Following a season largely hampered by injury, Darcy Parish is relishing the prospect of making his mark in Essendon’s midfield for 2025.

Parish was limited to just 12 games in 2024 due to niggling soft tissue complaints, and while his absence did allow midfield opportunities for players such as Jye Caldwell and Sam Durham to flourish, the 27-year-old is keen to be back amongst that group on-field this season.

The 162-gamer is hoping the Bombers’ emerging midfield depth can be used to their advantage this year and he wants to be right in the thick of it.

“It’s been great watching (the younger midfielders) develop on the side and hopefully I’ll get to be out there doing it with them this year,” Parish told essendonfc.com.au.

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“Hopefully they go to another strength and a new level for us, but it’s just given us a different look in the midfield. There’s a lot of us that can go through there so it’s going to be a real strength of ours.

“It’s been a frustrating last couple of years with injuries. I’ve been putting in a lot of work with the (physiotherapists) to make sure my body can manage and cope throughout the year.

“It’s all going really well so far, body and mind’s feeling really good and I’m ready to get stuck into it.”

The Bombers’ full squad returned to the track on Thursday morning following their Christmas break, hosting a solid main session with a two-kilometre time trial and a slew of competitive drills with repeat efforts a big theme.

Parish is already enjoying being back amongst the group and has a spring in his step from the energy of new faces such as Angus Clarke, who again finished first in the hotly contested time trial upon return.

“We’re excited, the boys are fizzed up to be back and it’s good to be into it,” Parish said.

“We were hoping the boys would put that work in over the off-season, running and keeping their fitness up so we could get straight into the footy stuff and that’s what we’re prioritising this pre-season.

“(Seeing the young players and recruits come in) motivates you to still perform at a high level, you see young ‘Clarkey’ today running an unbelievable time in the two-kilometre time trial.

“(There are) a lot of new and different faces within the group but they’ve fitted in really well in their first couple of weeks at the club and there’s just a bit of excitement and energy they bring.

“It keeps you on your toes and it’s great for the group moving forward.”