Brett Morris still gets chipped by Sydney Roosters fans about his last NRL grand final appearance.
That right boot of his that so blatantly went into touch in 2010 in the lead up to St George Illawarra’s first try in the 32-8 win over the Roosters.
His left one on the sideline too, in one of the more calamitous calls in a grand final this decade.
“It’s pretty funny to be honest,” Morris told AAP.
“I still get a bit of grief about that. I always say to them: ‘It wasn’t my fault’.
“Obviously Roosters fans were disappointed.”
Come Sunday night though, the boot will be on the other foot.
Morris will be proudly wearing the Roosters’ jersey, with Canberra looking to break a similar kind of title drought the Dragons faced back in 2010.
“If you fast-forwarded nine years later and saw me playing in a Roosters jersey in a grand final Dragons fans would’ve said you’re kidding yourselves,” Morris said.
“It’s a funny thing. But there is a bit of history there. Hopefully I can go out on the big stage and have a big game again.”:
Back then, Morris was 24 and thought grand finals came along all the time.
Now he’s 33 and at one point last year while at Canterbury he thought he’d never get back there again.
Until Roosters coach Trent Robinson came along.
Almost resigned to being forced to England after being unwanted at the Bulldogs, the former NSW State of Origin winger thought his NRL career was over.
“I was sitting there with fingers crossed, hoping and praying,” Morris said.
“Until my manager rang me out of the blue and one day and said I had a meeting with Trent Robinson.
“At that stage I was looking at going overseas. It was a blessing.
“We’d put the feelers out in England and there was a bit of interest there. But it wasn’t anything done formally.”
It’s a good thing Morris stayed.
Initially waiting on whether Blake Ferguson would head to Parramatta to open up the wing spot before the deal was done, he has been an adequate replacement.
He has scored seven tries to go 10th on the all time list with 153, and has run more metres per game this year than in either of his last two seasons.
“Once I went away from that meeting (with Robinson) I was very excited and had the fingers crossed because I was excited to see what happened,” Morris said.
“It was just a matter of waiting to see how all the chess pieces fell.
“Once Fergo signed with Parramatta there was a spot open here and I was very keen.”
