Essendon is no closer to locking in Darcy Parish, several weeks after tabling a five-year deal for the free agent.
The Bombers and Parish’s management are significantly apart on key details as contract negotiations stand still with just one match remaining in the season.
The stalemate is due to three key elements.
The first is the length of the deal. Essendon will not budge on the five years it has offered, which would lock Parish in until the end of 2028.
But Parish’s camp wants a six-year contract following an All-Australian season in 2021, plus second and ninth place finishes in the last two best and fairest vote counts.
This deal would mean Parish is 32 when he comes out of contract.
For comparison, Harry Himmelberg, who is 14 months older than Parish, was slated to sign a five-year deal at GWS earlier this season, but in the last 48 hours the Giants clinched it by upping it to six years.
Essendon captain Zach Merrett signed a six-year deal in 2021,…