#3 Darcy "Darcy Parish" Parish - Shiel can play forward pocket instead

Oirish is a natural attacking wingman for mine, not a mid-sized defender.

1 Like

Yeah, definitely seemed to be McKennaā€™s spot if heā€™s on the field (when visible is was always McKenna except for once at the opening bounce, and once it was Saad).

He had two really good games and one bad one and you are calling him out for it. He has Heppell (26 & 156), Zerrett (23 & 103), Shiel (26 & 135), Smith (25 & 109), Zaka (29 & 191), Myers (29 & 106) all in the same position as him, all older and more experienced. Parish is 21 with 55 games, as a reference Clayton Oliver is also 21 and has played 60 games so he isnā€™t really missing too many games.

He isnā€™t cementing his place in and under because he is not really being played in that position. At the TAC he was averaging 28 disposals with an average of 16 contested. He knows how to get the ball and was highly rated for it. I assume that he is being taught a more wider game than solid centre because the coaches think we already have enough inside players

In 2 years I expect him at their level, if not then you can say he has not worked.

7 Likes

It would be interesting to see if McKenna starts on the wing as much when Zaharakis plays.

1 Like

Agree.

Some great posts here.

I reckon we are also a bit harsh on Parish. Just cause a guys a high draft pick we think he is gonna be a super star. He needs to play his role & will get better for the run.

Agree that our defending on kick outs is terrible. They were able to go right up the guts without being touched.

If we can sustain the pressure during the Pies game we are a real chance.

So Parish only started wing/midfield 25% of the time. I wonder what the statistical output would be if it was above 50%?
Before the game I thought he would be used more in the middle with smith and Zaka out but they seemed to go with Merrett, Heppell and Shiel more time. Things may change over the next 3 weeks with a 6 day break this week and then Geelong and Sydney within 5 days. Will they share the load or go with selected group each week?

image

That is absolutely slanderous.

My keyboardā€™s green.

3 Likes

missing the R & B of RGB?

I love the experts on here.

Coaches are wrong for not putting him in the midfield more, even though our midfield absolutely destroyed North and effectively won us the game? Right.

Or maybe players are being managed over a very difficult period with tough games and lots of travel, and based on what match ups benefit the side most at centre bounces? Or maybe his role is to start outside but work up into the middle after the clearance?

I like Darcy. I think heā€™s one of the guys that is consistently clean in traffic, tries to take the game on, has good hands and puts his head over the ball, but to suggest coaches have ā€œgot it wrongā€ when we absolutely smashed North is pretty fkn stupid.

4 Likes

For 10 years it was ā€œhope Watson wins the clearance and gets it out to Stantonā€. Now we actually have a number of quality mid options.

And not by accident either, the coaches have methodically developed a lot of these guys.

2 Likes

Yepā€¦ and I think we actually have the luxury of managing some of the players now too. We basically just worked the same 4-5 guys into the ground over the last decade but now have a lot of rotations able to go through the middle.

Shiel has been having some dominant first halves and thenā€¦ doesnā€™t start the third quarter in the centre. Weā€™ve got to keep the team fresh until September, which means the likes of Parish will get their chances when it suits, till then heā€™s just got to play a role.

1 Like

I think Parish should be played at more clearances because that seems to be where he plays his best footy. If the coaches are managing him, and he plays more in the middle as other players get rotated around, then that will play out in the next couple of months.

If they are developing him in some way thatā€™s unintuitive to me, then ok. If theyā€™re right, and Iā€™m wrong, itā€™ll play out in the next year or so. No problem.

But if they keep playing him away from his best position, and then keep dropping him for being a worse than average HFF, then that feels like mismanagement to me.

Like you say, I think he is clean in traffic, takes the game on, has good hands and puts his head over the ball. I just also think those attributes are best served at clearances.

2 Likes

I get that and agree to a large extent, but what Iā€™m saying isā€¦ I play my best footy in the forward pocket, should I be recruited and we drop Orazio for me?

The coaches got our midfield 200% right and have done for the past three weeks. Parish may play his best footy in the midfield, but for the team, thatā€™s not his best position right now. I am pretty sure itā€™s going to end up being he gets more time through there but it depends on workloads and match ups more than anything.

1 Like

He and Brown need to bulk up more, right?

Weā€™d all love for parish to consistently get 25+ and hit the scoreboard. And I believe if he was playing as a main man mid, heā€™d probably be doing that. And we, as a result, wouldnā€™t be questioning whether he was worth pick 5.

The simple reality is that all our onballers canā€™t be winning that much footy. Even McGrath, who was a ball magnet as an underager (averaged 32 in his TAC cup year) is getting low 20s this year. Granted heā€™s been mighty damaging of late with that amount of ball.

Sure, when Parish gets the chance to kick weā€™d like him to be a little more incisive. But when he wins the ball in tight he is clean and generally pretty creative with the handball. Heā€™s currently a role player in our midfield. Which is no shame.

Whatā€™s the perfect balance of roles with Shiel, Heppell, Merrett, Parish, McGrath etc. I donā€™t know. But if weā€™re winning, and theyā€™re all contributing to the winning, thereā€™s a fair chance itā€™s all part of being a good midfield. Of which Parish is a part.

4 Likes

Yeah, I agree with that. I think the much starker example of this is Francis. I love him. But canā€™t reasonably see how he gets into the team. I think as rule though, having top rated, talented and young players either playing in the twos or having their confidence beat up playing them out of position sucks. There is probably a bigger conversation to be had about list management there.

But based on the list above of players going through the midfield, Iā€™d rather Parish have a turn over Tippa and Fantasia at least. That said, if we win by 10 goals every week, the coaches are welcome to do whatever they like. Including giving you a turn in the pocket.

1 Like

Agree with all of that.

I do think thereā€™s a case to be made for managing playersā€™ positions differently though. If McGrath spends more time in the backline, Tippa and Fantasia donā€™t go to any clearances, and even Smith starts a few more forward of centre, those positions are stronger for it. If Parish is a good midfielder but not at the standard as a HFF, isnā€™t there a case to be made for him getting more cycles through the middle and some of the others staying put? McGrath has the flexibility to do both, Parish doesnā€™t. I think we could utilise some of that flexibility to help everyone fit.

Iā€™ve just written something similar in the Francis thread about my favourite red head!

Parish shanked a kick. It cost us a goal. It happens.
His kicking is generally pretty good. Not elite, but good.
His hands are elite. I reckon he is the most creative with his hands since Jobe. And super quick. Some of his handballs over the back, or to someone in space on the side have been awesome the past few weeks, including Friday.

I doubt he is going to be dropped again this year. Hopefully never again.

I expect he will have a strong game on Thursday.

These next 2 weeks will be a great test

2 Likes