STURT forward Morgan Ferres has already made a name for himself as one of the most damaging junior goalkickers, with his sights set on breaking through for a League berth in 2021. The St Peter’s student will juggle his time between Under 18s football, school football and hopefully League selection, as he looks to cement his status as a bonafide draft prospect. The athletic tall is a force in the air, but also covers the ground well with a strong speed-endurance mix.

Draft Central correspondent Tom Cheesman chatted to Ferres at the recent South Australia preseason testing event for a question and answer (Q&A) special.

Q&A:

Q: How’d you test today?

A: “Not bad actually. It’s pretty fun being out here with all the boys and doing a bit of professional testing. It’s good to get amongst it pretty early on in the year and get a few tests done to see where you sit. But I felt pretty happy with how I went today.”

Tell me a bit about your footy journey so far

“I started juniors at Payneham pretty young and then went over to St Peter’s College and I’ve played there since Year 7 – I’m in Year 12 now. I joined Sturt at about Under 15s level so I’ve there played from about Under 15s to Under 18s now.”

How’s your offseason been, what kind of things have you been working on?

“I did this testing early last year and I was pretty happy with my fitness numbers. I’ve spent a lot of the offseason working on my kicking, it’s definitely something I want to improve on – field kicking and a little bit of goalkicking as well. I also need to hit the gym a little bit and put on a few kilos.”

What are your main strengths on the field?

“I think for a tall, marking ability and agility and speed are things I use to my advantage to run up and get a few kicks up the ground, but also try and beat my opponent back to goal. So, outworking my opponent and aerial marking are my main two strengths I think.”

Do you see yourself as a mid-forward?

“I’ve played key (forward) last year but I haven’t done a lot of growing over the summer so I think if I were to play at the higher levels I’d be a hybrid half-forward sort of player.”

Is moving up the grades one of your main goals for the year?

“I’ve talked a bit to our Under 18s coach and we’re trying to figure out where is a good spot to play, whether it be the 18s, Reserves or seniors. I think the plan is to start in the 18s, hopefully get comfortable and get a few kicks and marks before moving up to the seniors later in the season if possible. I’ve also got college footy… so I’ll mostly play with St Peter’s with a bit on SANFL Under 18s and League if I can get there.”

How do you go about balancing footy with those other commitments?

“Being in Year 12 this year it’s definitely something new with the extra studies. But I’ve shortened my subjects a little bit now, I’m only doing three at school so I did that in preparation for this year to free up a bit more time so by the time I get home at 3:30 I can get straight into my footy without having any homework to worry about. So far it’s working well.”

How supportive has St Peter’s been with your footballing commitments?

“They’re very supportive. I’ve told them football is something I want to do and they helped me get through that with my schoolwork so they’re pretty helpful.”

How would you compare school footy to SANFL level?

“They’re very different styles of footy. School is obviously really fun playing with your mates and people you work in a classroom with during the day, then you get to go out and have a bit of fun on the footy field with them on the weekend. SANFL I like the high quality and the skill and things like that.”

Are there any players you model your game on?

“I’ve watched a bit of Charlie Curnow from Carlton, a pretty exciting forward. Him and a bit of Tom Lynch from the Crows are the two I kind of find myself in the middle of – exciting at times but also pretty strict with the way I lead with patterns. Tom Lynch I watch how he leads a lot, the way he moves around the ground is pretty elite. Charlie Curnow is an exciting forward who’s pretty cool to watch so I’d like to find a balance between those two.”

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Image Credit: Hannah Howard/SANFL