In fact, the entire Southern United team is bringing that mentality to this year’s national women’s football league, which begins when Southern plays Central at Forrester Park today.
A year ago the side made the playoffs for the first time, winning more games in one season than it had in the previous decade.
That continued into the winter league, as Dunedin Technical claimed a 4-2 win in the Kate Sheppard Cup final on Sunday last week.
It has been a great run, and at some point those results need to be put down to genuine quality, rather than just a run of form.
For Morison, who bagged a goal in the final, reaching that point was providing plenty of motivation.
"We were talking about it the other day — all the articles really don’t rate us still. They still think we’re underdogs," the 19-year-old striker said.
"A lot of us do prefer the underdog title. It works well for most of us. "I think they all think it was a one-hit wonder, but I think we’ll show them. I hope so."
A second-year university student, Morison moved to Dunedin from Wellington last year.
She had been lured by the Southern United scholarship programme and wanted a change of scene from Capital, where she played for two years.
The move had been a good one both in a football and a lifestyle sense. It had culminated in the best day of her life in last weekend’s win.
While there was a short turnaround for her and the 11 other Tech players, she was hoping to carry over the momentum.
"Considering what we did in the final, it gives a lot of belief for not only the Tech players, but also everyone else that we can beat top teams such as Auckland.
"So belief is all of it and we’ve got it because we’re winning."Southern is without key players in Elise Mamanu-Gray and Ellie Isaac this year.
However, Morison said there had been a noticeable improvement among the rest of the players.Indeed there is still plenty of firepower and the likes of Morison, Lara Wall and Renee Bacon are all proven goal-scorers.
Alongside her goal in the final, Morison had also found the net twice in the Kate Sheppard Cup semifinal.
She was quick to deflect the praise back to her team, although did admit a change in mindset helped her out of a mid-season dry spell.
"I think the less you think about it the more goals come.
"I stopped thinking about it as much and it started to happen, so hopefully it carries on."
There is quality elsewhere on the pitch as well.
Captain Mikaela Hunt anchors a strong defensive line-up, while the most valuable player of the Kate Sheppard Cup final, Shontelle Smith, leads a handy midfield.
The side has a new coach as Ignacio Sande takes over from Terry Parle.
It will also play every team home and away in a double round, unlike the previous format in which teams played each other once.
National women’s league
Southern United v Central
Forrester ParkToday, 3pm
