Luke Parker (Australian footballer)

Luke Parker

Luke Parker being interviewed by Fox Footy commentator Anthony Hudson in 2015.
Personal information
Full name Luke Parker
Date of birth (1992-10-25) 25 October 1992
Original team(s) Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 40, 2010 National Draft
Height / weight 183 cm / 85 kg
Position(s) Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current club Sydney
Number 26
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011– Sydney 127 (103)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights

Luke Parker (born 25 October 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

He made his debut in Round 8 of the 2011 AFL season against Port Adelaide.[1] He received his first career Brownlow Medal vote in the Swans' Round 16 victory over the Gold Coast Suns where he had 26 disposals and kicked two goals.

It was an impressive debut year from Parker playing as small, tackling forward and in the midfield. He was compared to his teammate Jude Bolton, due to his hardness at the contest, strong tackling and ability to win contested possession.[2]

The young midfielder took a significant step forward in 2013, moving from a regular substitute at the back end of the previous season to a dangerous and highly valued member of the starting line-up. Playing every game, he averaged 21 disposals and five marks and proved a more than handy forward, finishing with 22 goals.

In 2014, Parker further made his mark on the team becoming the youngest player since Michael O'Loughlin in 1998 to be awarded the Bob Skilton Medal and the Paul Kelly Players’ Player award which is voted on each week by the playing group.

In 2015 Parker won the Robert Rose Award for the AFL’s Most Courageous Player.[3] Unfortunately his season ended prematurely when he suffered a fractured fibula when had his right leg twist awkwardly in a tackle against Collingwood in round 20.[4]

Parker has made a strong comeback into the 2016 season being awarded the Brett Kirk Medal (Sydney Derby - Best on Ground) in round three.[5] He won the Most Courageous Player award for the second year running and polled second in the Brownlow Medal with 26 votes, only beaten by Patrick Dangerfield for the Geelong Cats. He was also rewarded with his first ever All Australian honours in a career best season.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[6]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2011 Sydney 26 13 8 8 71 81 152 28 24 0.6 0.6 5.5 6.2 11.7 2.2 1.8
2012 Sydney 26 19 5 5 140 164 304 54 53 0.3 0.3 7.4 8.6 16.0 2.8 2.8
2013 Sydney 26 25 22 12 265 259 524 76 125 0.9 0.5 10.6 10.4 21.0 3.0 5.0
2014 Sydney 26 25 25 14 286 362 648 104 151 1.0 0.6 11.4 14.5 25.9 4.2 6.0
2015 Sydney 26 19 18 14 219 267 486 65 40 1.2 0.8 11.6 14.5 26.1 4.0 5.0
2016 Sydney 26 26 25 18 330 369 699 90 170 1.0 0.7 12.7 14.2 26.9 3.5 6.5
Career 127 103 71 1311 1502 2813 417 613 0.8 0.6 10.3 11.8 22.1 3.3 4.8

References

  1. ↑ Adelaide dump three players for clash with Suns
  2. ↑ Bolton's record run spoiled, but Parker makes presence felt
  3. ↑ "Sydney Swan Luke Parker the AFL's Most Courageous". AFLPA. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  4. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-15/season-over-for-parker-as-swans-count-cost
  5. ↑ "Luke parker wins the brett kirk medal for best on ground. #goswans #aflswansgiants - scoopnest.com". Scoopnest. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  6. ↑ "Luke Parker stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.