Anthony Morabito
Personal information
Full name Anthony David Morabito
Date of birth (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991
Place of birth Harvey, Western Australia, Australia
Original team(s) Harvey Brunswick Leschenault (SWFL)/Peel(WAFL)
Draft

No. 4, 2009 national draft

No. 50, 2016 rookie draft
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 98 kg (216 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2010–2016 Fremantle 26 (14)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Anthony Morabito (born 29 October 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was delisted in 2016 after multiple knee reconstructions and several other injuries.

Junior football career

Morabito is a tall, quick, powerful midfielder,[1][2] who was selected by Fremantle with their first round selection (fourth overall) in the 2009 AFL Draft.[3] Originally from Harvey,[4] he played for Peel Thunder in the WAFL and represented Western Australia in the 2007 Under 16s, 2008 Under 18s[5] and 2009 AFL Under 18 Championships. He performed very well at the 2009 Championships, being named in the Under 18 All-Australian Team and awarded the most valuable player in Western Australia's championship-winning side.[1][6] He was the first of thirteen WAFL-based players to be selected in the 2009 Draft.[7]

After being suggested as a possible top-10 selection in the draft following the National Under 18 Championships, Morabito was correctly predicted to be the fourth overall selection in the lead-up to the draft.[2][8][9] He was compared to Adam Goodes due to his appearance, size and versatile playing style.[1][4][10][11][12]

Senior football career

He made his WAFL senior debut for Peel in the opening round of the 2009 WAFL season, and played in Peel's first eight games before joining the state Under 18s squad ahead of the national championships. However, he only played a further two games for Peel, with a thigh injury hampering his second half of the season. He attended the AFL draft camp, but was unable to participate in the testing due to the injury.[4][11] His outstanding first half of the season was enough to win him the 2009 WAFL Rising Star award.[13]

In round 21 of the 2010 AFL season Morabito missed his first game since his debut when he was one of seven players rested by Fremantle from their game against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. He returned to the team the following week and was nominated for the 2010 AFL Rising Star award.[14]

In the 2010 Elimination Final against Hawthorn he kicked one of the best goals of the year receiving a handpass from Michael Johnson on the wing and then running into the forward line, bouncing 3 times and kicking on the run from about 40m out. Fremantle went on to beat Hawthorn by 30 points to secure a semi final berth against Geelong.[15]

Injuries

In December 2010 during pre-season training, Morabito ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, requiring a full knee reconstruction.[16] He returned to play for Peel Thunder in the WAFL in March 2012[17] However, a series of leg injuries and a concussion[18] limited him to only seven games for Peel before he again injured his reconstructed knee at training in July,[19] requiring a second reconstruction operation.[20]

Aiming for a return to football at the beginning of the 2013 AFL season, seven or eight months after his second surgery,[21] Morabito recommenced training late in 2012. In January 2013, he again injured the same knee during a routine training drill, requiring a third knee reconstruction and ruling him out from playing for another season.[22]

Return to senior football

After 1369 days and three knee re-constructions, Morabito returned in Round 16 of the 2014 season against Melbourne in Darwin. Coming on as the substitute, Morabito showed promising signs he could re-capture the form shown in his first season, collecting 8 disposals in just over a quarter of football. The substitute rule did not exist the last time Morabito had played for Fremantle.

After missing all of 2015, he was delisted in October, however, he was re-drafted in the 2016 rookie draft.[23] He was however, delisted again at the conclusion of the 2016 season after failing to play an AFL match during the season.[24]

In 2017 Morabito joined Claremont in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).[25] Unfortunately, after 6 (4 league, 2 reserves) games in 2017 and further knees surgery in December 2017, Morabito announced his retirement from football before the start of the 2018 season.[26][27]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[28]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2010 Fremantle 223131818312130465750.60.88.05.313.22.83.3
2011 Fremantle 20——————————————
2012 Fremantle 20——————————————
2013 Fremantle 20——————————————
2014 Fremantle 2311151227240.30.35.04.09.00.71.3
2015 Fremantle 20——————————————
2016 Fremantle 20——————————————
Career 26 14 19 198 133 331 67 79 0.5 0.7 7.6 5.1 12.7 2.6 3.0

References

  1. 1 2 3 Burgan, Matt (23 November 2009) Phantom Draft Archived 29 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine; AFL.com.au
  2. 1 2 Qualye, Emma (26 November 2009) First round predictions
  3. ↑ "Sheppard an Eagle, Morabito a Docker after 2009 AFL Draft". PerthNow. News Corp. 26 November 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Hagdorn, Kim (3 October 2009). "Morabito concedes AFL career could start outside Western Australia". PerthNow. News Corp. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Pike, Chris (2 May 2008). "Swans duo lead State 18s charge". Perth Now. News Corp. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  6. ↑ Phelan, Jason (4 July 2009). "WA dominates U18 All-Australian team". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  7. ↑ AFL Draft highlights strength of WA football Archived 4 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Hagdorn, Kim (21 November 2009). "Anthony Morabito, WA's next big thing in AFL Draft". PerthNow. News Corp. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Duffield, Mark (21 November 2009). "Fremantle to make Morabito their prime pick". The West Australian. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  10. ↑ Fremantle urged to pick Peel youngster Anthony Morabito
  11. 1 2 Morabito showing the Goodes Archived 3 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Morabito's Goodes goal Archived 2 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Clarke, Tim (9 September 2009) Hot prospect Morabito catches Dockers eye Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Broad, Ben (30 August 2010). "NAB AFL Rising Star round 22: Anthony Morabito". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "Freo brush aside wasteful Hawks". Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  16. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (10 December 2010). "Morabito out for the 2011 season". The West Australian. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Morabito finally ready to return". 28 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Duffield, Mark (29 June 2012). "Morabito hit delays return". The West Australian. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  19. ↑ Chadwick, Justin (16 July 2012). "Freo's Anthony Morabito injured again". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Second knee reconstruction for Morabito". 18 July 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  21. ↑ Foreman, Glen (21 October 2012). "Fremantle's Anthony Morabito confident of a Round 1 return in 2013". PerthNow. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Quartermaine, Braden; Robinson, Chris (9 January 2013). "Fremantle midfielder Anthony Morabito requires third knee reconstruction". PerthNow. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  23. ↑ Schmook, Nathan (30 October 2015). "Luckless Docker Morabito delisted, but set for rookie lifeline". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  24. ↑ Quartermaine, Braden (6 September 2016). "Fremantle Dockers delist luckless defender Anthony Morabito after seven injury-hampered seasons". Perth Now. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  25. ↑ Reid, Russell (22 April 2017). "Look who's back: Morabito's return". PerthNow. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Townsend, John (3 March 2018). "Anthony Morabito retires at Claremont following more knee complications". The West Australian.
  27. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (14 March 2018). "Luckless former Fremantle Dockers midfielder Anthony Morabito lauds new AFL Players' Association hardship resource". The West Australian.
  28. ↑ Anthony Morabito's playing statistics from AFL Tables
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