Making his presence felt
EVERY player in the AFL wants to be the star.
They all want to walk off the ground with a win, a handful of goals, plenty of possessions and best-on-ground honours.
It takes a particularly selfless player to find his niche to contribute to the team, especially when that niche is the grunt work of piling on pressure and laying crunching tackles.
But that is exactly the role Brandan Parfitt has decided to make his own.
A background in rugby as a youngster helped the 22-yearold become an unbreakable tackler, and in a midfield of stars who do their best work with the ball in hand, such as Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Joel Selwood, he is happy to do his bit.
“I think I have always had that mindset to lay pressure on (opponents) and I reckon I did that as a forward” he said.
“We have a lot of gun midfielders who can rack up the footy, but if I can complement them with some pressure and tackling, we will go a long way towards winning football games.”
And Parfitt has settled into that role well in 2020.
He ranks third in the AFL for average tackles with eight per game and ninth for pressure acts with 21.8 per match.
Despite having missed two out of Geelong’s seven matches, Parfitt’s 40 total tackles this year is 12 more than any other Cat.
When he grabs hold of an opponent, he makes it stick. Just ask Matt Rowell — a bruising tackle from Parfitt resulted in the Gold Coast young gun injuring his shoulder and ended his season.
With less of a chance to hit bodies and work on tackle craft under COVID-19 training restrictions, Parfitt has relied on what he knows.
“It’s been a little bit weird because we can’t do too much contact training, so you can lay it all out on the line on game day,” the Northern Territory product said.
“I grew up playing a lot of rugby, which helps.
“I think my role in the team wouldn’t be just to tackle, but at the same time, I do enjoy that aspect of the game.”
As a pair of big-name teammates in Selwood and Gary Ablett face a stint on the sidelines, Parfitt has a golden chance to step up and back up his defensive effort by finding more of the ball.
Parfitt is now fully fit after struggling through injury concerns in recent years, and Geelong coach Chris Scott expects him to keep improving.
“We’ve really liked Brandan’s year so far,” Scott said.
“It was really important he got some continuity because he’s got the capacity to be a top-line player. It’s really the continuity throughout the early part of his career that has held him back, in my view.
“Along with Cam Guthrie, those two have been really important for us. Without Joel and Gary, Quinton Narkle as well … those guys do become a little more important.”
Opportunity has knocked for Parfitt this year as the departure of Tim Kelly opened the possibility for him to get his wish to move to the midfield full-time.
While his defensive work has been outstanding, Parfitt ranks below average among midfielders for disposals, disposal efficiency and is average for clearances.
Now with even more opportunity at his door, he is ready to make a leap.
“I think I probably play my best footy as a mid, and this year with Tim Kelly leaving, I have gotten more of an opportunity to put my hand up and show that I can play mid full-time,” he said.
“With Joel not playing this week, it probably gives me an opportunity to step up.
“I have probably struggled the last few years with consistency but I suppose as a mid I have stepped up with consistency. But there is still a long way to go.”