Latest news with #DarcyParish
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brad Scott says review into Essendon injury crisis won't hurt player retention or recruitment
Essendon coach Brad Scott says he won't try and 'guilt' any players unhappy with the club's high performance program or lack of success into staying amid reports the Bombers' injury crisis could spark an exodus. But he also declared any suggestion contracted players, including the likes of Kyle Langford or even captain Zach Merrett, could leave because of the issue was a 'moot point' given their commitment had been made. The Bombers have experienced what Scott called a 'perfect storm' of injuries, with a combination of bad luck as well as some 'controllable' injuries cruelling his team's season and sparking a review into all aspects of their high performance program. Several stars, including Darcy Parish and Langford, have had repeat issues, with best-and-fairest winner Parish getting onto the field for just three games in 2025. Scott said he had a 'high degree' of empathy with frustrated players but also a 'high degree of confidence' in those entrusted with keeping the players on the field. 'Having conversations with Darcy Parish and Kyle Langford at the moment, they are very frustrated and understandably so. They go into some deep, dark places,' Scott said on Wednesday. 'But I can also assure them you come out of it. 'If you look at our injuries throughout the year, the injuries you probably get frustrated with as a player, a coach and a club are what we categorise as preventable or controllable. 'Recurrence of injury fits into that category. 'We've got a bit of a perfect storm in terms of you can't lay blame at anyone's feet for Jye Caldwell being taken forward in a tackle and rupturing the syndesmosis. The same with our ACLs that were non-contact. 'There's a lot of things that would fit into the category. After all the work that has been done to assess, (some) would be put in the disappointing but unlucky category, and some others that are not in that category. We have a combination of all those things.' Amid the injury crisis, Scott was adamant the club was doing a 'power of work' to create an environment for the players to be their best and wasn't concerned any outside perceptions could hit the club's recruiting or retention strategies. 'I know we are going through a difficult period at the moment and the environment you create for your players is critical,' he said. 'I have no doubt we can create the environment we want. Will that involve some change? Well, that will be for down the track. 'I think players have always got to think about what's best for your career, especially as you get to the latter stages. My attitude has always been, and when it comes to free agents, I don't overly coerce and I don't guilt or shame players into staying under some sort of guise of loyalty. 'We want to hold up our end of the bargain and want to create an environment where they want to be. 'We also commit to players and contract players. When you commit and are contracted, discussions about players assessing their futures is a bit of a moot point.'
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Losing faith': Senior players rumour swirls as Bombers reach crisis point
Essendon's injury crisis has hit new heights as the club grapples with several stars on the sidelines. And a report claims senior players at the Bombers are 'losing faith' in the club's high performance team, to the extent that players could be poached by rival clubs. Brad Scott's side has been badly affected by a mounting injury toll in 2025 including Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford and Mason Redman suffering fresh soft tissue setbacks at a training session over the club's mid-season bye. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Meanwhile Zach Reid re-injured his hamstring last week and is set for season-ending surgery and Caldwell also requires a procedure for a syndesmosis issue that puts the rest of the gun midfielder's campaign in doubt. It comes as the likes of Ben McKay, Sam Draper, Jordan Ridley, Nick Bryan, Harrison Jones, Matt Guelfi, Nik Cox and Xavier Duursma have endured long-term injuries throughout this season. Seven's Mitch Cleary revealed on Agenda Setters on Monday night 'a number of players have led concerns' off the back of the Bombers' Saturday training session a fortnight ago when Parish, Langford and Redman got hurt. Cleary said the grim situation has caused frustration to the point that it could lead to players leaving the club. 'It's my understanding that if a club was to come for a player like Kyle Langford, who has two years left on a lucrative contract at the age of 28, he would look twice at an offer from a rival club, given the frustration that has been stemming off the back of this and the repeat soft tissue injuries they've picked up,' Cleary reported. 'This is not a recent thing. This has been going for some time, but it really has ramped up since that Saturday session two weeks ago.' It comes as Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd poured more fuel on burning rumours surrounding the future of captain Zach Merrett. Despite being contracted at Essendon until the end of the 2027 season, Merrett has been linked with trades in recent months. Lloyd told Nine's Footy Classified on Monday night: 'No one would begrudge him (leaving). 'Zach will win his sixth best and fairest this year and he will have achieved absolutely everything you can at Essendon Football Club, bar playing in a winning final. 'That's what you play footy for … once your days are over all you remember is those big finals you played in, nothing else. That's what he'll never, ever have that memory of.' He said Essendon would only consider potential trades if Merrett told officials he didn't want to remain with the club. It comes as there could be changes coming to the club's high performance team as chief executive Craig Vozzo prepares to hand in findings from a deep dive into its injury woes. Cleary added that there's been 'conjecture' around the nature of the club's training session during its bye. 'There's been conjecture on whether this session was planned or not. I've spoken to the club tonight and they're adamant that this was always in the diary for them to come back from the bye on Friday, have a light session, then train fully on Saturday,' he said. 'But the rehab guys have been at the club all week. They didn't have a bye week as such. So the club is standing by the fact this has been in the diary for some time. But there has been conjecture from some parts around how hard and how much of this was planned.' Appearing on Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night, Essendon coach Brad Scott said the silver lining of the injuries was that the club could expose more talent that wouldn't have necessarily otherwise gotten a chance. 'It's like everything in life, you've got a choice how you respond to whatever situation you're in. You can mope and say: 'Poor us, poor me and my job is too hard'. Or you can get on with the job and look at the positives,' Scott said. 'The positives for us are Luamon Lual, Angus Clarke and Zak Johnston come in. All the players who have had opportunity wouldn't have had that opportunity without these injuries. 'We genuinely think we've found some players who are going to improve our team short, medium and long term. 'The aim is to keep putting a team on the park every weekend capable of getting the job done and we haven't shied away from that. There are no excuses for performances on the weekend for who's not there. 'We're still fielding 23 fit players.'
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: Essendon coach Brad Scott on Zach Reid, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford and injury opportunity
The narrative reads a little differently to Essendon coach Brad Scott. The Bombers' wretched run of injuries has deepened over the past fortnight, with Mason Redman, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford and Zach Reid all pulling up sore from training. Setbacks to Parish, Langford and Redman all occurred during the Bombers' bye week while Reid was injured at training on Wednesday. Return dates for Parish (calf) and Langford (quad) are undetermined, while Redman (hamstring) will miss at least a week. Reid was sent for scans on a hamstring issue after edging closer to a return from previous injury. Essendon has 11 unavailable for Gold Coast this weekend – nine of them serving long-term stints on the sidelines. But Scott — prior to training on Wednesday — refused to view it as a 'crisis' and said he shared the same view of the fringe players who are getting premature chances at senior level. 'That's the thing about the headlines, 'injury crisis' and all these things – I guarantee you it's not a crisis to those players who are on the fringe of selection,' he said. 'It's an opportunity to put their name up in lights and get their opportunity they've been working so hard for. 'That's the silver lining for us. It's clearly not ideal, we'd love to have better availability, but we've had players emerge who wouldn't have had their opportunity. 'Even if we did make seven changes this week, Angus Clarke wasn't going out regardless. I couldn't have said that seven weeks ago.' Parish has played just three matches this year after missing the start of the season with the same calf issue. Langford, six games, has also been troubled by a quad issue in the past. Scott admits there is a level of concern for the pair, as their injuries are a repeat of previous setbacks – but he hasn't put a line through their respective seasons. 'I've heard some people say, 'That's it for the season', that's not our attitude. We're going to rehab them as best we can and get them back playing as soon as possible,' he said. 'It leaves (Parish) in rehab again trying to get back before the end of the season. He's a really important part of our team and he come back in after a long lay-off and looked pretty sharp. 'It's a loss to us but we've got to keep pushing ahead and (Parish), with our full support, got to try get to the bottom of why he's had another recurrence. 'It's always a concern when you have a recurrence, injuries are an unfortunate part of our game. You try to minimise them as much you can, but when you have a recurrence to an existing injury it is a concern. 'We've got to deal with it, I understand the interest in it … but my focus is purely on the 23 we pick to go and get the job done on Saturday.'
Herald Sun
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
AFL 2025: Essendon set to welcome back Darcy Parish
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's a big boost for the Bombers. Essendon will welcome star midfielder Darcy Parish back for its crunch clash with Carlton on Sunday night. Parish has not played at senior level since the Bombers' final home-and-away match of last season. The All-Australian, who had sustained yet another soft tissue setback, played two matches on managed minutes in the VFL last month. Essendon coach Brad Scott said Parish's addition would provide further flexibility to the Bombers' midfield. 'We planned for this for quite some time and he's had an uninterrupted month in terms of his build,' he said. 'He played two games in the VFL, played really well, so barring an incident today he'll be available. 'It's probably one part of the ground where we do have great flexibility at the moment. It's a good thing, you want to have multiple options running through the midfield.' Darcy Parish will play for Essendon this Sunday in a welcome boost. Picture: David Crosling The Bombers used star captain Zach Merrett across half back last week in their brave loss to reigning premier Brisbane. Merrett found plenty of the ball but didn't have his usual impact, recording only two clearances and one inside 50. With their pile of injuries, particularly in defence, Scott said the Bombers could use Merrett back again. 'Look, maybe, it's a bit of a reality, Zak Johnson came in for his first game and played in defence,' he said. 'Our VFL team had a really good performance, but we didn't really have any AFL-listed players playing in defence. 'Merrett we would like to use in about four different places, he's a really flexible player. 'We'll just assess where we play him based on the opposition and what suits us best.' Essendon star captain Zach Merrett could be used across half back again. Picture:) Essendon veteran ruck Todd Goldstein will have his hands full with brilliant Blue Tom De Koning on Sunday. Scott praised the efforts of Goldstein since he resurgence back into the side and said the Bombers would only give the 335-gamer a rest 'only if we need to'. 'I've known Goldy long enough to know what he's capable of and we just monitor him really closely,' he said. 'I don't think we will go down the path of pre-planning anything, obviously have some ideas in mind. 'But most of our time will be directed towards assessing how he is recovering from games, how he's performing. I thought he was outstanding on the weekend.' The Bombers also have Vigo Visentini and mid-season draftee Lachlan Blakiston waiting in the wings. Originally published as AFL 2025: Essendon set to welcome back All-Australian midfielder
Perth Now
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Midfielder's return gives Dons ‘great flexibility'
It's a big boost for the Bombers. Essendon will welcome star midfielder Darcy Parish back for its crunch clash with Carlton on Sunday night. Parish has not played at senior level since the Bombers' final home-and-away match of last season. The All-Australian, who had sustained yet another soft tissue setback, played two matches on managed minutes in the VFL last month. Essendon coach Brad Scott said Parish's addition would provide further flexibility to the Bombers' midfield. 'We planned for this for quite some time and he's had an uninterrupted month in terms of his build,' he said. 'He played two games in the VFL, played really well, so barring an incident today he'll be available. 'It's probably one part of the ground where we do have great flexibility at the moment. It's a good thing, you want to have multiple options running through the midfield.' Darcy Parish will play for Essendon this Sunday in a welcome boost. David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia The Bombers used star captain Zach Merrett across half back last week in their brave loss to reigning premier Brisbane. Merrett found plenty of the ball but didn't have his usual impact, recording only two clearances and one inside 50. With their pile of injuries, particularly in defence, Scott said the Bombers could use Merrett back again. 'Look, maybe, it's a bit of a reality, Zak Johnson came in for his first game and played in defence,' he said. 'Our VFL team had a really good performance, but we didn't really have any AFL-listed players playing in defence. 'Merrett we would like to use in about four different places, he's a really flexible player. 'We'll just assess where we play him based on the opposition and what suits us best.' Essendon veteran ruck Todd Goldstein will have his hands full with brilliant Blue Tom De Koning on Sunday. Scott praised the efforts of Goldstein since he resurgence back into the side and said the Bombers would only give the 335-gamer a rest 'only if we need to'. 'I've known Goldy long enough to know what he's capable of and we just monitor him really closely,' he said. 'I don't think we will go down the path of pre-planning anything, obviously have some ideas in mind. 'But most of our time will be directed towards assessing how he is recovering from games, how he's performing. I thought he was outstanding on the weekend.' The Bombers also have Vigo Visentini and mid-season draftee Lachlan Blakiston waiting in the wings.
