Wikipedia

Marc Murphy (footballer)

For the American soccer player, see Mark Murphy (soccer). For the American football player and executive, see Mark Murphy (American football executive).

Marc Murphy (born 19 July 1987) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited with the first overall selection in the 2005 AFL draft and served as the captain of Carlton from the 2013 season to 2018.[1] He is the son of John Murphy.

Marc Murphy
Murphy playing for Carlton in June 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-07-19) 19 July 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Beverley Hills (Vic)/Oakleigh Chargers
Draft No. 1, 2005 national draft
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 81 kg (179 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2021 Carlton 300 (197)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and junior career

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Murphy attended Whitefriars College in Donvale.[2] He played for Beverley Hills Junior Football Club[3] and Doncaster Football Club,[4] before playing TAC Cup football with the Oakleigh Chargers.[5][6][7] He represented the victorious Vic Metro team at the 2005 AFL Under 18 Championships, winning the Larke Medal as the best player of the tournament.[8]

As the son of John Murphy, a Hall-of-Famer and legend of the Fitzroy Football Club,[9] Marc was eligible to be taken by the Brisbane Lions under the father–son rule.[10] However he exercised his option to decline the offer and nominate for the 2005 AFL National draft as he didn't want to leave Melbourne.[11] Carlton subsequently took him in the draft with the first overall draft pick, a priority pick.

AFL career

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Carlton

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2006–2007: Beginnings

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Murphy made his AFL debut in round 1 of the 2006 season against Melbourne at the Telstra Dome. 17 disposals, 11 kicks and 6 handballs – highlighted by his first career goal – earned him an NAB AFL Rising Star award nomination.[12] Murphy impressed pundits in his first season, and he was an early favourite for the Rising Star award.[13] However, he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in round 13 against the Brisbane Lions, which effectively ended any chance he had of winning it.[14] Despite playing only twelve full games, Murphy led Carlton in assists for the season. He won Carlton's Best First Year Player award, and was voted by his peers as the AFL Players Association's Best First Year Player.[15]

Murphy was elevated to the eight-man leadership group for the 2007 season.[16] In early 2007, he replicated his good form of 2006, amassing 30 disposals against eventual premiers Geelong in round 2. However, an injury to prime midfielder Nick Stevens after round 3 saw Murphy attract the opposition's best taggers in most games. While his form remained solid, he finished outside the top 10 in the club's John Nicholls Medal.[17]

2008

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Murphy added considerable bulk to his frame during the off-season, highlighted in many preseason news articles.[18] He was removed from the leadership group, which was reduced to five players. Murphy benefitted significantly from the return of Nick Stevens and the recruitment of Chris Judd, as they attracted the strongest taggers, giving Murphy more freedom to run. He had breakout games against Port Adelaide in round 11[19] and against Hawthorn in round 22, picking up a season-high 36 disposals at 81% efficiency.[20] He played his 50th game in round 15 against St Kilda.[21] Murphy capped off a great 2008 season by coming second to Judd in the John Nicholls Medal, and recording 11 votes in the Brownlow Medal.[18]

Murphy was selected for Australia in the 2008 International Rules Series against Ireland. He was one of Australia's best in the first test, kicking 4 overs to assist a late-game comeback by Australia which fell one point short.[22] He scored a goal in the second test by unintentionally tapping the ball into the net from crowded contest.

2009

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Murphy continued his form in the 2009 season, establishing himself as one of the elite midfielders in the AFL, and averaging 25.6 disposals per game. He became Carlton's most potent goal-scoring midfielder, setting himself a personal target of averaging a goal a game, and he achieved this with a total of 31 goals from his 23 matches. After becoming a damaging midfielder, he was selected in the All-Australian Squad of 40, but was not selected in the team, and polled 15 Brownlow Medal votes to finish equal 9th. He again finished second in the Best and Fairest award (John Nicholls Medal) behind his captain Chris Judd.

2010

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Murphy played his 100th game in Round 21, 2010; in doing so, he, father John (246 games for Fitzroy, South Melbourne and North Melbourne), and grandfather Leo Murphy (132 games for Hawthorn) became the only father–son–grandson combination in league history to each play 100 games.[23]

Murphy missed much of the 2010 pre-season due to hip surgery,[24][25][26] and struggled through the first half of the year. However, his second half of the season was exemplary, polling best and fairest votes in every game after Round 14 and ultimately finishing third for the award.[27]

2011

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Murphy became one of the league's elite midfielders in 2011. He was named in the All-Australian team for the first time in his career, on the half-forward flank,[28] and won his first John Nicholls Medal for best and fairest player at Carlton. He was also named as the AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year,[29] and The Age' Player of the Year.[30]

2012

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Murphy started the year as strong as he finished 2011, becoming the favourite for the Brownlow Medal before a heavy collision with Patrick Dangerfield in round 8 where he sustained a shoulder injury.[31][32] He returned in round 16, and from round 17 to 21 was named as the acting captain in the absence of Chris Judd.

2013

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Marc was announced Captain of the Carlton Football Club after superstar Chris Judd stepped down.[33] He began leading well, averaging 22 disposals for the season.[34]

2014

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In 2014 Marc played a consistent season averaging 24 Disposals in 20 games. He finished second in the John Nicholls Medal.[35]

2015

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Marc celebrated his 200th game against the Hawthorn Football Club in round 17 2015. Although the Blues were beaten convincingly, Marc had a match-high 37 Disposals. Marc finished second in the Blues' Best and Fariest by a vote behind young gun Patrick Cripps.

2016

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At the end of 2015, it was speculated that Murphy might lose the Carlton captaincy when new coach Brendon Bolton declared that the club was going through a "real reset" which included reviewing the leadership.[36] However early in the 2016 preseason, Murphy was reappointed captain the club again for a 4th straight season.[37] The 2016 campaign started well for Marc until he suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Geelong in round 10.

2017

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Marc bounced back from an injury-filled year to produce one of his most impressive to date, averaging over 29 disposals for the second time in his career. He won his second John Nicholls Medal as Carlton's Best and Fairest. His experience and leadership played a vital role in the club's "reset" which is still in progress today.

2018

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Even at the age of 30 and after a wooden spoon season, Murphy still expressed his commitment to the football club after signing a contract extension.[38] Murphy had another injury hindered season, only being able to play in 13 games. He once again committed to the team, signing an extension until the end of the 2020 season, proving his loyalty to the club.[1]

2019

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Marc Murphy stepped down as captain after his injury plagued 2018 season, giving young leaders Sam Docherty and Patrick Cripps co-captaincy.[39] Murphy still remains in the leadership group, though alongside Ed Curnow and Kade Simpson.[40]

2021

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In August 2021, Murphy announced his retirement from his playing career, which came after his 300th and last game against Port Adelaide.[41][42]

Four months after his retirement in December 2021, Murphy reflected on his playing career at Carlton and stated that “It was definitely the wrong decision to sack Brett Ratten as senior coach and replace him with Mick Malthouse” and Carlton was in great form under Ratten and “stiff” to narrowly lose its semi-final to the West Coast Eagles in the 2011 season".[43] Murphy further added “I just think there’d been so much investment in Ratts and we were progressing really well and unfortunately through circumstance, I think it was too quick to just go ‘nah, we’ll go in another direction’. Essentially you end up having to go backwards before you go up again really. Very rarely will someone come in as a new coach and just go bounce straightaway".[44] “I think the support and the communication needed to be better at that time. I was never one for going upstairs, so to speak, and getting involved in all of that chat. I was dealing with coaches, not necessarily getting involved with CEOs and the rest of it about who appoints people. “Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, but I think it was a bad move”. [45]

Murphy then criticised his former senior coach Malthouse stating "his time at Carlton, I don’t think he was really in it for the right reasons. Then once it turned pear-shaped, it was all about him, unfortunately, at the end and I was left to be thrown at the bus quite a bit". “He was obviously a terrific coach, but unfortunately at Carlton for us and for me and the boys who were there working so hard, it just didn’t work out” and “It was extremely difficult, but Mick was a very autocratic leader. It was all whatever he said basically goes. I could have my input, but I couldn’t get really any traction whatsoever".[46]

Kabaddi career

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Murphy signed on to play kabaddi and represent Australia in the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League exhibition event in Melbourne on 28 December 2024.[47]

Personal life

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In September 2015, Murphy proposed to longtime girlfriend Jessie Habermann, a model, actor and blogger. They were married in December 2016.[48][49] Their first child was born in 2018.[50][51][52][53][54]

Since 2010, Murphy has been an ambassador for the MAD Foundation, a Melbourne non-for-profit organisation helping disabled and disadvantaged young people.[55]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to end of round 22, 2021[56]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2006 Carlton 3 13 8 4 148 86 234 73 27 0.6 0.3 11.4 6.6 18.0 5.6 2.1 2
2007 Carlton 3 22 10 17 264 130 394 91 64 0.5 0.8 12.0 5.9 17.9 4.1 2.9 0
2008 Carlton 3 22 14 11 335 207 542 137 58 0.6 0.5 15.2 9.4 24.6 6.2 2.6 11
2009 Carlton 3 23 31 17 286 302 588 107 89 1.3 0.7 12.4 13.1 25.6 4.7 3.9 15
2010 Carlton 3 22 19 11 278 282 560 90 100 0.9 0.5 12.6 12.8 25.5 4.1 4.5 5
2011 Carlton 3 24 22 13 391 308 699 108 108 0.9 0.5 16.3 12.8 29.1 4.5 4.5 19
2012 Carlton 3 16 11 10 236 184 420 69 63 0.7 0.6 14.8 11.5 26.3 4.3 3.9 11
2013 Carlton 3 23 18 7 284 228 512 87 79 0.8 0.3 12.3 9.9 22.3 3.8 3.4 10
2014 Carlton 3 20 10 9 275 207 482 75 99 0.5 0.5 13.8 10.4 24.1 3.8 5.0 9
2015 Carlton 3 19 7 6 291 219 510 79 65 0.4 0.3 15.3 11.5 26.8 4.2 3.4 12
2016 Carlton 3 10 7 3 114 91 205 38 30 0.7 0.3 11.4 9.1 20.5 3.8 3.0 1
2017 Carlton 3 22 11 9 360 296 656 127 86 0.5 0.4 16.4 13.5 29.8 5.8 3.9 9
2018 Carlton 3 13 5 4 184 154 338 52 52 0.4 0.3 14.2 11.9 26.0 4.8 4.0 2
2019 Carlton 3 19 12 3 279 204 483 88 65 0.6 0.2 14.7 10.7 25.4 4.6 3.4 6
2020 Carlton 3 17 4 7 178 135 313 63 37 0.2 0.4 10.5 7.9 18.4 3.7 2.2 2
2021 Carlton 3 15 8 4 115 76 191 47 24 0.5 0.3 7.7 5.1 12.7 3.1 1.6 0
Career 300 197 135 4018 3109 7127 1341 1046 0.7 0.5 13.4 10.4 23.8 4.5 3.5 112

Game highs

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Game highs correct as of the end of the round 15, 2019.[56]
Stat Game High Round Season Opponent
Goals 4 R18 2009 North Melbourne
Behinds 3 R4 2007 West Coast Eagles
Kicks 24 R4 2019 Gold Coast
Handballs 24 R4 2015 St Kilda
Disposals 39 R3 2012 Collingwood
Marks 15 R4 2010 Adelaide Crows
Tackles 12 R5 2014 Western Bulldogs
Inside 50s 11 R9 2008 Fremantle
Contested Possessions 24 R4 2015 St Kilda
Clearances 10 R4 2015 St Kilda

Honours and achievements

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b "Murphy's 2020 vision". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Murph meets Carlton's men of the cloth". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Mark Murphy | AFL | International Speakers Group". Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Season Playing List". websites.sportstg.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  5. ^ admin. "Marc Murphy's transition to AFL - Winners Sports Nutrition". Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Marc Murphy". AFLPA. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Australian Football - Marc Murphy - Player Bio". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Marc Murphy". Signature Sports. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  9. ^ "TOC". www.footystamps.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Father–son eligibility unlikely to change this year". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  11. ^ Stayner, Guy (26 November 2005). "Murphy taken first in draft". ABC News. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Round 1, 2006". Blueseum: History of the Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Murph helps shoulder the load for Gazza". Carlton Football Club. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Season over for Carlton's Murphy". ABC News. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  15. ^ "AFLPA Best First-Year Player Winners - Draftguru". Draftguru. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  16. ^ McClure, Sam (22 March 2017). "Carlton captain Marc Murphy injury free, reinvigorated". The Age. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  17. ^ "2007 Best and Fairest Votes". Blueseum: History of the Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b Blake, Martin (26 March 2009). "Carlton - they're coming". The Age. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Round 11, 2008". Blueseum: History of the Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Round 22, 2008". Blueseum: History of the Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Round 15, 2008". Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Gameday Live 2007". Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  23. ^ Tony De Bolfo 100 Club is Murphy's lore Archived 26 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 18 August 2010
  24. ^ Blake, Martin (31 August 2010). "Hip surgery has robbed Murphy of punch". The Age. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Murphy to return for Blues". ABC News. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Marc Murphy to stay true Blue". www.couriermail.com.au. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  27. ^ Carlton Football Club Judd in John Nicholls Medal threepeatArchived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 28 September 2010
  28. ^ Holmesby, Luke (19 September 2011). "Pies dominate AA team". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  29. ^ de Kretzer, Chris; Timms, Darryl (27 September 2011). "Carlton midfielder Marc Murphy wins coaches' award for player of the year". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Age Footballer of the Year – Round 24 votes". The Age. Australia. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  31. ^ Buckle, Greg (21 May 2012). "AFL Carlton's Murphy has cracked shoulder". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  32. ^ "A clear danger at the Crows". The Australian. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Murphy to skipper Carlton in 2013". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  34. ^ "2013 Review: Marc Murphy". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  35. ^ "Murphy's 2020 vision". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  36. ^ "Blues will review Murphy's captaincy". 30 November 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  37. ^ "Marc Murphy to stay Carlton Blues captain in 2016 AFL season". 16 February 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  38. ^ Niall, Jake (27 February 2018). "More loss than gain, so Marc Murphy set to stay". The Age. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  39. ^ "Carlton replace Marc Murphy with joint captains". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  40. ^ "Five elected to lead". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  41. ^ "Murphy retires a Blues great but not with the 'story' he craved". 10 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  42. ^ "Carlton stalwart's bittersweet farewell ahead of Port Adelaide clash". 10 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  43. ^ "Marc Murphy says it was the 'wrong decision' to sack Brett Ratten and replace him with Mick Malthouse". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  44. ^ "Marc Murphy says it was the 'wrong decision' to sack Brett Ratten and replace him with Mick Malthouse". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  45. ^ "Marc Murphy says it was the 'wrong decision' to sack Brett Ratten and replace him with Mick Malthouse". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  46. ^ "Marc Murphy says it was the 'wrong decision' to sack Brett Ratten and replace him with Mick Malthouse". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  47. ^ Byrne, Fiona (23 November 2024). "Blues star Marc Murphy swaps codes to play kabaddi for Australia". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  48. ^ "Inside an elegant South Melbourne city wedding". Vogue.com.au. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  49. ^ "Marc Murphy's Wife: Who is Jessie Habermann?". New Idea Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  50. ^ "Carlton captain Marc Murphy marries blogger Jessie Haberman in the midst of Melbourne's freak storm". 30 December 2016.
  51. ^ "Jessie Habermann: Actor, Extra and Model - Australia".
  52. ^ "Marc and Jessie Murphy welcome first child". www.heraldsun.com.au. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  53. ^ Beeston, Ariane (19 January 2018). "Carlton captain Marc Murphy and wife Jessie welcome baby boy". Essential Baby. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  54. ^ "AFL star Marc Murphy and wife Jessie are expecting their first child". honey.nine.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  55. ^ "2021 Madden Medal nominees announced". AFL Players' Association. 3 May 2022.
  56. ^ a b "AFL Tables - Marc Murphy - Stats - Statistics". afltables.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
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