SaberFang

I'd say the potential long-term gain outweighs any short-term pain as far as his performance goes. He could just as easily play a blinder, if he feels he owes the club for letting him visit his family.

I'm sick of all this media exposure already, and he's signed until next September. You wonder if it'll start affecting his performance if he remains under so much scrutiny, to the point where the media are starting to question if an interstate family visit could be a visit to Fremantle FC. Maybe if they keep bringing it up he'll just re-sign to get the camel off his back?

Even Hogan must realise Fremantle tying up that much of their salary cap on one player is a hideously short-sighted move. We're yet to see how the Buddy deal works out but Fremantle are hardly Sydney and they don't have the Academy protecting their success.

Amazing what happens when we get the bloody ball into him cleanly. Good to see him rebound from his 0 last week. Great work Jesse.

Oh, the irony of the whole situation. Seems like nobody is going to come out a winner there.

I just want the damn 2-in-a-row monkey off our backs.

Cannot wait to see him in the midfield with Gussy. Wow!

Hilarious to think that some posters thought we should shield him from round 1. He's Brayshaw all over again; no chance he isn't lining up against the Giants. Deadset gun in the making, this kid.

Geez, in a few years time, these guys will be a headache for opposition. Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, Petracca, who to tag?

Make no mistake though, Parish will be hailed by all and sundry as a god-like future Brownlow Medallist upon debut, because the media are incapable of saying a negative thing about the drug cheats. It's all about selling hope! Oliver won't even rate a mention because Melbourne, even if he bursts out like a bull at the gates.

Oh I agree, I'm just pointing out the futility of dwelling on the past. We can't change it so why worry about it? It is what it is.

Oh I agree, I'm just pointing out the futility of dwelling on the past. We can't change it so why worry about it? It is what it is.

We would've had Wines if they'd taken Toumpas. Sliding doors!

What happens when Heppell has his monthly Footy Show appearances representing the club? How is that fair?

Doesn't sound like a long-term contract to me. If we're offering him $700K we're lunatics. Don't turn around and [censored] when his manager puts talks off for the season.

Christ, I can't wait for him to sign his 6 year extension with Port so we can all move on with our lives.

And because the AFL are super kind to convicted drug cheats, every top up player in Essendon's list will be outside the salary cap! Certainly makes things easy.

Cotchin was putrid, along with his team, in their 2014 final. His chance at redemption was their 2015 final and the exact same thing happened, despite weeks of tough-talking from the club. That said, we haven't played finals in nearly a decade, so we're yet to see how our current team handles the pressure. What I do know is we've got a clear drafting strategy now (Oliver continues the trend); we're crafting a defensively-oriented and aggressive team. Intimidation and pressure wins finals football; two criteria distinctly lacking on Richmond's list.

Yeah, but he's the captain of one of the "big 4," so like it or not he (and countless other thoroughly average players at Richmond, Essendon, Collingwood and even Carlton) gets plenty of media attention. Marc Murphy and Brice Gibbs aren't fit to tie Jonesy's shoelaces, but you can guess who receives more PR fellatio every year.

Thanks to the club that recruited him, if he's anything less than Stephen 2.0, he'll be a disappointment. You could not be more misguided as a club.

Likewise, Carlton are doing it as well. They're already throwing Silvagni's kid to the wolves in the media. It's like the media and PR departments just can't help themselves. Anything it takes to get a few extra memberships, even if it means lumping unnecessary pressure on their 18 year old kids.

Yep, the parallels are amusing. I was listening to SEN this afternoon and the hosts were going on about top-up players. Eventually one of them said something like, "just get the kids in! Throw them into the furnace and see who thrives! They have some great young talent and this Parish kid seems like a future captain, so throw them in and see who stands up and leads their team, it'll be really exciting." I laughed. As a wise man once said, history is doomed to repeat itself.

We haven't heard much about Oliver. Conversely, Essendon can't shut up about Parish. Guess they need something for their members to look forward to.