34 touches from him and 28 were kicks.

If anyone says that he gets cheap kicks or something negative about his game today well you just to hard to please.

He was great and boy am I excited about his future.

34 touches from him and 28 were kicks. If anyone says that he gets cheap kicks or something negative about his game today well you just to hard to please.

He was great and boy am I excited about his future.

He has something that our club sorely lacks - footy smarts! Knows where to run, looks like he has all the time in the world and more often than not he hits targets. Is quickly becoming a very, very good player for our football club!

Played a fantastic game today....

At his current level he does not have the body to win the hard ball, so uncontested possessions are fine because he uses the ball so well....

Hopefully his body develops and he can get in and under the packs to win his own ball....

Does anyone else watch him play at the moment and think "Why is Joel Bowden playing in a Melbourne guernsey"???

Took a couple of great, brave marks in the backline too.

While he looks like a terminally ill patient (he is all skin and bones, it's frightening), he sure as hell doesn't play like one.

Keeps on improving and is a real chance to become elite in a couple of years.

Does anyone else watch him play at the moment and think "Why is Joel Bowden playing in a Melbourne guernsey"???

Ugh, no!

Bowden is the most useless possession gatherer going around. Half of his possessions are the result of Richmond [censored] farting around with the ball in the back-half.

There will be some tools saying his disposal cost us the game deep in the last quarter when he turned the ball over deep from defense two times in a row.

Had nothing absolutely on and did the right thing by going down the line. Very, very smart player. Love him

I wouldn't say he didn't get cheap kicks because he does get cheap ones. But the dfference today was that he actually used them and attacked the game.

A good step in the right direciton for him.

Took a couple of great, brave marks in the backline too.

While he looks like a terminally ill patient (he is all skin and bones, it's frightening), he sure as hell doesn't play like one.

Keeps on improving and is a real chance to become elite in a couple of years.

Ugh, no!

Bowden is the most useless possession gatherer going around. Half of his possessions are the result of Richmond [censored] farting around with the ball in the back-half.

I think the Jared Rivers injury tracker has just ground to a halt mate..... fingers crossed for him though

Considering Morton still has a skinnier body then Watts - what he has achieved in his limited time in AFL is a fantastic achievement. He is all class and has really vindicated our top pick on him in 2007. A genuine star in the making - can play any position - remember he is 194 cm.

I wouldn't say he didn't get cheap kicks because he does get cheap ones. But the dfference today was that he actually used them and attacked the game.

A good step in the right direciton for him.

Yes, but every player would get cheap kicks if they could, he finds and creates space.

I think the Jared Rivers injury tracker has just ground to a halt mate..... fingers crossed for him though

We're taking a temporary break.

We'll resume our services shortly... hopefully...

Morton's disposal was poor.

His kicking still lacks much needed penetration.

Morton's disposal was poor.

His kicking still lacks much needed penetration.

His leg is likely to snap in half and fall off if he tries to kick the ball any harder. The ball weighs about the same as he does!

Morton's disposal is risky, not poor. Like TJ (and Davey!) he tries a lot of low percentage kicks, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't (sometimes they don't work because the player on the receiving end is horrible). I'm happy for him to keep taking risks, because as we get better, his risks will pay off big time, especially since he keeps on winning that ball.

I like that he's creative enough to think through situations, instead of just bombing long or going for stupid little chip kicks that end up nowhere. Bailey too, is obviously happy to keep letting him play his natural game. If you start limiting his creativity, you'll ruin him. Most geniuses are flawed

Morton isn't actually getting cheap kicks.

The difference between Morton and Bowden, for example, is that Bowden is hanging away from the play being the 'whatever, let's try again' player - Morton is constantly, and I mean constantly, running to space to offer an option and then looking for the next step along, sometimes spotting very clever options.

His endless movement to next position is one of the things getting us out of our swamps at the half back line, as surely as Davey's run and excellent kicking.

He works very, very hard for those disposals. come to think of it, that might be part of why he has that nasty habit of the outright shocker kick here and there - legs just too tired to put proper force in. Only a thought. But a nice one, in that the problem would gradually resolve itself as he gets match-hardened and learns his limitations better.

He's going to be a weapon for years, our Cale.

...

I tend to think Joel Bowden is an easy target, and is quite a bit better than he's given credit for. That said, everything you mentioned about Morton is spot on. His workrate and endurance, particularly for a young kid, is outstanding.

Added a big degree of courage today with that contested mark running back in defensive 50 too. Mightily impressive.

He played well, but some of you are kidding yourselves - a third of his touches were rubbish sideways kicks at the back.

It's the other two-thirds that I enjoyed.

Obviously he, Davey and Grimes are the designated kickers off half back. Mostly went through the corridor but when the mids stop running, they have no-one to kick to.

Missed Frawley's run and meant Morton spent more time down there kick-starting us.

He is already the best of the 3 Mortons and he has huge upside when he begins to fill out which he will. He has only played 27 games of senior footy and he will become an elite player of the competition

He is already the best of the 3 Mortons

True, but they are not exactly the Selwoods.

Just so everyone knows, my question about the similarity between Morts and Bowden was not a swipe at young Cale.... It was merely an observation that he seems to always get the ball from a fellow teammate (in the back half) and uses it to advantage....

I realise that Bowden is a "useless" possession gatherer and this is where the similarity ends.... IMHO Cale looks to have a fantastic future in the AFL as an elite user of the football....

It is just that he seems to be the sort of bloke who coud, at some stage in his career, collect no less than 20 uncontested marks in 3 qtrs of footy!?!?! Is always in the right place at the right time, and once his body and brain get a few more years into them, he will be freakin' awesome for our great club!!

End of explanation

There will be some tools saying his disposal cost us the game deep in the last quarter when he turned the ball over deep from defense two times in a row.

His disposal cost us the game deep in the last quarter when he turned the ball over deep from defense two times is a row

Morton's disposal is risky, not poor. Like TJ (and Davey!) he tries a lot of low percentage kicks, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't (sometimes they don't work because the player on the receiving end is horrible). I'm happy for him to keep taking risks, because as we get better, his risks will pay off big time, especially since he keeps on winning that ball.

The difference between Davey and TJ choosing low percentage kicks as apposed to Morton is the fact they the laters can actually pull it off. Love him or hate him, TJ has one of the most effective disposals in the league, and Davey has THE most effective disposal in the league.

I am utterly impressed with Morton, its hard to think that he has only played 27 - 28 odd games, he has great football smarts, and gets plenty of it, but MUST IMPROVE HIS DISPOSALS!!!!!!!

34 touches from him and 28 were kicks. If anyone says that he gets cheap kicks or something negative about his game today well you just to hard to please.

He was great and boy am I excited about his future.

By 2011 he'll be playing on the ball in a Kouta type role. He showed today what we've all known he poseses.

His disposal cost us the game deep in the last quarter when he turned the ball over deep from defense two times is a row

Exhibit A

Did you notice that he had absolutely nothing upfield to kick to?

We had to try and win the game going long to a contest was the only option. If anything we should blame the players who he kicked it too for not attempting to punch the ball over the boundary line.

Does anyone else watch him play at the moment and think "Why is Joel Bowden playing in a Melbourne guernsey"???

I think of that when I see clanger king Bruce. Not only does he turn it over constantly he sells people into trouble for an experienced player he should be doing better.

Exhibit A

Did you notice that he had absolutely nothing upfield to kick to?

We had to try and win the game going long to a contest was the only option. If anything we should blame the players who he kicked it too for not attempting to punch the ball over the boundary line.

It was a bit of a joke mate...sorry. Exaggerating to emphasize a point.

Didnt think he cost us the game. But disposals are poor. You cant escape that.

He has only played 27 games of senior footy

This to me is the most amazing thing. How many Melbourne players over the past 10 years have stepped in and looked as comfortable as Cale has in their first 27 games. Sure, he still resembles a garden rake, but in 2 years time will be a really classy match-winner.

This to me is the most amazing thing. How many Melbourne players over the past 10 years have stepped in and looked as comfortable as Cale has in their first 27 games. Sure, he still resembles a garden rake, but in 2 years time will be a really classy match-winner.

I was just thinking the same thing. Bruce, Green and Whelan looked good in 2000 but they had very different roles to Morton plus they had the luxury of playing in a very good team. His stats for a player of 27 games are remarkable and it's even more impressive that he's only turned 19 this year. His upside is massive.