Luke Parker may have to wait for an injury – or a defeat – to play his first AFL game of the season as the Swans look set to go into Friday’s clash with Carlton with another unchanged line-up.
Parker was not present for Sydney’s captain’s run at the SCG on Thursday morning, a relatively solid sign that he will not be named for the match against the seventh-placed Blues and will instead run around in the VFL for the third week in a row.
The 31-year-old has barely missed a game for the Swans since making his debut in mid-2011 and, until this past summer, was a co-captain of the club. But having recovered from a broken arm suffered on the eve of the season, he has not been able to break his way back into their team, despite turning in two standout performances for Sydney’s reserves to prove his readiness.
Coach John Longmire has praised Parker’s professionalism throughout, and teammate Nick Blakey echoed his comments on Thursday, saying the fact that he had not sulked about his situation was a “massive show of his leadership” – but, such is Sydney’s depth and recent form, it appears his exile will continue for at least another week, or until there is an obvious or forced change to be made to their 23 to make room for him.
“I suppose that’s probably the evolution of this team now,” Blakey said.
“Parksy is an incredible player, and he’s done so much for this club, and he’s obviously still coming back from injury as well. I’ve got no doubt that he’ll be back in the team at some stage – whether it’s this week or not, that’s up to the coaches.
Luke Parker is staring at a third consecutive week in the VFL.Credit: Jessica Hromas
“If you know Parksy, he’s not one to throw his arms and legs about when things aren’t going his way. He works extremely hard on his game and that hasn’t changed just because he hasn’t been playing senior football. He did break his arm a few weeks ago, and he’s only played a few games since that.
“I’ve got no doubt when he comes back in the team, he’ll be ready to go.”
Parker is contracted to the Swans through to the end of next season, having shunned free agency to sign a four-year contract extension in 2021.
Sydney will again be without Tom McCartin (concussion), as they were the last time they met Carlton at home. On that night, Blues forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay ran riot but failed to make their dominance count on the scoreboard, combining for 1.6 to let the Swans, who prevailed by 26 points, off the hook – while Blakey was sensational in defence, deputising in the absence of both McCartin and Dane Rampe.
“Those two boys are the best two key forwards in the game at the moment,” said Blakey.
“We’ve got full confidence in our defensive system and the way we defend as a team, but no doubt we’ll have our work cut out for us.
“We’ve sort of changed the way we defend in a bit this year. We’re a real system-based defence and try not to leave anyone in one-on-ones and really help each other, so we’ll have a real team focus on stopping those boys. It’s not just their forwards, they’ve obviously got an unbelievable midfield as well, so if we can get some sloppy ball in there, it’ll make our job easier.”
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