I must be missing something but I simply can't understand how the club would prefer Parish to Francis. There are 2 highlights reels on Francis and in one of them he plays as a strong, tall mid, and goes forward. He kicks 4 goals, a couple involving 50m plus kicks. The next segment shows him defending, taking mark after mark. Again, disposal impeccable.I notice in the AFL highlights reel, in which he talks very movingly about the death of his brother, he says that Brendon Goddard is a role model.
I was quite unaware of this, but Goddard is the very bloke I thought of when watching the first reel.
Francis is a mature kid, who I reckon would play many games in his first season and 200 overall. To me, he represents much more of what the club needs, than Parish. Has anyone else a view about this?