Parish likes Bombers' direction as he weighs up future

Darcy Parish says Essendon's positive direction under new coach Brad Scott is "absolutely" starting to sway him as the high-profile free agent weighs up his AFL future.

Parish is one of the competition's most prolific ball-winners and remains a priority re-signing for the Bombers as he comes out of contract at the end of the season.

The 25-year-old is intent on "letting my footy do the talking" as he puts contract talks on the backburner.

Essendon's impressive start to a fresh era with Scott at the helm seemingly puts the club in the box seat to retain the 2021 All-Australian midfielder's services despite strong interest from rivals.

"I've had nothing but respect for Scotty and what he's offered to the group so far in just this short period of time," Parish told reporters on Wednesday.

"You can see the direction where he wants to head and he's made our game style a lot clearer and given us a lot of direction as a group.

"Now it's just about believing and trusting what he's putting forward and you can definitely see that amongst the group.

"I'm really enjoying what he's putting forward and the relationship that we're building."

Parish, originally from Winchelsea, was a No.5 draft pick from the Geelong Falcons in 2015.

He returned to his roots on Wednesday to promote the annual 'Country Game' festival in the build-up to the Bombers-Cats fixture at the MCG on Sunday.

Geelong are among the clubs reportedly keen to lure Parish away from Essendon, where he has played 138 games over seven seasons.

St Kilda are also reportedly setting themselves up for a raid on top-end talent this year.

"There's always going to be chatter from any club and I grew up down here (near Geelong) obviously but I've loved my time at Essendon and grown a home up there as well in Melbourne," Parish said.

"I'm enjoying myself so what will be, will be."

Parish welcomed the prospect of captain Zach Merrett returning to bolster the Bombers' midfield against Geelong after he missed the Anzac Day defeat to Collingwood.

"We missed him a little bit," Parish said.

"He's such a great player for us and we've built a really strong connection, me and him, over the last couple of years."