Essendon midfielder Darcy Parish says playing on Richmond premiership captain Trent Cotchin was a “special” learning experience in the side’s first JLT hit-out at Wangaratta on Saturday.
The young Bomber was one of Essendon’s best performers in the 87-point loss, gathering 21 disposals, winning five clearances and leading the game with 12 contested possessions.
Parish said he aspires to play like Cotchin and used the opportunity to play on the Tigers star as a chance to pick his brain.
“Cotch is an unbelievable player, (he is) someone I idolise and I’ve watched a few edits on him throughout the pre-season,” Parish said post-match.
“To match up on him and learn a few craft techniques and the way he works around the footy was pretty special, so it was a good challenge for me and I learnt a lot out of it.”
Parish said the heavy loss was a “wake-up call” for the Bombers, but was confident that the team could address its issues before the club’s second JLT Community Series game against Geelong on March 11.
“The contest was not the way we wanted to play, they were beating us on the inside and on the outside as well and our structure was thrown out a bit by our work rate,” he said.
“(There is) obviously a lot to work on and learn from, but we’ll move on and hopefully in a couple of weeks we’ll work on those things and bring them out on the ground.”
The 20-year-old says he is excited by the club’s new-found midfield depth with the addition of many midfielders such as recruits Devon Smith and Jake Stringer, and also praised the efforts of debutant ruckman Sam Draper.
“We’ve got a fair bit of depth now that can rotate through there,” Parish said.
“Seeing the big fella Sammy Draper today he showed a bit also, which is good.”
Parish commended the large crowd and quality of the ground at Wangaratta on the weekend and said Essendon fans would soon be rewarded for their support.
“We didn’t get the result for the Bombers fans today but we’ll work on it, improve and get the win soon.”
