ACL Tear Scuttles Morley’s Season

Tuesday 19th Jan, 2010

The week has begun with bad news for the Brisbane Strikers as they prepare for their first fixture in the Silver Boot pre-season tournament on Wednesday night.

But it is news that might just be welcomed by defences around Queensland. Luke Morley, last season’s Golden Boot winner for the Brisbane Strikers and second behind only Russell Woodruffe in the QSL’s goal scoring charts, will most likely miss the entire 2010 season after sustaining damage to his anterior cruciate ligament in a touch football match.

The injury will, of course, be a massive setback to Morley, who had been on the radar of A-League club Gold Coast United and will be unable to press his claims at that level of the game, or to continue terrorising QSL defences through playing for the Strikers.

But it will also be huge blow for the Brisbane Strikers who will miss not only Morley’s pace, athleticism, finishing prowess and linking work, but also his experience in a squad that has already lost the intellectual capital provided by that other experienced marksman, Steve Unsworth, and the furnace-toughened dynamism of Adam Webber from the front line of their 2009 championship-winning side.

The news about Morley has been greeted with all the enthusiasm that might normally be reserved for a hole in the head by coach Stuart McLaren, who will be carefully considering his options and no doubt looking to the Silver Boot to unearth a striker with the right qualities to partner with Gareth Musson at the sharp end of his formation.