Brett Morris thrilled to re-sign with Dragons

By Sam Hall
Updated November 6 2012 - 3:25am, first published February 21 2012 - 10:39am
Brett Morris has re-signed with the Dragons.
Brett Morris has re-signed with the Dragons.

Prolific try-scorer Brett Morris is set to create a surge of in-house player signings at the Dragons following his three-year contract extension yesterday.The Mercury understands Origin prop Trent Merrin and boom hooker Cameron King are also close to putting pen to paper to become a part of the club’s long-term plans.

  • Full coverage of the DragonsMerrin is off contract at season’s end while King, locked in a long-term battle with Mitch Rein and Nathan Fien for the club’s dummy-half role, is signed until the end of 2013.Morris yesterday extended his six-year association with the club through to 2015, attributing the decision to strong family ties in the Illawarra and his unerring faith in rookie coach Steve Price.That the 25-year-old opted to remain in red and white is a strong vote of confidence for Price’s player standing.‘‘I love this club - it’s a huge part of my family and it has a very proud history,’’ Morris, an Origin and Test winger, said.‘‘I’ve got a lot of faith in Pricey. I know what he’s capable of ... and he showed the good faith in me by getting this out of the way early.‘‘I’d love to stay for my whole career but you never know what can happen down the road with injuries and what not.’’Morris is believed to have rejected numerous offers from rival clubs in re-signing with the Dragons.Foremost in negotiations were his six-month-old daughter and partner.‘‘I love this club and I love all the blokes that I play with; I think that just made the decision a lot easier and having been under Pricey for so long, that really helped,’’ he said.‘‘It was a huge honour to put that jersey on for the first time for St George Illawarra and it’s a huge honour every week.’’Morris’ manager David Riolo said the Kiama junior was always intent on remaining in Dragons colours.‘‘Brett always wanted to deal with the Dragons first and foremost and if we could get a deal done there then he wasn’t going to stretch it out on the market,’’ Riolo said.‘‘He’s really happy with the club and where he’s at.’’In his 107 Dragons appearances, Morris has amassed 75 tries, going on to play 10 internationals and five Origin games for NSW.He had a welcome return from off-season surgery during the Dragons’ trials campaign, playing 63 minutes during Saturday’s Charity Shield clash and was a strong presence in the side’s loss to the Cowboys in Perth a week earlier.Morris has set his sights on a dominant Origin campaign should his club form warrant selection.‘‘I had that injury last year and missed out on playing rep football [at the back end of the year], so getting back into the rep scene [would be my major goal],’’ he said.‘‘I haven’t really done too well on the State of Origin stage so that’s probably one of my biggest aims: to get there and really make my mark.’’
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