Logan Morris wasnā€™t overly tall for a tall forward. Nor was Nate Caddy, who was fast and blatantly athletic. When they were drafted, Caddyā€™s ceiling was rated higher by recruiters and was consequently selected at pick No.10 by Essendon.
Morris, listed at 191 centimetres in his draft year, had to wait until pick 31 before his name was called out. His 118 goals over 60 games have shown that, as with Fremantleā€™s key forward colossus Josh Treacy, Logan should have been taken much sooner. The clubs like Collingwood that missed him have been ruing that oversight ever since.
Caddy has just signed a hefty three-year contract extension that will tie him to Essendon for the duration of the clubā€™s rebuild ā€“ until the end of 2031.
Total rebuilds, which Richmond have undertaken deliberately, and Essendon perhaps less intentionally (at first), take around seven or eight years (defined as when there are few senior players providing scaffolding or foundations).
One could argue, based on history, that Caddyā€™s contractual commitment to Essendon will cover the approximate period that the Bombers need to become a viable flag contender ā€“ if they recruit and retain the right players at the right prices.
Morrisā€™ career, conversely, has been extraordinarily fortunate on the team success front. He was drafted to a club that was already replete with senior players, and with a raft of young talented footballers supporting Lachie Neale, Harris Andrews, Hugh McCluggage and company.
Whereas Caddy was flanked by Isaac Kako and little else, Morris shared the forward line with Charlie Cameron, Zac Bailey, Cameron Rayner and Kai Lohmann. He initially was a foil for Joe Daniher. The supply was plentiful, and the ball wasnā€™t kicked on top of his head or at his ankles.
Itā€™s fair to wonder how Morris would have fared at Essendon, and what Caddy ā€“ whose frustrations with his teamā€™s struggles have been on record ā€“ might have done had the footy gods delivered him to the Lionsā€™ den instead of landing at the Hangar.
One of the interesting twists for talented young players in the 2020s AFL is that they will be paid more if they land at a lowly club, and that thereā€™s a trade-off between success and remuneration.
Caddy, it follows, will likely be Essendonā€™s highest-paid player over the next two years. This column will not pretend we know what heā€™s getting over that three-year extension, but it would be surprising ā€“ given the bargaining power that he had, with Zach Merrett and Jordan Ridley eyeing the exit ramp again after one win in 29 games ā€“ if he wasnā€™t paid in the low millions, ie, $1.1-$1.3 million.
Caddy, in a sense, is being paid extra for having to endure the hardship of spending the first part of his career in a losing team. It is a credit to the persuasive salesmanship of president Andrew Welsh that Caddy has signed on, since the list reconstruction is only half completed, and they do not yet have a coach (as far we know).
This leads us to his draft counterpart Morris, whose stature in the game has soared due to his good fortune of being drafted to the right club at the right time. Two completed seasons for two flags, and counting.
Morris is already the subject of frenetic and persistent contract speculation, simply because heā€™s a) young and talented, and b) not tied up on one of those extremely long, risque deals. He comes out of contract next year and has no need to rush his next one.
The Lions say heā€™s happy at the club ā€“ as you would be. His sister lives around Byron Bay, his parents often attend games and thereā€™s no reason to suggest the Werribee lad would seek a move to Victoria or to another club.
But, like Bailey ā€“ and a dozen or more Geelong players from the (Cameron) Ling dynasty (2007-11) ā€“ his choice to stay would come at a financial cost because there will be some stupendous and genuinely stupid offers if he remains upright.
Morris and Caddy are reminders that some players transcend their physical dimensions, that you donā€™t have to be 195-200 centimetres to play as a key forward, albeit neither should be deployed like Tom Lynch or Tom Hawkins, who are nearly ruck-sized, as leviathans in the forward line.
Lions coach Chris Fagan has likened Morris to Richmond great Jack Riewoldt, and it is an apt comparison. In Faganā€™s description, Morris (estimated at 192-193cm now) isnā€™t as tall as the modern power forward, but he reads the ball brilliantly in flight, and is a real footballer ā€“ as distinct from pure athlete ā€“ who knows how to position himself in a contest.
Fagan notes that he marks at the highest point, too. The Lions say Morris possesses rapid recovery from a marking contest, another facet of his game that he shares with Riewoldt.
It is always fascinating to watch a young footballer, like Morris, exceed what the experts thought possible and to see how his career unfolds, and, in a fluent player market, the choices that heā€™s willing to make.
He will be rich enough if he sticks with the Lions, and richer still if he chooses another postcode and club.
Unlike Essendonā€™s Caddy, heā€™s unlikely to get a fiscally irresistible offer from the club that birthed his AFL career.
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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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