A tale of two Eagles
Jay Clark | July 06, 2008
THERE is one simple reason for the decline this season of West Coast, according to former Eagle Mitch Morton - the loss of its captain Chris Judd.
Richmond recruit Morton says it is impossible to overestimate the impact of Judd's departure on the Eagles.
Morton, 21, failed to win the full backing of the Eagles' match committee, playing only 12 games in three years in the west, before his trade to Punt Road late last year.
The Claremont prodigy is an unabashed fan of his former skipper Judd and said he did not envisage the West Coast ship sinking as fast as it had.
"To be honest, I never saw it coming," Morton said of the Eagles' decline.
"But, in saying that, I probably understood a lot more than most people how much of a big factor the loss of Chris Judd was in the whole scheme of things.
"He is just such a fantastic player and he draws so much attention from the opposition and helps create and free up so many of his teammates.
"I have a lot of friends there (at West Coast) who I still stay in close contact with, so I wish them all the best."
Morton has thrived since crossing to Richmond, providing valuable full-time aerial support to Tigers' forward Matthew Richardson.
He has kicked at least one goal in eight of the nine games he has played for Richmond, hitting form with eight majors in his past two outings.
Morton will play against his former team for the first time next Sunday and, ironically, West Coast will view its former fringe forward as a major threat.
But Morton said he saw his return to Perth as more of a chance to help re-establish the Tigers' finals prospects - they sit six points outside the eight - rather than an opportunity to seek any personal revenge.
"I had a lot of opportunities to gain their faith (at West Coast) and I didn't, so I don't hold that against anyone," he said.
"That's just life and that's just footy, so I put my hand up and said it's not going to happen here, I moved on and best of luck to them.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Perth, but at the end of the day I'm going over there to do a job, I'm just looking forward to getting it done."
A strong family contingent will support Morton.
He is the son of Claremont premiership defender Noel, and the brother of Jarryd (Hawthorn) and Cale (Melbourne).
While the emotion of such a high stakes game, on a personal level and team front, often has the potential to overwhelm youngsters, the refreshed forward said he was feeling better equipped, with 21 games under his belt, to perform at key times.
The disappointment of fading in the last term of the Tigers' loss to Carlton in their Centenary match last weekend has only fuelled his fire.
"I'm a big believer in judging myself when the game is on the line," he said.
"I guess in the last quarter I didn't have a massive impact, but I am starting to impact games when we need us to more.
"We need to bounce back as hard as we can and the fact that it is West Coast doesn't change my attitude at all.
"We believe if we play our best footy and we work hard, that we can play finals footy, but that is up to us over the next few weeks to prove that to people."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23976400-19771,00.html