Brisbane Lions forward Logan Morris opens up on the incredible story of his AFL debut

It’s 4.30pm and Logan Morris is tucking into a ‘big order’ from McDonalds after running 13km in the VFL QClash. Three hours later, he was kicking his first AFL goal. Here’s the remarkable story of what happened in between.

Barely two hours before Logan Morris jogged onto the Gabba for the most unlikely of AFL debuts, he was queuing in a McDonalds drive through wondering whether to order six McNuggets or twelve.

Midway through the first quarter, the Lions forward was happy he only went with the six.

It’s a debut that will go down in club folklore given the incredible series of unlikely events that conspired to transform Morris from spectator to starter in less than 20 minutes.

Two games. Twenty-two kilometres. A monster Maccas order, with some bread and soup from the Brisbane doctor on the side for good measure.

And let’s not forget having to borrow teammate Will Ashcroft’s boots.

Logan Morris celebrates the first goal of his AFL career. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos

The feel good story begins at midday on Sunday, when Morris rolled out for the VFL side against Gold Coast at Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield.

The 191cm forward, taken No. 31 in last year’s draft, booted one goal from nine touches as the Lions were thrashed by the Suns.

His GPS tracker read 13km – tough day at the office. But it was Maccas well-earned after covering plenty of kilometres in the hottest part of the day.

Between 4 and 4:30pm is when Morris estimates he rolled through the drive through at the golden arches.

“I went for – big order here – a barbecue angus meal, six nuggets on the side and a frappé,” Morris revealed after booting 1.3 and clunking four marks in Brisbane’s 34-point QClash win over Gold Coast.

He arrived at the ground shortly after and made his way into the rooms as his teammates began their match preparations.

Having been a listed emergency each week since the Gather Round clash with North Melbourne, Morris had developed a standard pre-match routine.

“I got to the ground and our doctor, Dr (Paul) McConnell, makes soup every week at home games and I had a cup of that as well,” he revealed.

“So yeah, my prep wasn’t the best for the game.”

His teammates came from everywhere in what was a one-of-a-kind debut. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Ten minutes before the first bounce, Morris was waiting in the change rooms with the other emergencies.

Then came the news Brandon Starcevich had pinged his calf in the warm-up. In the blink of an eye, Harry Sharp was elevated from substitute to the starting 22 and Morris tapped on the shoulder and told he would be debuting.

Only one problem.

“I forgot my boots,” he said.

“I left them at Brighton Homes Arena.

“I was in all sorts. I didn’t know what to do. Will (Ashcroft) had a pair just sitting there so I had to chuck a size 12 on and I’m a size 13, so I was running one size too small for the game.”

As his teammates began their final pre-match preparations, Morris was madly stretching in the change rooms and praying he could keep down the combination of Maccas and spicy tomato, bacon and chorizo soup that suddenly seemed like a very bad choice.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played two games in one day before so yeah, that’s a first. Body is definitely feeling it now,” he chuckled.

“First quarter I felt not too bad – (then) I started cramping, which is not normal, but I had a few pills and pickle juice and salt tablets to get me through.”

Adding to the drama was the early knee injury to Lincoln McCarthy less than 10 minutes into the first quarter, which forced the Lions to activate their sub far sooner than expected.

In little more than 30 minutes, Morris went from sipping on soup in his casual clothes to kicking for goal in front of more than 30,000 fans – the largest ever QClash crowd.

Morris with Jaspa Fletcher after the QClash win. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos

“I’m over the moon. To kick a goal on debut is pretty cool and all the boys getting around you. (I) probably should have kicked those other ones but yeah, my body was just probably not there,” he said.

“Hopefully I can go again next week and see what happens.”

In a happy coincidence, Morris’ parents had flown up from Victoria to watch him play in the VFL earlier in the day.

“This year because it’s obviously my first year at the Lions they’ve been at pretty much every game and they’ve been in Brisbane a lot which is obviously good to be able to watch all my games – and lucky enough to watch two today,” he said.

“It sucks that my sister and a few mates couldn’t be here to watch my debut game but obviously they were all watching at home. I’m glad mum and dad were here to watch it. They were pretty shocked when they got the call to say that I’m playing.”

With the most unlikely of debuts behind him, Morris has machinations to become a staple in Chris Fagan’s side.

With both McCarthy and Darcy Gardiner expected to be sidelined with long-term knee injuries, it looks likely.

“Obviously you want to be playing 1s and probably doing your preparation correctly would be ideal, so hopefully I get another crack soon and can play all four quarters out properly,” he laughed.

“Hopefully I can try to stay in the side and just play good footy and see what happens.”