By: Daniel Cencic
Twitter: @DC_EFL
To play 400 games of football is no easy feat.
For Chirnside Park’s Scott Morrison, Saturday will mark the big milestone at 43 years of age.
In a career which began in the junior ranks playing school footy for St Peter Julian’s, followed by donning the navy blue in the Croydon under-14s, 26 years have passed since Morrison began under-18s in 1992.
The 400-gamer would captain the Blues’ under-18s in his second year at that level, after an offer with TAC Cup club the Eastern Ranges presented in his first year – but the stalwart refused to leave Croydon, and soon after began his senior career in 1994.
“It (Croydon) was home,” Morrison said.
“I knew everyone there and just enjoyed being around my mates and that’s what footy was all about – it wasn’t about the dollar and having a good time and doing the best for your club and the jumper that you wear.
“That’s what footy is lacking a bit these days – it’s more what you can get from every club whereas back in those days you used to play on a Saturday, have a few beers and it was like a second home I suppose.
“I was lucky to play with a lot of guys in a real family environment who I’d become really good mates with am still am today. We grew up together and it was a really close-knit group.”
15 years at the Blues would see 302 club games amassed in total, with a club best and fairest and a life membership for services to the club along the way.
But there would be perhaps the most fulfilling chapter of Morrison’s career to come, transferring to Chirnside Park in 2010.
A reserves premiership that season for Morrison would end a run of seven losing grand finals throughout his career, much to his relief.
“The writing was on the wall when they (Croydon) dropped a lot of the mature players and we looked at it and a couple of others decided to come across,” Morrison said.
“I got injured during the year, carried osteitis pubis through the year in 2010 but was lucky enough to play in a winning grand final side with my close mates.”
Coming up against the undefeated North Ringwood, Morrison remembers that preparation was far from ideal leading in.
“I was actually pretty crook the week before, a couple of us got the flu and we were quarantined from the rest of the boys,” he said.
“I’d played in a few grand finals over the years and this one just felt right, it was a very heavy, wet day at Ringwood, and North Ringwood were undefeated.
“As a group, we just knew what we had to do.”
Captaining the under-18s at Croydon all those years ago has helped Morrison with his move into the coaches’ box, guiding the Panthers’ reserves from 2011-2013, and the under under-19s since 2016.
“That was something new to me and I thought it was a good opportunity to do that and it’s something that helps me today coaching, helping the under-19s boys come through,” he said.
“Hopefully on Saturday I’ll get to play with a few of the boys that I’ve coached and it means a lot, I was lucky I had a lot of really good people through my career as coaches and I just wanted to give something back, and that’s the best way I know how.”
Morrison says he is grateful for the coaches he’s had across his 400-game career.
“I can’t thank ‘Davo’ (former Chirnside Park coach Brett Davidson) enough for everything he’s done over the years and he’s been a great inspiration to me,” he said.
“I’ve had Mark Evans and Greg Freemantle, so I’ve been pretty lucky over the years and I suppose I’ve taken a bit off every single one of them in a way.”
Family has played a major role in Morrison’s longevity, with mum and dad there every step of the way, as well as his wife and two children and best mate, Craig.
Since first turning out for the Croydon reserves and seniors in 1994, Morrison also believes luck with injuries has been on his side to last 25 seasons, as he hopes to play for as long as possible.
“My dad’s always been a massive support, I don’t know who’ll be more upset when I hang them up, me or him,” he said.
“As long as I can keep playing and having an impact, I’m happy to do it.”
