Anthony Morabito Biography

Anthony Morabito's career with Fremantle is over after the Dockers delisted the 24-year-old following his latest injury setback.

"Unfortunately, we have advised Anthony today that we will not be extending his contract," Fremantle football manager Chris Bond said.

"On behalf of the club and all Fremantle members and supporters, we thank Anthony for his contribution to the club on and off the field and wish him all the best for the future."

Anthony Morabito's latest soft-tissue injury could spell the end of his Fremantle career after he lasted just 20 minutes before straining his right quad in the WAFL.

Anthony Morabito appears hard-pressed to play another AFL game for Fremantle with just two games remaining in the Dockers' horror season.

The luckless 24-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season.

" I understand the emotion wrapped around Anthony," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

"But what I will say about Anthony ... I think he's played (three) AFL games in six years.

"We've been an incredibly supportive club in the context since 2010. That's without question. That's what I would put on the table.

"Our emotional support for Anthony, our resources, our contracting opportunities - regardless of whether Anthony plays next week or the week after - has been first-class, and I don't think anyone can dispute that."

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says the Anthony Morabito needs to get moving if he is going to return to senior level again before the end of the season.

"Just when he started to get going he ran into another hiccup. So it's been quite difficult," Lyon said.

"He needs to get moving. Anthony needs to play some good footy and force an opportunity."

Anthony Morabito's rotten run of setbacks continues after being ruled out of the next two WAFL matches with an ankle injury.

Anthony Morabito has suffered yet another injury, hurting his hamstring in the WAFL on Saturday.

Morabito suffered the injury – his second hamstring problem this year – during Peel Thunder's 17-point loss to West Perth.

Anthony Morabito is set to play his first game of football for two years after being named to play for Peel Thunder against East Perth in the WAFL.

Morabito has been named to play for Peel on Saturday and looks set for a role as a rebounding defender after training with the Dockers' defensive group during the pre-season.

"All summer he'd been coming off the half-back line," Dockers coach Ross Lyon said.

"I think straight ahead, the game in front of you, it's a bit easier to bounce out.

"He's not an endurance beast so it's a speed and kick component and hopefully he could develop into an (Garrick) Ibbotson or a (Michael) Johnson type of player if everything goes the right way."

Anthony Morabito suffers another injury setback after tearing his left hamstring at training.

"He's been through a lot throughout in his AFL career and this is just another thing for him to get over. I'm pretty sure he can get over it," Dockers teammate Michael Walters said.

"He'll be doing everything he can to make sure his hammy is fine and I'm sure he'll be back pretty soon."

Anthony Morabito says his friendship with Geelong forward Daniel Menzel has been a great source of inspiration as the luckless Docker looks to work his way back to senior football in 2016.

"Dan has not only been a good resource but a good friend," Morabito said.

"We got drafted the same year and we've unfortunately had a mirror set of injuries.

"When you've been through this sort of stuff you can really bounce ideas off each other, more so the mental side of things."

Fremantle say they are committed to redrafting Anothny Morabito as a rookie after delisting the luckless Docker.

Morabito, who has undergone three knee reconstructions in his six-year career, was cut from the senior list after further knee troubles kept him sidelined for the entire 2015 season.

"We want to retain Anthony on our playing list," Fremantle list manager Brad Lloyd said.

"Anthony has had a challenging time with injury but we still think he has a lot to offer our playing list."

Anthony Morabito's career is at the crossroads, and he has headed overseas as he attempts to recover from the bone bruising he is suffering in his troubled left knee.

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said that he was aware that Morabito had headed overseas for a short period and they had not discussed his future beyond this year.

"I really gave him permission to go," Lyon told Channel Seven.

"We've worked closely with him. We haven't discussed the future. We just stay in the moment with Anthony. He'll come back refreshed.

"He's certainly increasing his running and his bike riding. So we're optimistic but what the future holds that's really up to Anthony to tell us really what he wants to do."

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says Anthony Morabito is keeping things in perspective despite doubts over his ability to play at all this season.

Lyon revealed earlier this week that Morabito has bone bruising in the knee that he has had reconstructed three times.

Fremantle has engaged Melbourne knee surgeon Julian Feller, as well as experts from London and Perth, to find a solution to Morabito's ongoing soreness, but now the club is playing a waiting game to see if the bruising will settle.

"He's really resilient and it's a really tough period for Anthony," Lyon said.

"Anthony is a really strong character. He hasn't wobbled at all and we just stay in the moment.

"I spent two hours with him over lunch. We didn't even talk about 2016.

"We just spoke about how uni is going. He said, 'it's given me a good focus, I will finish by the end of the year. I'm doing boxing, I'm (on the) bike'.

"He said, 'I've been through it before, I'm pretty strong, obviously I'm disappointed, but I will work through'."

Lyon said the club has been very flexible with Morabito to allow him to work through his rehab at his own pace.

"We offer great flexibility in his program," Lyon said.

"He's not in here every day. He comes in and works with our conditioning staff and our physios.

"He gives them feedback on how he's progressing, and we try to stay in the moment with Anthony.

"Everyone wants to catastrophise everything, but life is not like that.

"He puts it into context that this is just a football injury and says, 'I look around me and I see real tragedy'. So he's in pretty good shape."

Anthony Morabito is at the forefront of Nat Fyfe's mind as he prepares for his 100th game.

The two men will be forever linked as Fremantle's first two picks in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft. Morabito was taken with pick No.4, Fyfe with No.20.

At the end of their first season, both men had played in Fremantle's two finals that year, both received NAB AFL Rising Star nominations and both had polled Brownlow votes.

On Saturday night, Fyfe will wrap up a first century of games where he has won two club best and fairest awards, an AFL Players' Association MVP, been named All Australian and played in a Grand Final.

In the same period, Morabito has endured three knee reconstructions and has added just three games, taking his career tally to 26 matches, and he remains sidelined with ongoing knee problems.

"I constantly think about Anthony," Fyfe said.

"He's one of my really close friends at the footy club and our pathways have obviously gone in different directions.

"We still use each other a lot as sounding blocks, obviously with footy and life and what goes on.

"It just shows how fickle the industry is, and all footy followers really feel for Anthony."

Fremantle say that they are still hopeful that luckless midfielder Anthony Morabito can play more AFL football as he continues to endure problems with his troublesome left knee.

"The meniscus operation – there have been some hiccups with that along the way," Fremantle's football operations manager Chris Bond said.

"There is not a timeline for him. We are not going to put that pressure on him and he doesn't have to put it on himself. He has just got to get to a stage where he can do the work and play.

"It was a significant enough injury on the meniscus for it to be an interrupted pre-season. It was always going to be an interrupted pre-season and there has been a bit of soreness and a bit of swelling from it and we are just making sure we are precautionary on that and that we allow it time to settle so he can train and play fully.

Anthony Morabito will undergo a minor operation on his troublesome left knee on Thursday that is expected to sideline him for up to three weeks.

Anothony Morabito will consult a knee specialist in the next 24 hours to determine whether he requires more surgery due to ongoing soreness in his troublesome left knee.

Anthony Morabito is breathing a huge sigh of relief after scans on his troublesome left knee have revealed he will only be sidelined for 2-4 weeks.

The 22-year-old midfielder was reportedly in great distress when he was carried from the training track on Thursday.

The club confirmed it was not a structural injury and he will only require a "two to four week rehabilitation program".

Anthony Morabito signs a one-year contract extension to remain at Fremantle in 2015.

"He is a special player for us," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

"In the near-term he's still available for selection, but we're really excited about 2015 as well.

"He's an important part of (our) midfield and we aim to build something around Anthony."

Anthony Morabito says it was a "dream come true" to finally return to AFL ranks against Melbourne in Darwin.

After three consecutive left knee reconstructions stalled his impressive start to his career at 23 games, Morabito marked his comeback amid much fanfare in Freo's 63-point win at TIO Stadium.

The 22-year-old waited 1394 days between matches and was forced to cool his jets as the substitute until the 15-minute mark of the third quarter.

With the sting out of the match, Morabito ran onto the field and quickly found his first possession when he was awarded a free kick for a push in the back by Melbourne forward Chris Dawes.

"It was a dream come true really. It's obviously been a long time and I was just really thankful that I had the boys embrace me and (they) brought me into the game, which was nice," Morabito said post-match.

"And thanks to 'Dawesy' for dumping me into the ground and giving me a kick first up."

Anthony Morabito's father will make the long trek from Harvey in WA's south-west to Darwin to be there when his son runs onto the field for his first AFL game in 1394 days against Melbourne.

"I probably will get a bit excited, just (for him) to finally get there after such a long time," Vince Morabito said.

"I'm happy for Anthony, he's done the hard yards and for him to reach this situation, it's good. I just hope he enjoys the moment and makes the most of his opportunity."

Anthony Morabito will make his long-awaited return to AFL football against Melbourne in Darwin on Saturday night.

"When you've missed a lot of footy, especially at the top level, you'd give anything just to walk down that race one time," Morabito said.

"I'm fortunate that I'm young enough and the club has obviously helped me out greatly with the approach we took to everything.

"To come back now and have the opportunity to actually do it is quite exciting."

Despite being in outstanding form in the WAFL, Fremantle coach Ross Lyon refuses to guarantee Anthony Morabito a game, leading to rumours of frustration seeping out from the Morabito camp.

"We're a handy team, we go OK, and the blokes in the team go OK. As I always say, not too many are walking into my office to say, 'Anthony have my spot', so he has to fight for his spot like everyone else," Lyon said.

"We've worked really hard to get where we are and if I think Anthony will give us the best opportunity to help win the game, he'll play. But I think if there are others who will do that, they'll play."

Anthony Morabito could make his appearance in the seniors as the Dockers' sub this week after being cleared by the WAFL tribunal for rough conduct.

Anthony Morabito's comeback to senior football could be further delayed after the Fremantle midfielder elected to challenge a possible suspension arising from last weekend's WAFL clash.

Morabito was reported for rough conduct on Claremont's Tom Ledger during Peel Thunder's 28-point loss to the Tigers.

Ross Lyon says Anthony Morabito is a great story in the making but the Fremantle midfielder is still working back to full fitness.

"We put him in a position where he could get some easier ball, at half-back (to) run straight, which he really enjoyed," Lyon said.

"Then he asked to go into the midfield, so we put him in there. He found that more physically challenging.

"It's woken him up a little bit to think 'geez, I have missed three years and I'll need to continue to build for a little while'".

"It's that consistency of build, build, build that he's still working on. But it's a great story at the minute."

Anthony Morabito excels in his first WAFL game in two years, collecting 23 disposals and kicking a spectacular goal.

Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich says returning star Anthony Morabito "looks a million dollars" as the injury-plagued midfielder continues to build towards a long-awaited recall.

Morabito, playing his first game in 20 months, made it through three quarters of Peel Thunder's WAFL practice match win against Perth.

"It looked like he hardly ran around. He looked a million dollars when he walked in yesterday and he looked the same again today," Pavlich said.

"We're rapt that he got through and played well ... and did a few things that we've always known that he's got in that body of his.

"It's amazing what adversity and hard times puts you through, and how that makes you grow."

Anthony Morabito will make his long-awaited return to competitive football on Saturday when he lines up for Fremantle's WAFL affiliate club Peel Thunder in a pre-season match in Mandurah.

He'll play some limited game time, but he's playing," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

"I think it's significant in that it's his first competitive game back. I'd really implore us to respect his privacy, and he'll speak at the right time.

"It will be good just to see him play and enjoy his footy. It's a significant milestone of where he wants to get to."

Fremantle assistant coach Brett Kirk says Anthony Morabito is edging closer to making his AFL return after two knee reconstructions in three years.

"Anthony is back in full training mode now and he's involved in every skill drill that we do," Kirk told 6PR.

"There hasn't been a date put on exactly when he's coming back. It will be the not too distant future. It's really exciting to have him back out on the park.

"When you look at the way he trains and his explosiveness, he's really had to dig deep mentally and it's just great to see him out on the park at the moment."

Anthony Morabito aims to return to football in 2014 after signing a one-year deal with Fremantle.

Fremantle football operations manager Chris Bond says the club will take a more cautious approach with Morabito as he recovers from a serious knee injury.

"It was agreed that it was in the best long-term interests of Anthony and his playing career that we continue with a conservative approach for his return to AFL ranks," Bond said.

"As a result, Anthony will have a short break before returning to the club and preparing for the 2014 pre-season.

"By taking this approach, we believe Anthony will be really well placed to hit the ground running on day one of the 2014 pre-season and be available for selection at the start of the 2014 AFL home and away season."

Anthony Morabito says he is still confident of forging a successful AFL career after undergoing a hybrid form of LARS surgery for his ruptured ACL.

"We went for a hybrid graft, which incorporates the LARS with part of your own hamstring tendon,'' Morabito said.

"So the aim of that is to get the short turnaround of the LARS, but also have the longevity of a hamstring graft over time.

"It seemed like the logical answer, just because it did give you that long-term effect if all goes to plan.

"I would not have wanted to go down the pure LARS path, just for the fact that I would have felt like I was trying to salvage something out of nothing.''

Anthony Morabito is in good spirits after successful LARS knee surgery.

"We heard directly from Anthony after his surgery today and from all reports it went very well," Fremantle's football manager Chris Bond said.

"He is in really good spirits and looking forward to getting started with his recovery."

Anthony Morabito is reported to be considering calling an end to his football career after enduring another ACL ligament tear.

"He is coming to grips whether he wants to go on or give it away," a source close to Morabito said.

"He's changing his mind on a daily basis. After two years of rehab, he doesn't know if he wants to do another year of it."

Anthony Morabito will undergo LARS surgery on his injured left knee.

"Anthony really just needed some time and space to weigh up his surgery options," Fremantle general manager of football operations Chris Bond said.

"After discussions with people close to him and the football club, Anthony has decided that this surgery will give him the best chance to resume his playing career."

Anthony Morabito will assess his surgery options next week after taking a break from the club following another devastating knee injury.

"A bit of space is what he's wanted, so we're respectful of that," teammate Luke McPharlin said.

"At this point in time all we're thinking about is his wellbeing really. Football is really secondary.

"(St Kilda coach) Ross (Lyon) is pretty strong on let's just step back and consider a young 21-year-old man going through a pretty difficult phase and we need to consider his feelings and be respectful of them."

Luckless midfielder Anthony Morabito injures his knee at training and will require a third knee reconstruction at just 21 years of age.

Scans confirmed that Morabito had torn the graft on his repaired left anterior cruciate ligament and would require another reconstruction.

"Understandably, Anthony is devastated at the moment and the club will be working extremely closely with him and his family," Fremantle football operations manager Chris Bond said.

Fremantle has been rocked by news that Anthony Morabito needs a second knee reconstruction.

"It is bitterly disappointing for Anthony, his family, the club and our members and supporters," football manager Chris Bond said.

"However, we see Anthony as having a long-term future with the club and remain confident that, with the appropriate recovery and rehabilitation program, he will return to senior football next year."

Anthony Morabito's return date is imminent and the Fremantle midfielder looks forward to playing 'contested footy'.

"When I was playing AFL in my first year I was never really a stoppage sort of player, I was always that outside winger where you can get out and run," Morabito said.

"But with the year off I was able to have a bit more of a look at David Mundy and these sorts of guys in terms of their stoppage work and I was able to pick up little things that help a player like that.

"In the past I haven't really made a conscious effort with it, but now I'm aware that I have a stronger body than a few people. If I can [win my own ball] and then spread and get it on the outside, I'll be very confident in my football."

Fremantle has been buoyed by the news star young midfielder Anthony Morabito will return from injury.

"The plan is for four games in the WAFL and then he will be available for senior selection," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

"Anthony is really confortable with that, it's doing the right thing. We were really patient with our other guys coming back from long-term injury and we'll take the same approach with Anthony.

Fremantle midfielder Anthony Morabito has suffered a quad strain as he tries to return from a knee reconstruction, ruling him out for the rest of the pre-season.

"He just tweaked a quad, a grade one or less, so it just adds a couple of weeks onto his playing return," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

"It's not ideal, but unlike his previous [injury] where it's been a bit nebulous and how long, we know exactly how long and what he can do."

Anthony Morabito is likely to miss the entire 2011 season after injuring his left knee at training.

Fremantle midfielder Anthony Morabito is the round 22 nominee for the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star award after tallying 18 disposals and kicking a goal in a win against Carlton.

The season's final NAB AFL Rising Star, Fremantle's Anthony Morabito, isn't fazed by the added focus on him going into the finals against Hawthorn.

"Like any game, we really want to go in there and go head to head with them," Morabito said.

"If we play to our strengths we're going to be just as hard to beat as they will be, especially with the crowd behind us here at home."

Anthony Morabito makes his AFL debut for Fremantle with 13 disposals (7 kicks and 6 handballs), a mark, 2 tackles, 3 hitouts and a goal in a 56-point win over Adelaide.