When the Sydney Swans play Greater Western Sydney in the stand-alone start to the AFL season, young gun Luke Parker will have a fair idea of what to expect.
The midfielder boasts more big-game experience than most 19-year-olds but moreover he's one of few Swans players to have inside knowledge of GWS.
Parker, who was a revelation this year after being selected with pick No 40 in last year's draft, played his under-18 football with the Dandenong Stingrays.
The club has long been a hotbed of AFL talent, so it'll be no surprise when the Giants' youthful team for round one comprises plenty of Parker's former teammates. GWS pre-listed former Stingrays midfielders Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar and took Matthew Buntine and Nick Haynes in the first round of this year's draft, while former No 1 pick Tom Scully is its most prized recruit.
Parker, who played under Scully in 2009, knows just how much of a boon his former skipper will be for the Giants.
"When the team needed a bit of a lift, he was the one that got us going," Parker said. "He wasn't always the loudest bloke out there, but just the way he went about it (was impressive)."
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Last Modified on 20/12/2011 09:16
