Sydney Swan Mitch Morton has become accustomed to doing things the hard way in his AFL career.

Across nine seasons with West Coast, Richmond and the Swans, he is still some way short of reaching the 100-game milestone.

Morton became one of the feel-good stories of the 2012 season, scraping into the Swans' line-up in round 21 and then playing all three finals to help his new club to a Premiership.

But just as he felt ready to firmly establish himself in the Swans' best 22, a pre-season stress fracture in his back again put him on the back foot.

"Missing a month in January-February, it's not a good time of year to be missing training," Morton said.

"I went from being in or around the best 22 at the end of last year to being on the outer and having to come back through the reserves for a month.

"It's not ideal and I needed a couple of injuries to get my opportunity."

The 26-year-old only played one of the Swans' first seven games – against Geelong in round four – but has since played five straight to take his career tally to 82.

Having signed a one-year contract extension in October last year, he is desperate to continue his stay in his adopted home.

"I love it," he said. "I love Sydney and a huge part of that is the football club.

"I'm very lucky the club's run well from top to bottom and I really enjoy the company of my teammates.

"My contract runs out this year and I'd love to stay up here and sign another contract.

"I just worry about what's happening each week, but that'd be best-case scenario.

"I'll be at this footy club as long as they want me."

Morton speaks with a refreshing honesty, openly admitting he isn't gifted with the natural athleticism possessed by some of the competition's top players.

He knows hard work is the key to him extending his career, volunteering the fact he was a poor defensive player when he entered the AFL system.

But he has worked tirelessly on that side of his game.

"Now I'm probably better defensively than I am offensively if anything," he says.

Since their premiership triumph, the Swans have been actively locking away some of their top-end talent.

Lewis Jetta signed a new two-year deal in June, shortly after Dan Hannebery penned a three-year extension.

They augmented by long-term deals for Kieren Jack, Josh Kennedy, Adam Goodes and Ryan O'Keefe.

So have talks commenced between Morton and the club?

"No. I'm probably one of the last people they worry about," he says candidly.

"They worry about all the big guns first and that's fine. That's the position I'm in and I'm comfortable with that.

"I'd love to have a good five or six weeks and sign a new contract, but that's definitely not front of mind at the moment.
"At the moment it's all about Friday night against Carlton."

The clash with the Blues at the SCG will be Morton's sixth straight senior game, his best run in the AFL since playing the final six matches of the 2010 season with the Tigers.

But he's beyond worrying about seeing his name on the team sheet each week and has a philosophical approach to the remainder of this career.

"I spent a lot of time early judging myself against other people and worrying about playing this many games and working out how many games I played a year," he said.

"I was disappointed with my career the first few years, got up and going, and then went backwards again the last couple of years at Richmond.

"But I've come to realise we've all got different stories and have different ways of getting to where we end up.

"Ultimately it's not about how many games you played, it's about the friends you've made and the impact you have on a footy club.

"I might not be at the footy club for 15 years. I might be here for two or four or five years, but I'd just like to live and breathe the values of the club while I'm here and make sure I help other people do the same."

MITCH MORTON
Age: 26
Height: 185cm
Weight: 82kg

AFL Career
West Coast: 2005-07. 12 games, 11 goals.
Richmond: 2008-11. 59 games, 94 goals.
Sydney Swans: 2012-current. 11 games, 10 goals.

Honours
Premiership player 2012
Richmond leading goal-kicker 2009