IN 2019, it was heartbreak. In 2020, it was overwhelming joy. In 2021, it was an out-of-body experience.
Luke Parks’ journey in football is only just beginning, but it has certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences for the rookie.
Parks, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday, recently spoke to the AFL Players website about everything he’s endured in his career over the last 18 months.
Originally hailing from Sydney, Parks’ move to the SANFL to play for Glenelg has been oft told on this website since he arrived at the Blues as a rookie last December.
It was in stark contrast to his emotions a year prior, and he thought things were going a similar way when his name went uncalled in 2020’s marathon national draft.
Then, his phone buzzed on Thursday 10 December, and it was - in an instant - all worth it.
“I saw the call from Mick Agresta to tell me that I’m a Blue, and I shed a tear. I was absolutely overwhelmed, it was crazy,” Parks said.
“I was pretty flat [on the night of the 2020 NAB AFL Draft]. I thought ‘I’ll guess I’ll have another year in the SANFL and we’ll see how that goes.
“I went to work the next day and was following [the rookie draft] pretty closely. I was shaking, to be honest.”
If he thought that was good, it picked up a gear when - in the lead-up to Carlton’s game against Fremantle in Round 3 - he walked into the team meeting room.
Singled out by his teammates for his defensive work ethic and appetite for the contest, Senior Coach David Teague informed Parks (and the entire playing group) that the first-year Blue would debut at Marvel Stadium.
While he missed the weekend’s action due to a low-grade hamstring strain, it was that refusal to get beaten which stood out in Parks’ first two games of his AFL career so far.
“My heart just dropped. It felt like my brain came out of my body for a second,” he said.
“You think about it all through school and all through life, and that’s the moment, you’re going to do it. I was absolutely ecstatic.”
For the full interview, including Parks’ recollections of his first game and what he’s learned from his debut year so far, click here.
