‘I had faith’: From Friday nights in Frankston to another grand final for Luke Parker

Luke Parker’s AFL career has been smooth sailing from pretty much day one. That’s not to dismiss all the little challenges that pop up routinely in professional sport, the unspoken battles that take place behind closed doors that the rest of the world never hears about. But since making his debut for the Sydney Swans in mid-2011, he has barely missed a game, except for a couple of minor injuries here and there and a single, one-match suspension he served last year.

That was all before this year. A bit like buses, so many bigger challenges have come at once for Parker in 2024: the broken arm he suffered in pre-season, the most significant physical ailment he has ever had to deal with as a footballer, and then his weeks-long battle to break into Sydney’s best 23 once he’d recovered. You might say it got the better of him, if his high hit on Frankston player Josh Smith in the VFL back in May – on the same night the Swans smashed Carlton in front of a packed SCG – was an expression of his inner frustrations.

Parker was sidelined for six weeks, and his long exile from the Swans’ AFL ranks prompted a previously unfathomable thought: that it might be in his best interests to wear a different guernsey next year. As his younger teammates were flying high on top of the ladder, he couldn’t get a look-in, and speculation was rife that a team like North Melbourne, who could do with his veteran expertise, would come in for him at the end of the year. They still might, and Parker has done little to douse such chatter in the few times he’s been asked about it.

Since coming back into the team in round 18, though, Parker has proven himself an indispensable part of the puzzle for Sydney, and learned a few things about himself along the way.

“I had faith,” he said. “There was still a lot of time left in the season. I’ve got an immense belief in myself and I knew I was going to give it a crack and hopefully keep knocking on the door.

“I’m proud of myself to go through that journey this year. I’ve probably done a lot of self-growth and work on myself and I feel like I’m really primed for this moment, primed for this time of year.

“If you thought I was going from Frankston on a Friday night, somehow to a grand final at the end of the year, I’ll take it. It doesn’t matter what the journey is, I hope I’m there on the last day of September.”

Parker helped swing Friday night’s preliminary final against Port Adelaide, his move to match-up on former teammate Aliir Aliir – whose intercept marking was causing a few issues for the Swans in the opening term – helping take him out of the equation.

“He’s such a crucial player for them,” Parker said.

“I’ve been playing a little bit deeper forward, probably trying to get a mismatch at times – this week playing on their biggest defender as a Collingwood six-footer. He’s a strong bugger. I thought we dictated the game really well off that. I probably didn’t get involved a whole heap, but in terms of what to do for the team, I thought it helped change the game.”

This will be Parker’s fifth grand final. He is the last remaining member of Sydney’s 2012 premiership team – he was the substitute that day – but also played in their losing 2014, 2016 and 2022 sides.

But this year’s Swans model, he believes, is more mature and more equipped to tackle what’s in front of them.

“I won my premiership 12 years ago, so I’ve been on a long journey since I missed out on a couple and we’re just embracing each moment,” he said.

“I think the main thing for us is we’re not writing the story before it’s written. The mental side of things, we’re really confident in who we are and the style that we play and under pressure games, I think we’ve shown ourselves to improve in that area.

“Probably a few years ago, we were playing off confidence and just on a roll, but I think now we’ve really matured as a team, understanding what’s needed at different times of the game. We’re just embracing playing to a system, playing for each other and letting each other shine.”

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