Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Chess enthusiast Harry Morrison calls himself a pawn in Hawthorn’s AFL tactics.
It’s a low-profile yet crucial role that’s earned the wingman a contract for next season and taken the 27-year-old to 137 senior games.
He joked this week the Hawks should form a chess club as coach Sam Mitchell also plays.
Morrison took great delight in beating Max Ramsden a few days ago, but Josh Ward is proving a tough nut to crack.
“I’m a bit of a pawn – I can move and then someone else can move,” Morrison said of his on-field role.
“That can be a bit of a strength of mine, being able to play anywhere, really.
“I don’t mind chess myself … I like the feeling when you’re ahead of the game, when you’re two or three moves ahead and you can plan your attack – the strategy behind it.
“It feels quite like footy.”
The Hawks’ tactics worked brilliantly in their upset qualifying-final win over Fremantle. Morrison capitalised on some Nick Watson magic to take a strong contested mark and kick their last goal of the game.
Now they face two-time defending premiers Brisbane in Saturday’s preliminary final at the MCG. The Lions showcased their formidable talents with a semi-final onslaught last weekend that killed off Adelaide in the first five minutes.
Not only will Morrison be a key player in Hawthorn’s structure around the centre square, but this September his timing is much better as well.
A year ago, Morrison was nursing a quad injury that kept him out of the finals. This season, he played only three AFL games up to round 16 and has not missed a match since.
“There were some pretty mixed emotions this time last year. As much as I was cheering everyone on there was that underlying feeling of missing out,” he said.
“Now that I’m here, about to play in a prelim, it’s pretty cool.
“It was hard playing in the VFL, (but) it’s probably set me up to perform in the back half.”
Part of that has been working with club psychologist Ed Barlow.
“Something I’ve always battled with is a bit of self-belief … not shying away from that, but trying to back myself as much as I can,” he said.
“A lot of footy’s between the ears and so getting that right for me was a big step, and it set me up for the back half of this year.
“I’m not necessarily the No.1 athlete at the club, but smarts and that sort of thing go a long way, especially at this time of year.
“I don’t think a player like me gets to 10 years in my career without having a good amount of resilience.”
