EDITORIAL

FOR THE MORNINGSIDE FAITHFUL THIS
PRICE IS CERTAINLY RIGHT
By Terry Wilson
ONLY six players have featured in four Queensland State League grand fi nal premiership wins with Morningside.
Dean Edwards, the irrepressible rover of the late 1990s and early 2000s is one.
Of the current crop of Panthers, David Lillico, Jacob Gough, Nick Tomlinson and Shaun Mugavin join Edwards in the illustrious
group.
So who is the sixth player to have four premiership medallions to his name?
Brad Edwards? No. Craig Edwards? No. Damien Bonney? No.
Go to the top of the class if you nominate Jarrod Price, surely one of the most underrated
players going around with any club in the old QAFL and the new North Eastern Australian
Football League competition.
Price is one of those players who, in the words of Morningside Club Development Manager
Jack Barry, slips under the radar.
Price is rarely mentioned by those outside the Panther faithful as a star of the Morningside
machine, yet in-club he is highly regarded.
“He’s among the fi rst half a dozen or so players picked in the side every week,” said Barry.
“He’s a bit of an unsung hero.”
Coach John Blair goes even further than that when asked about Price and his role at Morningside.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached,” said Blair in recognition of the value Price has
been to Morningside.
“His contribution to just about everything football here has been unbelievable. From tactics, to motivation, to coachability – he
has been a dream to coach.
“And his leadership is as important as any player at the club in my time here.”
Clearly Price is as Morningside as you can get. He is red, black and white through and through because those are the only colours
since he started at Esplen Oval as a junior back as a 13-year-old.
Like many youngsters, Price played soccer until his teen years, when a friend talked him into going to Pantherland and trying
out in Aussie rules.
He took to the code like a duck to water and eventually made it into the 2001 Queensland side for the national under-18 carnival
where he played alongside current AFL names such as Brad Miller, Josh Drummond, Joel MacDonald and David Hale.
However, the only taste of representative footy since was selection in a Queensland under-21 side a few seasons ago.
Yet there are those at Morningside who feel Price is the ultimate team man, a character who avoids the headlines but who gets
his job done with a minimum of fuss or fanfare.
After all, the name of Price on Morningside’s offi cial playing list does not appear until number 55, way down the list.
Maybe this best describes Price because he has been happy just having a number and being part of a team.
Price has turned from a wingman/half-back fl anker since his he made his debut against Redland in 2001.
He fi lled wing or half-back in Morningside’s premierships in 2003 and 2004, has fi lled in at full-forward – he kicked seven goals
in a game at the Gabba once – and now he’s a rock at full-back where he has played on some of the best in QAFL and now
NEAFL.
Individual glory has never been high on Price’s bucket list. He was asked if he has ever polled a vote in the Grogan Medal but
didn’t know.
And his best fi nish in the Morningside best and fairest was fi fth in 2007.
Yet, as we said previously, Price has four premiership medallions to his name – adding two more in 2009 and 2010 when he
was full-back for the Panthers.
When asked about Grogan Medal votes, Price said: “Maybe I got some when I kicked those goals at the Gabba, but I don’t really
know.
“But I accept that sort of thing. It’s my role, I approach it all as a team sport.”
NEAFL Football Record Issue18 13th - 14 th August 2011 Page 6