Nina Morrison

Nina Morrison (born 13 December 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). A midfielder who won multiple accolades at junior level and played in the VFL Women's (VFLW) as a teenager, Morrison was the first selection in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. She received a nomination for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 1 of the 2019 season, her debut match.

Nina Morrison
Morrison with Geelong in February 2020
Personal information
Full name Nina Morrison
Date of birth (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000
Original team(s) Geelong Cats (VFLW)
Draft No. 1, 2018 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2019, Geelong
vs. Collingwood, at GMHBA Stadium
Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Geelong
Number 9
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019– Geelong 3 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 2, 2020.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Morrison attended Geelong Grammar School and grew up a Geelong supporter, citing Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield as players she enjoyed watching.[1] A long-distance runner in her youth who also played tennis and soccer at school,[2] Morrison did not take up football until her father encouraged her to attend a Geelong trial in late 2016. Although she was unavailable for the under-18 trials as they conflicted with tennis commitments, she instead attended the senior trials, where she impressed Geelong representatives by outplaying the older women. Morrison joined the Geelong Falcons, playing in the TAC Cup Girls, and represented Vic Country in the 2017 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships. Additionally, she played for local club St Mary's, kicking thirty-five goals in eight games playing as a midfielder in the under-19 AFL Barwon league.[1]

"She's a good runner with strong endurance. She's hard at the contest and just a really good decision-maker."

Sam Ahmet, Vic Country coach[1]

In 2018, Morrison won the TAC Cup Girls premiership with the Falcons and tied with Madison Prespakis for the league best and fairest with 16 votes. She again played for Vic Country in the 2018 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships and won their most valuable player award. Morrison was named in the All-Australian side on the wing, and shared the competition's most valuable player award with Prespakis.[3] She played four VFL Women's (VFLW) matches for the Geelong Cats, including a best-on-ground performance against Northern Territory in the elimination final and the losing grand final against Hawthorn, where she was again among the best.[1]

Morrison tested at the AFL Women's draft combine, breaking records in the two-kilometre time trial and the yo-yo endurance test. She reached level 18.1 in the yo-yo test and ran the time trial in seven minutes and fourteen seconds, fifteen seconds faster than the previous record. Morrison additionally placed in the top five for the standing vertical jump, agility test and running vertical jump (on both the left and right sides).[4] In the lead-up to the draft, Morrison was widely predicted to be taken by Geelong with the first selection.[1][5][6] Draft prospects selected a state or region they wished to play in prior to the draft; options for Victorian players included Geelong, the Melbourne metropolitan area or the entire state. Morrison opted for Geelong while Prespakis, another top prospect, nominated the metropolitan area; this improved Morrison's chances of being taken with the first selection in the draft, as Geelong held the first two selections.[6]

AFL Women's career

Morrison was drafted by Geelong with the first selection in the 2018 AFL Women's draft.[7] Ahead of the 2019 AFL Women's season, she polled the most votes by the AFLW captains as their predicted winner of the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award.[8] Morrison made her debut in the opening round of the season against Collingwood at GMHBA Stadium, where she was nominated for the AFL Women's Rising Star award after accumulating 22 disposals and eight tackles and kicking the winning behind in a best-on-ground performance.[9] Morrison also polled the maximum ten votes in the AFLW Champion Player of the Year Award[10] and was named in womens.afl's Team of the Week.[11] However, she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee at training the following week, which required a reconstruction.[12][13]

After missing the rest of the 2019 season, Morrison made a successful return to football in round 1 of the 2020 season against Fremantle at Fremantle Oval, kicking a goal.[14]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of round 2, 2020.[15]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFLW playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2019 Geelong 910113922280.01.013.09.022.02.08.03
2020 Geelong 921119827270.50.59.54.013.51.03.5
Career 3 1 2 32 17 49 4 15 0.3 0.7 10.7 5.7 16.3 1.3 5.0 3

References
  1. Black, Sarah (22 October 2018). "AFLW: What's so special about likely No.1 pick?". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  2. "AFLW Draft Watch: Nina Morrison". taccup.com.au. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  3. Balmer, Matt (4 September 2018). "AFLW Draft 2018: Future stars Nina Morrison and Madison Prespakis share in TAC Cup's top award". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  4. Black, Sarah (4 October 2018). "AFLW: Morrison dominates Draft Combine". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  5. Balmer, Matt (22 October 2018). "AFLW Draft 2018: Full first-round mock draft for AFL women's draft". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. "Morrison headed to Cats as AFLW top pick". SBS. Australian Associated Press. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. Ryan, Peter (23 October 2018). "Morrison the No.1 as Cats enter AFLW with a bang". The Age. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  8. "AFLW: Morrison tipped to make instant impact". geelongcats.com.au. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  9. Black, Sarah (5 February 2019). "Cat and Giant win round-one Rising Star nominations". womens.afl. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  10. Olle, Sarah (4 February 2019). "AFLW 2019: Young gun Nina Morrison leads three perfect 10s for AFLCA votes". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  11. Black, Sarah (5 February 2019). "AFLW Team of the Week: Lions, Roos dominate". womens.afl. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  12. "Heartbreak for No.1 pick as scans confirm ACL rupture". womens.afl. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. Australian Associated Press (8 February 2019). "Geelong dealt major blow as Nina Morrison ruled out of AFLW season". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  14. "Nina Morrison goals on her return". Facebook. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  15. "Nina Morrison". Australian Football. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
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