Friday Interview: Glenn Morrison

The Wakefield Trinity Wildcats captain has revealed Crusaders were one of the clubs pursuing his services for 2012 and he had considered signing for his former Bradford Bulls team-mate Iestyn Harris in Wrexham.

Fortunately, given the Welsh club’s sudden and shock decision to pull out of Super League due to crippling money issues, Morrison did not commit to anything and now seems set to remain with Trinity where his class marks him out as a huge fans’ favourite.

In contrast, ex-Great Britain centre Senior signed a two-year deal earlier this month having been sold a golden vision of Welsh rugby which effectively amounted to poppycock.

Like all Crusaders’ fuming players, the first he heard their employers had pulled the plug was just before RFL chairman Richard Lewis announced which clubs had earned licences on Tuesday morning, prompting that raging Tweet.

Everyone thought Wakefield were for the chop. Instead, dramatically, Crusaders had pulled out of the actual race so Trinity remain and extend their 13-year stay in the elite with Morrison certain to do likewise.

“There was a few Super League clubs interested, Crusaders being one of them,” said the steely back-row, who featured for the Exiles against England.

“But I said to them all that Wakefield was my priority and I wasn’t going to make a decision until I knew what was going on.

“I’ve been speaking to the club all the way through and discussing, whether in the Championship or Super League, to try and stay and play while hopefully doing some coaching.

“But we agreed to see what league we’re in before progressing. Hopefully we can now get something done in the next few days so I do stay here.

“That’s what I’ve always wanted but I feel for the Crusaders players. They’ve got to find jobs when most of the rosters for next season are full.”

Senior and Morrison could still be team-mates next season as Trinity coach John Kear is keen to recruit a player who was part of his Challenge Cup-winning Sheffield Eagles side in 1998.

There had been fears Crusaders players would, in protest, not appear for their remaining five games, which in a cruel twist of fate starts at Wakefield on Sunday.

However, they have been assuaged by recent events as yesterday the RFL announced Crusaders’ foreign players, of which there are 13 due to its special dispensation as an expansion club, are to be exempt from overseas quotas to help them find new employers.

They have rallied but Morrison, 35, admits his friend Harris was equally as dumbstruck with how events initially unfolded.

“When I spoke to him he said he was left in the dark too and nobody knew until the last hour,” he said.

“He’s gutted for the players and himself – Iestyn has got to try and stay in the game too – but knowing the sort of person he is it will hurt him a lot given peoples’ livelihoods are on the line.

“I know a few of the Aussie lads down there and, of course, Rich Moore was here at Trinity last season. When they’ve got wives and kids they are all worried about what’s going to happen and whether they’ll get a job now.

“It’s tough and I think everyone in the game is feeling for them but that’s the thing about licencing – someone has to miss out. Some will get hurt.”

The Welsh game as a whole could be hurt too given the removal of their sole Super League presence and Morrison has an added interest; he revealed to the Yorkshire Post he will be assisting Harris in his position as Wales coach at the Four Nations.

However, of more immediate importance is this weekend’s fixture.

With their Super League status now safely intact for the next three years, a bottom-of-the-table encounter with Crusaders may not initially appear as much of a pressing appointment.

But Morrison said: “We need those two points.

“We don’t want to be finishing bottom and another win would probably make sure we don’t.

“That would put us six clear of Crusaders but we know they are going to be tough after what happened this week.

“We experienced a similar thing before the Millennium Magic weekend at the start of the season. We weren’t sure whether or not we’d be there playing in Cardiff or in administration.

“All we said was, whatever happened, we had to go play for ourselves and, realistically, play for contracts.

“They will come out with similar thoughts in their heads on Sunday; Crusaders are playing for themselves now so we know that’s going to make them hard.”

The former North Queensland Cowboy, who had discussed being Trinity’s player-coach if they fell into the Championship and head coach Kear did not stay on, concedes it has been a whirlwind week following Tuesday’s surprise events.

“Because of all the speculation and rumour that we weren’t going to be in, we actually thought that was going to be the case,” explained Morrison, who will return from a broken hand at Warrington in just over a fortnight’s time.

“So, it was more shock than anything as we watched. It’s great reward though for the hard work of everyone at the club, all the people behind the scenes, to get us in there.

“We sort of didn’t realise it was actually happening and it took a bit of time to sink in that we were still in Super League.

“Then, when it did, it was just a brilliant feeling.

“The club’s sorting out contracts now with players and things are moving fast while Sunday’s going to be perfect for the fans.

“They’ve stuck solid with us all year and this is now a great time to come down and celebrate what’s happened.

“Hopefully, we can get that win for them and make it a real party.

“They all deserve it after what has been a difficult time,” he added.