The drive form Mt Waverley to Parkville takes at least half an hour.  In bad traffic, it can stretch out close to an hour.

It’s a route new Essendon recruit Alex Morgan knows well.

Hamstring troubles kept him to seven games with the Oakleigh Chargers in 2015.

As part of his rehabilitation, he would drive to the State Netball and Hockey Centre three times a week.

“They didn’t just treat the injury but they looked at his biomechanics,” Oakleigh Chargers Coach Mick Stinear said.

“It really worked wonders for him. They tweaked a few things and got him running a lot more efficiently.”

Morgan spent nearly three months on the sidelines, but as he went about his recovery, his thoughts remained with his teammates.

Oakleigh has won three of the last four TAC Cup Premierships. 

It’s a tough side to break into, especially around finals time when the private school students are available.

The Chargers 2015 finals campaign coincided with Morgan’s return to fitness. 

“Even leading up to the Grand Final when we were talking to him about his body and if he was fit to play, his immediate response was that he didn’t want to knock anyone else out of the side,” Stinear said.

Morgan did get a call-up for the decider as the Chargers won their second straight flag.

Just a few days later Morgan set the quickest time (2.88secs) at the AFL Draft Combine for the 20 metre sprint – proving those trips to Parkville were well worth it.