Tigers In The Van With Morrison

[Wrenny]

One of the major Tiger positives in last Friday night's Wizard Cup victory over the Western Bulldogs, was the bold showing at centre half-forward of former Brisbane Lion player Shane Morrison.

The 23-year-old, who was taken by Richmond at pick No. 64 in the 2003 National Draft, presented himself as a strong target in the key forward post right throughout the match and helped provide the spark for the Tigers to regain the initiative in the last quarter.


Morrison kicked two inspirational goals in that final term to put the game beyond the Bulldogs' reach after they had cut a five-goal deficit at half-time to just 10 points at three-quarter-time.

He finished with match stats of 11 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks and 2 goals, which was a more than handy return on debut for Richmond.

"Shane worked hard right from the outset and in the last quarter it started to pay dividends for him," said Richmond's forward line coach Darren Crocker.

"It certainly was an encouraging first-up performance from him, and we just want him to go on with it now . . ."

Crocker believes Morrison, 193cm and 90kg, has all the attributes necessary to succeed at his second league club.

"Obviously he's really looking at grasping an opportunity of playing AFL footy on a regular basis, and there's no reason why he can't do that," Crocker said.

"He's pretty big and strong already, but is still only relatively young, and will get even bigger and stronger in time.

"He covers the ground well and he's a genuine footballer, who reads the play very well. When he gets the ball in his hands, he doesn't get flustered -- he generally makes the correct decision. And, he's a pretty good kick for goal, too, as he showed in the last quarter on Friday night."

Although it's still early days, Morrison's first-up effort in the Yellow and Black was good enough to suggest that he could well fill the bill for the Tigers at centre half-forward.

"We're hoping that he can straighten us up coming through the half-forward line," Crocker said.

"In the past, we've probably gone too far and wide, and I think he's the type of player who can just keep on giving the guys someone to go to . . . who'll make a contest and bring the ball to ground, even if he's outnumbered or if he's caught behind.

"I think he'll bring the ball to ground at every opportunity to allow the midfielders and the smaller forwards to get to work . . ."


Other Richmond player match stats from last Friday night

Tivendale: 14 kicks, 9 handballs, 3 marks, 1 goal
Brown: 19 kicks, 2 handballs, 6 marks, 1 goal
Newman: 14 kicks, 6 handballs, 8 marks
Chaffey: 11 kicks, 5 handballs, 6 marks
Coughlan: 12 kicks, 4 handballs, 2 marks
A. Kellaway: 11 kicks, 5 handballs, 8 marks, 1 goal
Fleming: 4 kicks, 10 handballs, 3 marks
Fiora: 9 kicks, 4 handballs, 2 marks, 1 goal (nine-pointer)
Houlihan: 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 4 marks
Ottens: 6 kicks, 7 handballs, 5 marks, 1 goal
Hyde: 5 kicks, 7 handballs, 1 mark
Nicholls: 6 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks
Johnson: 6 kicks, 5 handballs, 2 marks
Weller: 8 kicks, 3 handballs, 3 marks
Blumfield: 4 kicks, 5 handballs, 4 marks
Pettifer: 6 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, 1 goal (nine-pointer)
Hall: 6 kicks, 1 handball, 3 marks
Roach: 3 kicks, 4 handballs, 1 mark
Rodan: 7 kicks, 0 handballs, 4 marks, 2 goals
Schulz: 5 kicks, 2 handballs, 1 mark, 1 goal
Marsh: 0 kicks, 5 handballs, 3 marks
Stafford: 3 kicks, 2 handballs, 1 mark, 1 goal
Zantuck: 3 kicks, 1 handball, 3 marks, 3 goals

http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=134933