Cronulla Sharks hooker John Morris will celebrate his 250th first-grade game tonight when he takes on his former club, the Eels, at Parramatta Stadium.
Morris made his NRL debut for the Newcastle Knights back in 2001, coincidentally against the Eels.
Morris admits his first taste of first-grade was a blur – he played six matches for the Knights in 2001 and watched as the team went on to win the premiership. He says while it was a highlight of his career so far, he hopes to top that with a premiership at the Sharks.
“At the time you probably think that is the norm and you’re going to be involved in a number of grand finals,” Morris told NRL.com.
“But I’ve certainly worked out since then how hard they are to come by.
“[We] had a really good shot at Parramatta in 2005 winning the minor premiership but got bailed out again before the grand final and since then [I] haven’t come close.
“Hopefully something is building at the Sharks here this year.”
Now off contract, Morris says he’d like to stay at Cronulla and feels he has quite a few years of football left ahead of him.
“One hundred per cent, I’m feeling really good,” Morris said.
“So hopefully we can work something out in the near future, but I definitely want to be running around [for] the Sharks again next year.”
Morris credits his former Wests Tigers teammate Bryce Gibbs for bringing about a positive change at the Shire since his arrival at the club this season and says he couldn’t be happier to again be playing alongside the 106kg prop.
“It’s a crack up more so than anything,” he said.
“He’s a really good bloke and he’s a really good footballer too.
“He’s done a good job this year in bringing the boys closer with his humour and we’re a better club for him being here this year.”