PARKER TO BARKER

Less than two months after being part of North Albany’s third-straight Great Southern Football League premiership over Mt Barker, key forward Daniel Parker will line up for the Bulls in 2017.

Parker won the Sean Plaistead Medal in 2016 after kicking 58 goals in the regular season, his second time winning the award, and has bagged 242 goals in the past four seasons with the Kangas to be the league’s most damaging forward over that period.

The Bulls made a fairytale run to this year’s grand final after winning 10 straight matches, including a four-point semifinal win over the Kangas, before eventually losing an epic grand final by three points.

Parker could help boost the Bulls’ goalkicking stocks, with Mt Barker averaging 72 points a game last season compared to North Albany’s 82. Bulls coach Shane Thompson said the club was happy to have Parker lining up in its forward line in 2017.

“We had a meeting with him and he’s decided to come across so we’re rapt to have his services for next season,” he said

“He’s come off a pretty good season and he should slot nicely into our forward line alongside the likes of Lee and Ballard.”

The 22-year-old says he plans to spend a year with the Bulls before trying his luck at WAFL level.

“I’m hoping to get myself fit and add something to the Bulls’ forward line,” he said. “Hopefully I can have a good season and kick a few goals and we can have a pretty potent forward line.”

Parker said he was looking forward to the change of scenery.

“There’s no hard feelings with North, it’s just the way things have panned out. I’ve been there for six years now, so it will be good to change things up.” he said.

Kangas coach Craig Dew said it was tough to see Parker go but indicated it would make his side’s forward line unpredictable.

“Daniel has been an important part of three premierships, so it’s sad to lose him and we wish him all the best,” he said

“Although it’s a negative for us to lose Daniel, it obviously opens things up for other blokes in the forward line and it makes us more unpredictable.”