Injury ravaged former Fremantle midfielder and Peel Thunder product Anthony Morabito has decided to extend his career in the WAFL at Claremont.
Morabito had a highly-anticipated AFL career cruelly ruined by four severe knee injuries, including three full reconstructions, and is understood to have weighed up walking away from football altogether.
The one-time potential Dockers pin-up was taken as Fremantle's first draft pick and selection four overall in 2009, is believed to have considered as many as four WAFL clubs to extend his playing days.
Morabito, 25, held preliminary talks with Swan Districts, Subiaco and East Fremantle before apparently deciding on a switch to the Tigers.
The gifted follower is originally from the Peel Thunder Football Club, but is believed to have not contemplated staying at his home outfit and reigning WAFL premiers with the continued alignment with the Dockers.
It is understood that the appeal to play predominantly as a midfielder and forward was uppermost in Morabito's consideration of a next career move after spending almost all of his 13 games with Peel last season as a sweeping defender from half-back.
He is the latest on a hefty list of now departed Dockers to find new homes after emotion-charged decisions not to win new contracts and spots on the senior list for 2017.
Some of Morabito's close mates Matt de Boer and Tendai Mzungu were recruited to rising AFL powerhouse Greater Western Sydney, Michael Barlow headed to Gold Coast while Alex Silvagni was extended a lifeline at Carlton, as hard-nut Clancee Pearce headed into WAFL ranks at Swans.
At one stage through negotiations on their futures beyond their Fremantle days it had been widely tipped that Morabito could be part of a "package" deal alongside the likes of de Boer, Mzungu and Silvagni at a local outfit if they weren't offered deals to extend AFL careers.
Morabito is understood to have delayed a decision on his playing intentions until into the new year in a bid to also refrain from heavy summer training requirements after such gut-wrenching injury traumas at times deep into pre-season sessions.
Just last summer when on the verge of ending a successful pre-season program he suffered a nasty hamstring injury when completing some additional sprint training after the rest of the Dockers squad had left the field.
Morabito managed just 26 senior Dockers games including 23 in a promising debut season back in 2010 with a NAB Rising Star nomination among an average of 13 possessions an outing and a couple of impressive finals against power outfits Hawthorn and Geelong.
- Via watoday.com.au
