Morton, who has worn no. 35 since arriving at the Hawks in 2006, will wear no. 19 in 2010 after the off-season departure of Mitch Thorp.
Following on from Lance Franklin’s No.23 (made famous by Dermott Brereton and Don Scott), Jordan Lewis’ No.3, which was worn by Leigh Matthews, and Jarryd Roughead’s No.2 made famous by Chris Mew, it is not lost on Morton that he will be wearing the number of goalkicking legend Jason Dunstall.
“It’s a great number and it’s got a long history at the club. Only a couple of people have worn it over the past 30-35 years," Morton told hawthornfc.com.au.
"It has featured quite a lot in September and hopefully I can get it back out there on the big stage.”
Morton has been working closely with former forward Ben Dixon, who also wore the famous guernsey for most of his 11-year-career and still has a role at the club.
“I spoke to Dicko when they gave me the jumper and he was pretty excited about it. Obviously not as excited as I was but it is a real honour to be wearing the no. 19," Morton said.
"Also, Jason Dunstall is one of the greatest goal kickers of all time and to be wearing his number is huge.”
The West Australian native is happily settled in Melbourne, with brothers Mitch and Cale playing for Richmond and Melbourne respectively.
Until this week, Morton was living with Cale and his parents Noel and Valda, but he has just moved in with teammate Michael Osborne.
He keeps in regular touch with his siblings but admits footy does not take up much of the conversation when they do catch up.
“Mitch and I play a lot of golf together so it’s good fun to get out on the golf course and get stuck into a bit of heckling,” he said.
“That’s the beauty of golf. You get out there and there’s no time to be talking about footy. You’re thinking about how good or bad a shot you’ve just had and walking to the ball, thinking about your next shot. That’s what draws me and my brothers to golf.”
Morton said he could sympathise with former teammates Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn, who were in a similar position to him at the end of 2009 and left during trade week to seek further opportunities with the Sydney Swans.
He says he hopes that their departures may open up a regular opportunity for himself.
“I work hard for my opportunities and we’ve had a couple of people walk away from the club and good on them, they’ve got the opportunity somewhere else,” he said.
“That may or may not open up a spot for me. I’ll just continue to work hard and see where the wind blows me.”
He knows that the time has come to make his mark in the AFL.
“That’s a goal of mine definitely. This is my fourth year now and I’m 21 years old. It’s time to start making an impact at the top level," Morton said.
