Injury plays hand in Parish’s form
AFTER Essendon’s poor start to the season, Darcy Parish was one of the sacrificial lambs.
By his admission, the midfielder’s form had not been where he would have liked, nor his fitness, and Parish was one of five changes made after Round 8 — at which point the Bombers had slipped to 2-6 after a loss to arch rival Carlton.
There was no pulling the wool over the eyes of the Essendon coaches, who gave him a “clear message”.
Gathering 32 disposals and laying five tackles in his first VFL game was a solid start, but after he pushed for an AFL return in his second game back in the twos a problem was discovered.
The country boy from a sheep farm at Wensleydale near Winchelsea had unknowingly played through a broken thumb that required surgery, putting him on the sidelines for six weeks.
On one hand you could describe the injury as a setback, but on reflection Parish sees it differently, having discovered career-best form since his Round 17 AFL return.
“It was a mini pre-season,” he said of the six-week spell on the sidelines.
“With the hand surgeries you can still do plenty of running and fitness stuff, which is great, and I didn’t miss out on too much of that other stuff with the ball handling. But it was great just to run and get my fitness base up to the required level.
“I think it helped me with this good form of late, getting the running in.”
Parish has averaged 23 disposals and four clearances since his return, playing a key part in Essendon’s return to form that has seen the Bombers win four of their past five matches.
They have been positive signs for the 21-year-old, who was the No.5 pick in the 2015 national draft and the Bombers expect to only get better.
“During that period of his injury he was working on those aspects of his game that we wanted to see when he came back into the side,” Essendon coach John Worsfold said.
“I think Darcy’s definitely taken steps forward and still got a lot of upside left.”
Parish has been working closely with midfield coach James Kelly and performance coach Hayden Skipworth.
“I was speaking to ‘Kel’ the other day actually and this is probably the best patch of footy that I’ve played with Essendon so far,” he said.
“Third year in the system I’m starting to find that belief and I really want to make my name.”
Soon to move into a new home in Coburg, Parish has settled in well to city life but has not forgotten his roots.
He bought a flock of 30 sheep he runs alongside father Glen’s 800-odd on the family farm at Wensleydale, trips back to see the family and attend to the flock very much cherished.
“The boys give it to me around the club because they don’t think I’ve been to the farm once in my life. They think I’m a city slicker for sure,” Parish said.
“But I love getting back to the farm and there’s always going to be that soft spot I think.”