Defence won Mitch his spot | The West Australian

Defence won Mitch his spot | The West Australian

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Craig O'Donoghue MelbourneThe West Australian The man at the centre of Sydney's Cinderella grand final story, former West Coast and Richmond forward Mitch Morton, says he


wouldn't be playing against Hawthorn unless he changed his approach. Morton will today play just his fifth game for the season, making him the least selected of Sydney's final 22


in 2012. No other Swan has played fewer than 16 matches. Morton moved to Sydney at the end of last season but struggled to break into the team despite kicking 78 goals in the club's


reserves. He said the coaches made it clear that it didn't matter how many goals he kicked, they wouldn't pick him unless his defensive pressure improved. "To be honest,


that's why it's taken so long for me to get into the side," Morton explained. "It's taken a long time to get from being a good offensive player to being a good


defensive player. But I think the last two weeks I've showed I can play that role. Now it's about doing it on the biggest stage of all. "There was never a time this year where


the Swans said to me 'you're not good enough, you're not going to play'. It was just about changing my mindset from being an offensive player to defensive." Morton


kicked just one behind in last week's preliminary final but, in a sign of his new mindset, he laid seven tackles, including one which set up a goal. Grand final opportunities have been


difficult to come by for the famous football family. Noel Morton experienced premiership joy for Claremont but son Mitch wasn't selected for the 2005 or 2006 grand finals while playing


for West Coast. Mitch's brother Jarryd was on Hawthorn's list in 2008 but didn't play in the grand final, while the third AFL brother, Cale, has experienced the harsh times of


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