BRANDAN Parfitt has received a perfect 10 votes in AFLCA coaches voting after a career-high 34 disposal outing against the Kangaroos.
The evasive midfielder was instrumental in the Cats midfield dominance, helping Geelong gain an upper hand with a 44-26 clearance advantage.
Assistant coach Matthew Knights spoke of Parfitt's importance to the midfield mix, plain for all to see after he missed the previous round’s defeat at the hands of Melbourne.
“He’s a little bit of a point of difference,” Knights says.
“A midfield group has to have a lot of variety in there and Brandan provides contested ball wins and he’s a really strong tackler, he gets on the opposition really quickly the way he closes space.
“He’s not only good from an attacking or contest point of view, defensively he’s outstanding for us and he was on the weekend."
Parfitt has the innate ability to make his opponents miss, something which is becoming a real weapon for the Cats.
“He’s very strong through his hips and has a lovely sidestep so he’s got a couple of good attributes to make the tackles miss,” Knights says.
“When you make the tackles miss usually that causes problems for opposition defences because he’s beaten one and usually something else opens up.
“I think he’s really worked at his game, when to use the first option and then when there’s nothing else on to back himself to evade and move away from tackles.
“Having that as part of his game is usually very valuable for him and the team.”
The 26th overall pick in the 2016 National Draft is starting to hit his straps in his fifth season on the club’s list.
“Brandan’s game has been building over the last two or three years,” Knights says.
“He’s endeavouring to add different elements to his game. I think even on the weekend we saw him really break out into space at times and run and carry the ball which he’s really tried to add over the pre-season.
“That doesn’t happen every game but over the weekend he got some opportunities to run and carry the ball and get through the lines and I thought he did that really well.”
Parfitt’s hefty stat line of 34 disposals, seven tackles and eight clearances against the Roos is a testament to his development.
“To come away with eight clearances and a number of tackles was really pleasing,” Knights says.
“The best thing about Brandan is I think he made his touches really count and certainly was a big part of our metres gained from stoppage on the weekend.
“For him to be able to penetrate from stoppage and get the ball forward was a massive focus for us and he certainly helped our cause.”
