![James Morgan has made the move to Gundagai after one season back with junior club Southcity. Picture by Les Smith James Morgan has made the move to Gundagai after one season back with junior club Southcity. Picture by Les Smith](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/J7tLankfguv74QY82b3G7h/5e803662-4e5b-494f-9521-b90f4a4e85cb.jpg/r0_37_4170_3234_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Country representative James Morgan is on the move once more.
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After making the return to junior club Southcity this season after time at Brothers, Morgan has linked with another Group Nine club Gundagai.
The desire to play finals football is the catalyst for the change.
He feels the Tigers, despite missing out on a finals berth this year, is the best place for him to do so.
"I wanted something different and Gundagai are a successful club and have been over the years," Morgan said.
"I think change is good for me.
"I was at Brothers for a few years before they folded and I went back home to Southcity, my junior club, and played there last year.
"The last few years with club footy I haven't been playing finals footy or anything so it's more of a personal discussion."
The 22-year-old is one of the biggest strike weapons in Group Nine.
That was on full display during his Country Championships campaign with Riverina this season which culminated in his first Country jumper.
He's hoping he can turn his personal success into team success with the Tigers.
"It was good as an individual but I want to get on board and play finals footy," Morgan said.
Morgan will travel from Wagga to train and play with the Tigers.
Gundagai co-coach Derek Hay is thrilled to have Morgan on board.
Especially with the Tigers' back line set to undergo plenty of changes.
"We needed a strike back as a signing," Hay said.
"With Matty (Lyons) leaving and a couple of other players not returning we needed someone to fill that void and can play across centre, wing and fullback.
"He's the perfect replacement. He's a quality player and a great bloke as well.
"We've very, very happy to get him on board."
Morgan has mostly played centres in the past two seasons in Group Nine after returning from a stint in Wollongong.
He did play some fullback with Brothers in 2022 however centre looms as the obvious position for him after Mathew Lyons returned to the Queensland Cup.
"At this stage he will probably play centre but things can change," Hay said.
"We won't look that in and just see how the pre-season pans out and what we've got in certain positions."
Hay believes Morgan's ability to create chances across the field will be an important part of Gundagai's attack next season.
"We probably need to change a few things in attack and no matter how you are going you need to be able to score from different parts of the field and you need to have a strike weapon.
"We've lost Jack and Mat Lyons now, two points of attack with a lot of strike power, so hopefully Jimmy can add that.
"It's a strong part of his game and he will suit our style of game perfectly."
![Jack Lyons has signed with Darlington Point-Coleambally after four seasons with Gundagai. Jack Lyons has signed with Darlington Point-Coleambally after four seasons with Gundagai.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/J7tLankfguv74QY82b3G7h/fbd6b94a-4c96-45e1-9c59-bd2d02a74638.JPG/r0_27_1000_614_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
After linking with Gundagai in 2020, Jack Lyons won't travel back for another season for the club.
He's spent most of the last two seasons coming over from Griffith, however has linked with Darlington Point-Coleambally for next season.
Hay knows it will be another loss for the club looking to regroup for missing the finals.
"He was planning on moving to Wagga but they decided to stay in Griffith," he said.
"It's a big commitment, and he's done it for two years now.
"You can't fault Jack and he's done a lot for the club."