“It put a bit of weight on my own shoulders, but I just keep trusting my teammates, my teammates trust me, and they just back me in to do what I do. I’ll just keep having fun and hopefully the results come through.
“The year before, I didn’t really have a full preseason because I was a draftee coming in, so having that full year last year of just experience learning off Joey, Eric, Charlie Cameron – I took a lot of experiences and confidence out of that, then put in a lot of extras.
“I love playing on the ’G, you dream of playing in those games as a kid. You grow up as a kid watching those games, and now to be playing in them is pretty special.”
This time last year, Morris and his fellow cohort of emerging talents were entrusted with injecting energy, flair and unpredictability to the Lions’ brand – culminating in their grand final demolition job of the Sydney Swans.
Will Ashcroft claimed the Norm Smith Medal that day, while Kai Lohmann kicked four goals to etch his name into Brisbane AFL folklore.
Loading
Jaspa Fletcher and Darcy Wilmot would join them in announcing the quintet as mainstays of the club for years to come.
They are now joined by 19-year-old trio Levi Ashcroft, Sam Marshall and Ty Gallop – who kicked his first AFL goal on Saturday night, and played key roles in covering the injury losses of Hipwood, Lachie Neale (calf), Jack Payne and Keidean Coleman (knee).
But while last year’s glory was fuelled by coach Chris Fagan’s philosophy to allow his youngsters to move on from mistakes, Morris insisted the Lions’ blossoming core could not lean on their age as an excuse on the game’s biggest stages.
“Last year we could probably get away with it a little bit, but when you keep going you get a little bit more expectation to deliver on game day. When you run out with the jumper on, no one knows how old you are, so you’ve just got to play your role,” Morris said.
“I’m very pleased with the way my game’s come along, I’ve put in a lot of work last year, in the off season and in the preseason, so it’s good to see I’m getting the results on game day.
“I still think there’s a lot of work to do, but it’s good to see I’m slowly ticking away.”
