Robertson Oval has been part of Brady Morton's life for longer than he can remember so, after four years away, the Wagga Tigers 2016 premiership player is thrilled to be on his way back next year.
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Morton, a key defender or tall forward, will add versatility and experience to new coach Murray Stephenson's team, having played 58 Ovens and Murray League games in three seasons at Albury Tigers since his departure.
"I'm super excited," Morton said.
"The last time I played was 2016 and I've come back and watched a bit because Dylan, my brother, and all my mates played there.
"Every time I watched them play I was pretty jealous to be honest so it's good to finally come back.
"I was probably getting around there before I can even remember so it is a bit of a second home to me. So I'm feeling pretty privileged to come back and play."
Following the recruitment of Jock Cornell, Morton is a second key signing in the Stephenson era and he's looking forward to playing under the new coach coming from SANFL club Central Districts.
"I remember watching him when he was at Coolamon. I remember him being a tall key defender but it sounds like he's spent a bit of time up forward the last couple of years at Centrals," Morton said.
"I can't wait to play with him. He sounds really good on the phone, he's got a game plan and he seems like a genuine bloke who really wants to put what he's learnt as a player into practice as well."
Morton, too, can play at both ends of the ground. If given a choice, he'd be happy to have a role up forward but will just be happy to play where he's needed.
The 23-year-old was in Albury from 2017 to 2019 studying physiotherapy and then spent this year on placement in Geelong where he was supposed to play with Grovedale.
The Geelong Football League didn't go ahead but the year continued his education as a footballer.
"I've definitely become a bit more of an analyser of the game. I was lucky enough to play forward and back in a pretty quality team (at Albury) and even down here (at Grovedale) I've learnt so much from the coaches," he said.
"I've just tried to learn as much as I could. Now I can start putting it into practice I hope."
And after 12 months of pre-season, the thought of actually playing again is something else.
"This is the longest pre-season I hope to ever do because I've just been running," Morton said.
"We did a couple of six-week blocks between lockdowns but in the lockdowns I was just doing my own thing. Now we're back doing pre-season again, so it hasn't really stopped."
Tigers have won two flags since Morton left: the 2019 Riverina League premiership, and this year's AFL Riverina Championship. He would love to be part of another one, after playing in a losing grand final at Albury in 2017, then being overlooked for selection in the 2018 decider despite kicking the matchwinning goal to get them there.