‘Obsession’ driving veteran Swans coach
Sydney veteran Luke Parker says an ability to “clear out the rubbish” is keeping John Longmire at the top of his coaching powers and on the verge of another preliminary final.
The SCG clash against the winner of Port Adelaide and Hawthorn in a fortnight’s time will be the Swans’ sixth preliminary final appearance in 14 years under Longmire.
Parker, who was drafted ahead of Longmire’s first season in 2011 and has never known another senior coach, said not getting carried away with trends had helped his mentor keep the Swans on track.
“I think for him, like most coaches they’ve got an obsession … he continues to research what’s standing up in football at what period and what are the important things,” Parker told SEN on Monday.
“At times you can go searching for little areas to improve to your game, but when you really get the basics right and sometimes when you go off-path, all you need to do is bring it back to basics.
“That’s what I think he’s really good at – clearing out a bit of the rubbish sometimes and technical stuff, really just dialling it back to basics and what’s going to stand up in finals.
“The biggest thing for him is even when we were 13-1, he was just looking for ways to improve and not getting complacent – that’s the biggest thing that’s stood up this year.”
After starting in four consecutive games and entering the finals with a pair of three-goal hauls to solidify his spot, Parker said he had never doubted he would be sidelined during September.
He said he had been challenged by doing “three pre-seasons in a year” after missing more than two months with a broken arm at the start of the season before he was suspended for six weeks for a high bump in the VFL.
The 31-year-old’s prolonged stint in the VFL had come through a reluctance from the Swans to play him as a forward, which was where he eventually returned.
“I always thought I’d keep knocking on the door to put my name in contention,” Parker said.
“There’s always doubts on whether you fit into the team, but for me personally, I knew come this time of year I always play a pretty big role. I know what the experience is like and I can help the boys.
“I had immense belief in myself that I’d be around this time of year.”
Parker again refused to rule out moving to a second club at the season’s end, suggesting it would depend on what on-field role Sydney’s coaches could see for him beyond the finals series.
“At the moment, I’m contracted at Sydney, I’m looking forward to this finals series,” he said.
“You can never rule out what the future looks like … at the end of the year, I’ll sit down and talk to the coaches and footy club about what the future looks like.
“That’s part of what my manager’s doing, I said I’ll focus on football, you do what you do – I’m just focusing on footy.”
