Life changing experience

24 February 2010

BY DEAN MILLARD

HEYWOOD footballer Roger Morris has described his recent tour of South Africa with the Flying Boomerangs as a once in a lifetime experience.

The talented all-round sportsman travelled with the indigenous Australian rules football team for two weeks around South Africa, during which time he helped to run a handful of skills clinics with local youths and played in two exhibition matches against South African sides.

Morris said it was an eye opening experience to see the differences in how the South African communities he visited lived compared to life in Australia.

Seeing the communities that the kids and South African people lived in and just touring around the place was a great experience,” Morris said.

“They had a pretty low lifestyle, but they were still pretty happy just to have what they have.

“We ran two clinics with the local people.

“Our whole team was running the clinics, doing different stations.

“It was a lot of fun to teach the local kids the skills of the sport and they picked it up pretty well.”

Morris played across the half forward line in the two exhibition matches, kicking one goal, and rating his second match as the better of the two.

The Flying Boomerangs won both of the exhibition matches.

Morris said he was very thankful to the selectors and everyone who had made it possible for him to be a part of the tour.