Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Gregory Parke

Known as
Greg Parke

Born
18 April 1948

Died
25 September 2021 (aged 73)

Occupation
Police officer

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 20y 2d
Last game: 29y 131d

Height and weight
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 85 kg

Senior clubs
Melbourne; Footscray; Norwood; Fitzroy

Jumper numbers
Melbourne: 26
Footscray: 1
Fitzroy: 4

Recruited from
Melbourne (1974); Footscray (1976); Norwood (1977)

Greg Parke

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
MelbourneV/AFL1968-19731191691.4237%12.204.578.8233
FootscrayV/AFL1974-197537561.5157%13.223.467.953
NorwoodSANFL197618321.78—————
FitzroyV/AFL197715171.1333%7.804.005.474
V/AFL1968-1975, 19771712421.4241%12.044.288.3440
SANFL197618321.78—————
Total1968-19771892741.45—————

AFL: 8,019th player to appear, 995th most games played, 297th most goals kickedMelbourne: 864th player to appear, 127th most games played, 35th most goals kickedFootscray: 630th player to appear, 324th most games played, 122nd most goals kickedFitzroy: 937th player to appear, 535th most games played, 261st most goals kicked

Hailing from Bentleigh, Greg Parke joined Melbourne in 1968, and soon developed into a fine centre half forward. Especially renowned for his superlative high marking, he led the VFL in marks taken in 1970 with 238, which at the time was a record for that particular statistic since reliable records had begun in 1965, and would remain so until 1980, when narrowly overhauled by Gary Dempsey, who took 241. 

Parke topped Melbourne's goal kicking in 1972 with 62 goals, but began to struggle for consistency after that and was transferred to Footscray in 1974. He produced many fine performances for the Bulldogs and was a leading light in the club's 1974 finals campaign. Parke finished his career with a season at Norwood in 1976, followed by a season with Fitzroy. In all, he played a total of 189 league games,  comprising 119 with Melbourne, 37 for Footscray, 18 at Norwood, and 15 for Fitzroy.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.