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Dale Morris (born 29 December 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Dale Morris
Morris playing for the Western Bulldogs in June 2007
Personal information
Full name Dale Morris
Date of birth (1982-12-29) 29 December 1982 (age 41)
Original team(s) Doutta Stars (Vic)/Werribee (VFL)
Draft No. 19, 2005 rookie draft
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 93 kg (205 lb)
Position(s) Key defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2005–2019 Western Bulldogs 253 (3)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2005 Australia 2
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2019.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2005.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Morris spent four years playing for Werribee Football Club in the Victorian Football League before being added to the Bulldogs' rookie list in the 2004 Rookie Draft. He quickly cemented his place in the Western Bulldogs' lineup, impressing many with his pace and consistency as a defender, and finished with 17 games for season 2005. He was elevated to the senior list at the end of 2005.

Morris was selected in the back pocket of the 2008 All-Australian team.

Morris played in guernsey number 38 for the duration of his career.

In Round 21, 2011, against the Essendon Bombers, Morris suffered a broken tibia in his lower right leg which prematurely ended his season.[1] Morris returned to play one quarter in a Development Match game in Round 6, 2012, but suffered a stress fracture in the same leg which he broke in horrific circumstances in 2011. The injury sidelined Morris for the rest of the season.

Morris made his return to AFL in Round 1, 2013. In what was overall a successful campaign for Morris, he provided defensive solidity to the Bulldogs' backline, and also managed to play all 22 games for the season.

In 2016, Morris was a part of the Western Bulldogs premiership team that ended their long-standing premiership drought of 62 years. With over five minutes to go in the match, Morris laid a game-turning tackle on Sydney Swans forward Lance Franklin, which set up Tom Boyd to kick a goal that gave the Bulldogs a 15-point lead.[2] After the game, it was revealed that Morris had played the entire finals series with a fractured vertebrae.

Morris is known for his quick recovery from injury. He suffered a partial tear in his ACL in 2018 yet came back to play the back-end of the 2018 season. In 2019, he suffered another ACL, and was out of action until Round 19, where he rupture his ACL for the third time in 18 months. Prior to the 2019 final series, Morris announced his retirement after 253 games.

Statistics

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[3]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
  #  
Played in that season's 
premiership team
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2005 Western Bulldogs 38 17 0 1 56 107 163 48 43 0.0 0.1 3.3 6.3 9.6 2.8 2.5
2006 Western Bulldogs 38 24 1 3 127 170 297 104 56 0.0 0.1 5.3 7.1 12.4 4.3 2.3
2007 Western Bulldogs 38 21 0 1 135 126 261 101 56 0.0 0.0 6.4 6.0 12.4 4.8 2.7
2008 Western Bulldogs 38 25 0 0 156 170 326 120 73 0.0 0.0 6.2 6.8 13.0 4.8 2.9
2009 Western Bulldogs 38 25 1 2 115 187 302 123 59 0.0 0.1 4.6 7.5 12.1 4.9 2.4
2010 Western Bulldogs 38 21 0 1 111 141 252 73 62 0.0 0.0 5.3 6.7 12.0 3.5 3.0
2011 Western Bulldogs 38 18 1 0 127 100 227 80 70 0.1 0.0 7.1 5.6 12.6 4.4 3.9
2012 Western Bulldogs 38 0
2013 Western Bulldogs 38 22 0 0 122 133 255 83 51 0.0 0.0 5.5 6.0 11.6 3.8 2.3
2014 Western Bulldogs 38 20 0 0 119 108 227 82 47 0.0 0.0 6.0 5.4 11.4 4.1 2.4
2015 Western Bulldogs 38 14 0 0 70 85 155 69 35 0.0 0.0 5.0 6.1 11.1 4.9 2.5
2016# Western Bulldogs 38 23 0 2 129 178 307 104 54 0.0 0.1 5.6 7.7 13.3 4.5 2.3
2017 Western Bulldogs 38 11 0 0 38 74 112 34 24 0.0 0.0 3.4 6.7 10.2 3.1 2.2
2018 Western Bulldogs 38 11 0 1 49 70 119 39 23 0.0 0.1 4.5 6.4 10.8 3.5 2.1
2019 Western Bulldogs 38 1 0 0 3 3 6 2 0 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0 6.0 2.0 0.0
Career 253 3 11 1357 1652 3009 1062 653 0.0 0.0 5.4 6.5 11.9 4.2 2.6

Honours and achievements

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References

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  1. ^ "Bulldog down". Australian Football League. 13 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. ^ Waterworth, Ben (16 June 2020). "Franklin's marking habit. It led to the most famous Grand Final tackle". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Dale Morris Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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