Carlton’s Marvellous Midfielder | Farewell ‘Murph’
Writtem by Ari Stamatakos
Born 19th of July 1987, Marc Murphy played his junior football at Beverley Hills Junior Football Club before moving to Doncaster Football Club. He represented Oakleigh Chargers at TAC Cup level, then being selected in the Vic Metro side for the 2005 AFL Under 18 Championships. Here, was where ‘Murph’ really announced himself to the football public, winning the Larke Medal for the best player in the tournament. Despite being eligible for a father-son selection at Brisbane - with dad John playing 214 games for Fitzroy in the 70’s - ‘Murph’ decided to stay home in Victoria and nominate for the AFL national draft. Where Carlton showed no hesitancy in drafting him number 1 overall.
‘Murph’ hit the ground running from day 1, winning a rising star nomination in his debut against Melbourne. He was the odds-on favourite to win the award and would have won it, should it had not been for an unfortunate shoulder injury against the Brisbane Lions in round 13, ending his season. This would then start an unfortunate theme for 'Murph' in his career, putting his body on the line for the Blues countless times and coming out the bad side on more than one occasion. After being elevated to the leadership group the following year, he continued where he left off halfway through the previous year, establishing himself as one of the best young players in the league.
Despite his omission from the leadership group the following year, ‘Murph’, flourished in 2008, with the arrival of Chris Judd and the return of Nick Stevens, ‘Murph’ was able to flourish in a role where he wasn’t confronted by the game’s best taggers, unlike the previous year. Judd and Stevens where the army tanks to ‘Murph’s’ Ferrari. He showed off his smooth moving and elite ball movement, which would become a staple of his game in future years.
In 2009, Murph evolved and added layers to his game. After Nick Stevens struggled with form, then injury during the season, ‘Murph’ was instructed to add more elements to his game, to compensate for Steven’s absence. This saw a change of nearly 60 fewer kicks over the season and add nearly 100 more handballs. Despite this, he became immensely more damaging, kicking 31 goals from 23 games, as he became the Blues best goal-scoring midfielder. He was selected for the 40-man All-Australian squad, but unfortunately, didn’t make the final team. He also played his first final, as the Blues went down the Brisbane in the elimination final.
His second injury setback came in the pre-season of 2010, as he had hip surgery and struggled with it through the early part of the season. However, once he got his confidence back, he excelled. He played his 100th game in Round 21 of that year and polled votes in every game of Carlton's best and fairest award from round 14. 2011 was, arguably, Murphy's best-ever season. The Blues finished 5th that year and that was partly off the back of Murph's stellar performances. He was selected in the All-Australian side for that year, won his first John Nicholls Medal, won the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year, and The Age' Player of the Year. As well as winning the best finals player in that year as well, despite only playing in 2 games.
If you thought 2011 was good, then 2012 was set to be one of the best seasons by a player yet. He exploded out of the blocks in the first two games, having 32 and 30 touches in those two games, as well as kicking 3 goals. But his round three game against the Pies was the pinnacle of his career to date. He had 39 touches, kicked 2 goals, 9 score involvements, 7 clearances and 663 metres gained, as well as flipping off the Pies faithful for good measure. The Blues walked home to a 10-goal win and Carlton were flag favourites, and 'Murph' was favourite for the Brownlow Medal. This continued until round 8, Carlton was sitting 5-3 and Murph was still having an unbelievable year until a collision with Patrick Dangerfield saw 'Murph' side-lined until round 16. He never quite found the magic once he returned as Carlton slumped down to a 10th place finish and ‘Murph’ - and the fans - were left to rue what could’ve been.
2013 saw ‘Murph’ appointed skipper after Chris Judd stepped down from his duties. With the added weight of being a captain, Murphy stood up when the club needed him, including an inspirational last quarter against Port Adelaide to single-handedly drag Carlton back to finals football. He played a handy role in his 2nd finals win the week after. Murphy played 20 games the following year, finishing 2nd in the John Nicholls Medal. In 2015 Murphy celebrated his 200th career game, having 37 touches in that match and again finished 2nd in the John Nicholls Medal, this time to Patrick Cripps, a subtle passing of the torch. 2016 saw the arrival of Brenton Bolton as coach, which saw the rise in the form of Murph, having a good season until another season-ending injury, this time in round 10 vs Geelong. 2017 was a very good season for ‘Murph’ despite the Blues not being as good as they were the year before, he won his second John Nicholls Medal and averaged 29 disposals.
As 2018 came, so did the injuries - again -, the Blues had their worst season ever and ‘Murph’ only managed 13 games. Despite this, he extended his contract until the end of the 2020 season. The following year he stepped down as captain and played a more backseat role in the midfield, occupying only a handful of centre bounces and being deployed in the forward line alot more, where he would eventually see out his career. In his later years, Murph has lost the mobility and athleticism to cut it at the top level, however, his trademark class and composure was still present to provide us with multiple memories of what a player he was.
Marc Murphy Stats at Carlton
5th for Games – 300
3rd for Disposals – 7127
20th for Goals – 197
2nd for Tackles – 1046
8th for Rebound 50’s – 461
1st for Inside 50’s - 1184
1st for Clearances – 1124
4th for Brownlow Votes – 282
1st for contested Possessions – 2768
2nd for uncontested Possessions – 4358
1st for Goal Assists - 207
When the Blues went into turmoil, Murph, despite having every right to leave, didn’t. He stayed true to the club that drafted him and bled Navy Blue until his last game. He was one of the best players in the comp, but injuries and unfortunate circumstances prevented him from reaching the pinnacle of the game. His toughness and bravery will never be forgotten, playing hurt multiple times to putting his body on the line for the team, that is just a summation of how much of a Carlton man he was, and still is. We will never forget the bananas from the pocket or the elite entries inside 50 - a premiership cup wasn't a part of his story, despite how much we all wanted it to happen. Thank you for the memories, Thank you for the commitment, Thank you for everything you have done for this football club, Farewell Murph.
