Winning a family affair for Morton
richmondfc.com.au
By Geoff Dodd
Sun 22 June, 2008
FOOTY IN 2008 has returned to being a family affair for Mitch Morton. And he couldn’t be happier.
Morton, 21, was snapped up as a father-son selection by West Coast with pick 44 in the 2004 National Draft. At that time he could well have expected that his brothers Jarryd and Cale – if good enough – would one day join him on the Eagles list and together build a western Morton dynasty in Perth.
But in 2007, the AFL changed the father-son rules.
With the stroke of a pen, the younger Mortons became ineligible because their father, Noel, hadn’t played his 150th match for Claremont in a newly-required time period (the same technicality that saw Adelaide lose rights to Bryce Gibbs).
At the end of 2006, the Eagles then overlooked Jarryd, now 19, with their first two draft selections and he was taken at pick 33 by Hawthorn, where he’s now in his second season.
The family was split.
Then, in October last year, with Morton’s younger brother Cale touted as a likely top five draft pick with destination “anywhere”, Mitch got confirmation that his desired trade to Richmond from West Coast would happen.
Within weeks, Cale, 18, was also in the Victorian capital, overlooked by both Richmond with pick two (Trent Cotchin) and West Coast with pick three (Chris Masten) and selected by the Demons with pick four in the National Draft.
The brothers who once dreamed of being teammates in Perth were now all in Melbourne - albeit with different clubs.
“Looking back three or four years and you would have thought if anything we’d all be in Perth,” Morton said after starring yesterday in Richmond’s thrilling four-point win over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
“But it’s great to all be in one city. We try to get to each others' games as much as we can and help each other out. We’re all very, very happy at our clubs, and it’s just a great experience at the moment.
“We’re just all trying to bust our guts and get a game.”
Which they are each doing very nicely.
Cale has already played 11 games in his debut season and is eighth in Melbourne’s possession count. Jarryd has secured a spot with the high-flying Hawthorn, and yesterday picked up a career-high 33 possessions in the Hawks loss to the Kangaroos.
And Mitch booted a career-best five goals in the Tigers win over the Power, as well as keeping Peter Burgoyne to just 14 possessions in a role as a defensive forward.
It was an achievement Morton relished sharing with his new ‘family’ – the young Richmond forward line, including Jack Riewoldt and Cleve Hughes.
“We’ve got a really good connection down there,” Morton said.
“Jack, Cleve and I have played a bit together at Coburg. We try to work together, and we seem to play good footy when we’re all in there.”
Asked about his own role, Morton maintains the team focus.
“I’m just willing to play my part, and if helps in getting the four points then I’m happy with it. I started with a defensive role on Peter Burgoyne. I was just trying to do that to the best of my ability, and was lucky enough to get out a couple of times in the first quarter and kick a couple. I’m pretty happy.”
He seemed even happier, though, for birthday boy Joel Bowden, one of Morton’s childhood heroes, who returned to form with an astonishing 39-possession, 23-mark game, including a game-saver at the death.
“It’s just so good to see Joel playing that sort of footy again. He’s just so well respected and liked, and the way he holds himself is just an example to everyone down at the footy club. He’s been absolutely fantastic for me coming over. He’s made it so much easier for me, and I couldn’t speak more highly of him.”
Looking forward, Morton is setting himself for a big week in the lead-up to the blockbuster match against Carlton.
“Every game’s worth four points, it doesn’t matter if there’s 100,000 people there or 20,000 like today, but it will be a great week because we’re celebrating the history of the club, and all the players are very respectful of that history,” Morton said.
“There’s been so many great players, and I think we’re all a little excited to see them come out and get involved again. We’ll definitely be giving it a red hot dip again next week.
“When we’re on the front foot and playing attacking footy and everyone’s up and going we’re one of the better sides in the comp. It’s just a matter of how long we can sustain that for. At the moment we’re dropping off at the end of games once we’ve got out to a lead, and that’s something to fix.
“But we’re aiming to have another win next week, take a break (with the split round) and then come out firing with a surge to the end of the year.”
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=61951
