He journeyed to Cairns in search of work and, of course, football.
It was a decision that paid dividends last week when his team — the Cairns City Lions — won their first grand final in almost 40 years.
‘‘Most of us weren’t even born last time the Lions won; our coach was only three months old,’’ said Darcy, who scored an impressive two goals and managed 15 disposals during the Friday night game.
It was his first grand final with the Lions, and a closely fought affair that saw the Lions five goals ahead at half time.
Their adversary — the Cairns Saints — clawed back three consecutive goals in the fourth quarter.
But a last minute power outage, which occurred with just four minutes to go, broke the Saints’ lucky streak.
In total the Lions cinched victory by a tight 11 points, with a final score of 15.12 (102) to 14.7 (91).
‘‘We knew they were going to give it everything they had,’’ Morris said.
‘‘In our first match we won by 20, the second we lost by 40, and the third time another 70 point loss.
‘‘Overall it was a very tough game, but we’re all pretty happy with the result.’’
Morris said his move up north has allowed him to hone his skills, under the tutelage of Lions’ coach and former AFL player Aaron Davey.
‘‘I’ve learned so much since I moved up here, from both him and my teammates,’’ he said, adding that he has no intention of leaving Cairns ‘‘anytime soon — especially not after what we did on the weekend’’.
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