocks quite young we needed him to step up around the ball and he's been very good the last 6 weeks. Found his groove as a leader in there now and we'll need him to carry on with Kennedy and, who knows, maybe Hewett not playing against Geelong.
 
B&F will come down to Parker or Rampe imo.

Would be his 3rd and he arguably should have won last year as well. Got rested in the last round which lost him votes.
 
B&F will come down to Parker or Rampe imo.

Would be his 3rd and he arguably should have won last year as well. Got rested in the last round which lost him votes.

Even more importantly, is it time to start thinking about Parker as an outside Brownlow smokey?

Not many players on our list are proven vote getters.
 
Jun 19, 2011
11,085
15,831
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Other Teams
Wallabies
Even more importantly, is it time to start thinking about Parker as an outside Brownlow smokey?

Not many players on our list are proven vote getters.

He could definitely make a run at the Brownlow if this form and our overall form continues. He's putting together probably the best season of his career imo. His 2014 year was outstanding and his 2018 was also excellent but he's got far, far more responsibility this year and after a quiet first month he has been consistently in our best handful every single week.

He's now absolutely the consistently top echelon player that the media thought he was back in like 2015/16.
 
Back