Mitch Morton - A bit of praise from the bleaches

[Primmy]

As its been bye week I have been watching reruns and basking in the glory and home made soy latte's (you gotta get one of those nespresso thingies with the milk fluffer!).

One of the major things I have looked at is the way Mitch Morton is playing in 2013. He is involved in the whole game, he is aware of his teammates, placements, etc, and he enjoys their successes almost as much as Jesse does. He is looking a hell of a lot more relaxed, and instead of compounding any mistakes and making things worse by playing selfish footy, he is getting the little things right, contributing to the team with 1%ers, as well as letting the game unfold.

He looks to be now outwardly involved in the whole team, not so much concentrating just on his own position, and he is making almost as much noise as Shaw! its kind of fun to following his progress this year.

Deserves a pat on the back for getting his head right and working out that, after all is said and done, its a game and its supposed to be fun.

[Dosser]

What I think is a lot of fun is that he is 50/50 on a set shot, but as soon as he wheels onto the right foot and hooks it around his body he always nails it. That is the kind of thing that will make him a part of Swans folk-lore.

[DamY]

Morto's been getting a bit of criticism about his poor set shots and lack of goals, but I think we haven't been one to go to a dominant forward since Barry Hall. I haven't looked myself but I am sure Morto is doing a lot of structural stuff or stuff off the ball. If he wasn't, I am sure he'd be dropped. I do have a soft spot for him, I love his backstory.

[Jewels]

I have developed a huge soft spot for him also and I now consider him our good luck charm but I'm very worried he is going to lose his place in the team this week with Tippett confirmed as in and the likely return of Sam and Jetts.
I just can't see who else the third out could possibly be to make way for them all.

[DamY]

I thought Sam was another week away?

[Industrial Fan]

There aren't many current players to have won a flag after playing with Richmond.

A bit surreal that one of our major cultural architects was also from the Tigers.

They were silly enough to take Stafford of our hands too.

For such a crap club we've done alright out of them.

[DK_]

Agreed. He looks confident and dangerous up forward at the moment. He had a great game against Adelaide.

[poundpuppy]

I do have a soft spot for him, I love his backstory.

Same here ... I will be so upset if he loses his spot after kicking 3 goals and hitting the post with another .....

[wolftone57]

He won't lose his spot. He is a major part of our forward line now. The player most likely to be dropped unfortunately is Jesse if Sam comes back. But I would like to see Sam earning his place in the side. 'Not Quite Ready' is what people have been saying about Sam and they are quite right, he is almost there but playing as our only tall forward and only having the rucks to back him (not that they aren't good, they are great as resting forwards) up has put huge pressure on him and he always gets the premier backman. I think Jesse played really well against a quality backline and opponents. Rutten, Taglia, Smith & Shaw a pretty good line up and our forwards tore them to threads. Mind you our mids and half backs were carving them up too and that helped the forwards no end.

My point is Sammy is young and still learning the caper. He needs an experienced full time forward with him to keep him focused and take the premium backman. That will free him up and he will be 10 times more dangerous. But in saying that I think he should come back through the Twos as our depth is huge and he needs to earn his spot just like anybody else.

[royboy42]

When we got him, I remember someone from the Tigers saying how mad they'd be when he played against them if their defence didn't remember how he always tried to run off when he had a set shot.
Apparently he's always had a preference to run off the mark.
Helps his accuracy.
Sounds right to me.

[Auntie.Gerald]

even Buddy only kicks at 50% - 49% to be exact

go the Mort !

[bloodbloods]

I agree and think its actually commentators/media who are giving him grief about the goal kicking, like thats all he is good for to keep his spot in the team but he seems to be doing a lot of other things right and I remember being fairly impressed with him against Collingwood a few weeks ago for his hustling and spatial awareness in the forward line .

[Bloodthirsty]

Morton is awesome. I see some similarities to Nick Davis. Surely he is now a permanent fixture in the side.

[Swansongster]

Morton is awesome. I see some similarities to Nick Davis. Surely he is now a permanent fixture in the side.

We are seeing far more effort off the ball from Mitch than we ever saw from "Come to Save Us". Meanwhile, Nicky D was a very reliable set shot, while there remains some question marks about Morton in this area of his game.

However, I agree they both have an "X" factor and that means this No.10 should be in the starting 21 (IMHO).

[aardvark]

For Mitch to stay in when everyone's fit McGlynn, Bolton or maybe Bird would have to make way. Dropping any of them would be a tough call for the selectors. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with him taking Bolton or Birds spot. Tippett being in will make life even easier for Mitch.