TWO-time Wagga Tigers premiership player Dylan Morton will join a couple of his former teammates at Central District next season.
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Morton enjoyed his first season of South Austalian National Football League (SANFL) this year when he joined Glenelg.
The 23-year-old made his league debut in round eight in a win over Norwood but the lure of playing with his mates at Central District proved too hard to resist.
He will join the likes of Jackson and Ben Kelly, Mitch McKelvie and Luke Habel at the club.
"It was not so much opportunities, it was just the fact I came to the realisation during the year how important it was to be playing with mates," Morton said.
"When I looked at Centrals and there was such a strong connection with the Riverina, I just realised that's where I wanted to be playing.
"When I was versing them, I was looking at them thinking gee I'd love to be playing with them. There were just times when you're at the pub, or something like that, and I'm with four or five boys that are playing with Centrals and I just thought if I'm going to be here in Adelaide for the next couple of years, which I'm planning because I'm really enjoying it, I'd love to be playing with the local boys.
"There's probably the opportunity that a few more will come over in future years too and I don't want to be at a different team missing out on all the good times."
A strained hamstring and then minor knee surgery interrupted Morton's first SANFL pre-season and put him on the back foot from the start.
"That really wiped my pre-season out," he said.
"It was hard from the get-go when I was sitting on the sidelines watching when I really needed to be out there for two reasons, for that team comraderie and making mates as well as learning the new structures and set ups, and training at that elite level. That was really tough.
"I started to play some good footy, got my way into the first grade side and someone came back in, which that was going to happen, there are lots of quality players. I kept working away in the reserves, put together some good games but probably wasn't consistent enough to be putting three or four good games together to get back into first grade."
Morton started the year in defence before he was thrown into the midfield later in the season.
He said the standard of the SANFL was an eye-opener.
"When people ask what it's like, I say there is 22 players just like you, and someone is a little bit quicker, someone has got a little bit better skills, they're just that little bit better and what it takes is just a bit more training, working hard and getting that little bit better yourself to match it with them," he said.
Morton said he loved his year at Glenelg but is looking forward to making an impression at his new home.
"I just want to get the best out of myself as a player. Whether that makes me a full-time starter in the league side or gets me a few games, I'll just aim to get the very best out of myself but obviously I'll be hoping to play in the league side and have an influence," he said.
"To start off, you've just got to tick those little boxes so I'll go across, work as hard as I can and learn as much as I can and have fun and try to get the best out of myself and see where that takes me."
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