Have we seen the best of Dale Morris?

[southerncross]

I have been amazed at how well Morris adapted to senior football and each year since he started his career with us has been better than the previous one. In a team crying out for defensive accountability and a player capable of playing on both talls and smalls he really has been a gift.

History would say even the games best players plateau out eventually and while Morris hasn't done quite enough to be ranked in that elite group he has been sensational for us.

The questions I'd like to pose though are
Have we seen the best of Dale Morris?
Has he got another level of improvement in him?
Could he be used in the midfield or forward line rather than just defence?

[Hard Ball Get]

I think he can still improve. He has shown that he can play both tall and small and has the pace and fitness to take him to the next level.

I dont think the forward line suits him and I think he could push into the midfield as a defensive player but I would argue that we would get more out of him in his accoustomed defensive area.

[BulldogBelle]

He is a revelation Dale Morris, I think he will continue to improve and have another great year. He is full of determination and just sticks to his man like a glove. I would like to see him being given a stint up forward, would be interesting to see how he goes there.

[LostDoggy]

I reckon he will get even better this year he just seems to have the knack to play on any type of player. Moving him to the midfield might be the go for a short time he is the type of player you could put in most positions and he would do well. Not to sure about a forward role though. Anyone think he could cut it in the forward line?

[LostDoggy]

I reckon he will get even better this year he just seems to have the knack to play on any type of player. Moving him to the midfield might be the go for a short time he is the type of player you could put in most positions and he would do well. Not to sure about a forward role though. Anyone think he could cut it in the forward line?

The guy is one of our best already and I can't see how he can get that much better. He could improve his kicking but thats about it. You can't beat the caliber of players he has over the last two seasons and not be regarded as one of the best.

I think he is top 5 in the most important players at the club for this season.

[bornadog]

The guy is one of our best already and I can't see how he can get that much better.

I tend to disagree that he can't get better. His improvement will come from experience, ie through more games under his belt. He will become a smarter player and combined with his speed, he could become more a more attacking player instead of just being a stopper. There were glimses of this towards the end of the year where a couple of times he almost ran the length of the ground (ala Gilbee).

[Raw Toast]

I tend to disagree that he can't get better. His improvement will come from experience, ie through more games under his belt. He will become a smarter player and combined with his speed, he could become more a more attacking player instead of just being a stopper. There were glimses of this towards the end of the year where a couple of times he almost ran the length of the ground (ala Gilbee).

Yep, I reckon he's got another level to (hopefully) get to by starting to run off his opponenet when appropriate. His footskills need to improve for this but they have been getting better, and he has the speed to create a very useful option. He did nail a very nice goal on the run at some point in the year.

Not sure about him as a forward, he seems a natural defender to me and our backline has been of greater concern than our forward-line of late.

[westdog54]

The guy is one of our best already and I can't see how he can get that much better. He could improve his kicking but thats about it. You can't beat the caliber of players he has over the last two seasons and not be regarded as one of the best.

I think he is top 5 in the most important players at the club for this season.

IMO his only weakness lies in his kicking. Other than that, his challenge is to maintain his wonderful skills and speed as a defender, and to not let his opponents' improvements outstretch his.

[Go_Dogs]

His disposal at pace needs a lot of work - like a lot of players. If he could get that right, he'd be a star. He has excellent pace and work ethic, if he could be more effective in his use of skill combined with those, he'd be our best defender/back half player.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I think we've seen reasonably close to Morris' best, considering he has been able to blanket some of the Superstars of the game - but I think he has a little more to give.

His kicking needs improvement. If he's able to put his kicks to our players advantage, he'll become a "complete" backline player - if you will.

Not all players have to be attacking, I'm more than happy to have Morris be our "stopper" and not run the lines.

I don't think he has a lot of improvement left, because basically - you can't defend any better - and that's his speciality. The running, bouncing and kicking is left for Gilbee, McMahon, Griffen etc.

But - as most have outlined, and as I have said above - his room for improvement lies within his kicking.

He'll probably become a little sharper with experience too.

[Mofra]

As much as this might offend some people, I don't think Morris is a very clever footballer. He has the ticker to want to make every contest his, and has the speed & training acumen to get the best out of his body.

With a few seasons under his belt he might develop enough experience to run off an opponent more or take a few more risks. This development will make him a better player so yes, he has improvement left in him, but I doubt we will see new roles for him in the future.

Really, when a defender win 95% of his battles even when undersized, even the slightest improvement will push him close to the best defenders in the game.

[dog town]

Wouldn't say he isn't clever. There are all kinds of clever in footy. He knows how to use his body in one on ones to beat bigger opponents and cuts down the angles on leading opponents very well. To me that is clever.

[Dry Rot]

is he a bit bigger this pre-season?

[Go_Dogs]

I thought Morris really improved last year with his ability to run off his man when he had to.

[Twodogs]

I think he has a lot of improvement left in him and he's the type to identify and work on weaknesses in his game.


Kicking, Decision making, Strength are all things he can improve.