I couldn't find this on the web so I scanned it in.....
Grab at Tiger tail
Morris to earn his stripes at Richmond
By Jesoer Fjeldstad
Sunday Mail
SUN 16 OCT 2011, Page 89
IT TOOK just one phone call to bring Steven Morris, the son of a champion, to the club he was always destined to play for.
It was the second time events fell in line with fate - or football romance - for the son of Kevin, a best and fairest and premiership player at Richmond, to land at the right place.
He has been at West Adelaide for the past four years, the club his father coached, and proudly wore the No. 38 Kevin made famous as he settled in Adelaide for the second time and became one of the most important players at the club.
Steven had been born here, while Kevin, after a VFL career at Richmond and Collingwood, coached the Bloods.
Not that he remembers much from his first life in Adelaide.
The phone call, coming just as trade week beckoned, came from Craig Cameron, Richmond's general manager of football, and it was as blunt and plain as a hammer.
``Do you want to be a Richmond player next year?'' Cameron said.
If Morris hesitated, it was only for a second, as it all sunk in. ``Yes, of course,'' he responded.
Cameron: ``I'll start working towards making it happen.''
Morris had had some control in the matter, having been pre-listed by Greater Western Sydney, but he still couldn't wipe off the smile as he got off the phone.
He was, in all likelihood, going to Tigerland, and even though he knew there would be inevitable comparisons between him and his old man he could have thought of nothing better.
``For me it's more exciting than daunting and I'm not uncomfortable with that,'' Morris said.
``Dad was obviously a very good player at a very strong club at the time but, at the end of the day, I'm just going to go out and give it my best crack. I was willing to move anywhere, but for it to happen at Richmond . . .''
HARDWICK
It's happened quickly, and Morris is grateful he won't have to go through the arduous wait of draft day - like he's done before.
He went to West Adelaide after consultations with his father and Andy Collins, who had a bond through being great footballers as well as assistant coaches together at St Kilda.
The consensus was that it'd be better to play in what is widely regarded as a better comp but, more importantly, one with men rather than stocked full of young, light aspirants.
He hasn't regretted it: Morris has loved his time at West Adelaide and was always treated like the boy who was born into the club, even though he went away with his parents and grew up across the border. There is a connection with his new coach, Damien Hardwick.
The former Bomber and Kevin knew each other from Windy Hill, but Morris has not yet had time to catch up properly with his new coach to discuss what Hardwick has in mind for him as a Richmond player.
``He probably saw me running around as a young fella when dad was coaching Essendon, as an assistant,'' Morris said. Morris is leaving within days, and will have his first briefing as they catch up again with both of them being grown men.
WHY NOW?
Morris seemed destined to play AFL football, having played in the nursery of the TAC Cup under-18 competition in Victoria and having been invited to train with Richmond, Essendon, Collingwood and Melbourne.
But after he failed to get snapped up in the draft, he looked at himself in the mirror and decided more improvement was needed.
Collins got him across, and employed him in various roles: he had been a forward as a junior, was then used as a stopper in the midfield and for most of this year he has been impressing them from the backline.
You should see him storm out from there: Morris runs in straight lines, is unafraid to take them on or take some heat, and he doesn't stop. You can't help but notice him.
He's had accolades showered over him in the SANFL this year, but there was always a mission to reach higher ground. ``If you had told me at the start of the year I'd be drafted I'd be absolutely rapt, although I've always believed that through hard work and determination I could make it,'' Morris said. ``But it's always hard for somebody 22, going on 23, to make it on to an AFL list.
``After I did my knee I certainly thought that (it was gone) but I didn't back off in my intensity of training or drop my bundle or anything like that, just because I thought it could be over.
``And then with Michael Barlow coming in, Greg Broughton, they sort of gave me hope that if I worked really hard and persisted with it, got myself fit enough, that there was hope to perhaps still make it.''
ANDY COLLINS
Hawthorn great Collins first got to know Morris well when he coached him in a representative Victorian under-23 side before he left for South Australia and liked what he witnessed.
Like Collins, one of the fiercest back pockets of the modern era, Morris was unflinching in the way he played.
He was sitting in his office at West Adelaide as Morris was getting ready to pack up and head off and couldn't have been happier for his protege.
``Great story, isn't it,'' he said. ``It's a really good lesson for every young footballer. I've never seen a boy in my coaching time that's so driven.
``He kept coming into my office asking about areas where he could improve and the side could improve.
``But it was tough for him early. His body was letting him down, in particular his legs.''
Morris came back from a knee reconstruction and trained like he never had before, fuelled by extra knowledge from becoming a qualified personal trainer and spending countless hours at the club.
SHIPPY
David Shipway is one of the most passionate West Adelaide men you can meet and spending a day at the football with him is priceless. He goes to the game for the right reasons and doesn't waste a minute talking up the good players from the Bloods.
He's known Morris since his first day, New Year's Eve, 1988, and took his dad Kevin to the hospital when he was born - and then duly took him out for a good night of celebrations.
When Morris was a young boy, he'd pester Shipway to take him fishing when the two families spent time at a shack down at Hindmarsh Island and Shipway still has a chuckle about the expeditions.
They'd load up on cockles to catch fish and Morris was so determined to come back with a catch he'd refuse to go before it happened.
Shippy, who's the first to admit he's not the best fisherman going, had to slyly tip the cockles over the side of the boat or the expeditions would last all day. ``Gee, the cockles don't last long,'' young Morris would say.
Once back, it'd take no more than an hour or two for Morris to ask Shippy to take him out again.
Shipway sees a lot of similar traits in Kevin and Steven - straight shooters who run in straight lines, honest and driven.
