Sydney star Luke Parker backs Swans midfield to respond from poor Round 1 showing against Adelaide

Luke Parker is confident the Swans’ engine room can seize the initiative and deliver a big performance against the Crows at the SCG tonight.

Luke Parker is confident the Swans’ engine room can seize the initiative and deliver a big performance against the Crows at the SCG tonight.

The midfield received some criticism following the opening round loss to the Western Bulldogs with AFL great Nathan Brown pointing to a lack of pace. But Parker, although accepting there is room for improvement, is far from despondent.

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“For us it’s just a mindset,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “I think they (Bulldogs) were really sharp around the midfield and really slick and we were probably a little bit reactive to what they were doing.

Luke Parker is wrapped up by Tim English during Sydney’s Round 1 loss to Western Bulldogs. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

“If you look at the stats over the years I think it always stands out that the midfield that’s getting on top, whether that’s contested ball or tackles or pressure, is always the team that nearly always comes out on top.

“The Crows are in the same position as us in that they’re coming off a poor loss in round one. I think it’ll be a pretty physical; fiery match. Their midfield is elite and full of elite players. They’ve got a pretty big forward line as well.

“The first game was disappointing. At the end of the day we played a quarter of footy and had a chance to win the game. So that’s the positive, I guess.

“But we’ve looked at a number of areas that we need to improve on. But there’s nothing that’s a drastic change. We’ve done it before where you can turn it around in a week.

“There were a fair few upsets last week. But you’ve got to move on. It’s one game and we’ll learn from it.

“Everyone’s recovered well from the weekend and sometimes the best thing is having a short turnaround with a six day break after a poor loss.”

Debutant Nick Blakey stretches to mark for Sydney last weekend. Picture: Michael Klein.

Parker, along with fellow co-captains Josh Kennedy and Dane Rampe, has been driving home the message to the side’s young guns not to dwell on last week’s disappointment.

“The great thing about having a young group is the excitement and the confidence they bring,” the 26-year-old said. “You have to make sure that they don’t dwell on the game before and move on pretty quick to this week. The young boys play such crucial roles at such an early age for us at the moment that we need them to be at their best, especially after a loss. “They need to go out there and have fun. As long you bring that mindset, as well as a ruthless edge, I think it goes hand-in-hand with a really good performance.”