David "Doc" Murray (born 10 August 1972) is a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

coach and former player. His position of preference was as a .

New Zealand career

Murray started his rugby league career playing for the

Ellerslie Eagles The Ellerslie Eagles are a rugby league club based in Ellerslie, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1912 and competes in Auckland Rugby League competitions. Its premier team competes in the Sharman cup. The club celebrated its centenary Queen ...

club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition. Between 1993 and 1994 he was an Auckland representative (playing 5 games and scoring 2 tries and 4 goals) and was a

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

trialist in 1993.Richard Becht. ''A New Breed Rising: The Warriors Winfield Cup Challenge''. Auckland, HarperCollins, 1994. . p. 182 In 1994 he played for the

Auckland City Vulcans The Auckland City Vulcans were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Auckland City in the 1994 Lion Red Cup. They were replaced in 1995 by the Auckland Warriors' Colts team. Notable players Notable players included Stacey Jones, Vinn ...

in the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

before signing with the

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

, 1994. p. 115 Murray made his début in the then

Optus Cup The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super Leagu ...

for the

in 1996, starting as a . It was the only first grade appearance he was to make for the side that year. He toured

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

with the New Zealand Māori.

Later years

In 1997 he moved to England, signing a two-year contract with the prestigious

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

. However he did not find a place in the first grade side and late in the season he was loaned to the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

. Murray then spent 1998 loaned to the Lancashire Lynx club in the second division. During this time, he also had some trials with

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club, the

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

. He returned to New Zealand in 2000, playing one season with the

Ngongotaha Chiefs The Ngongotaha Chiefs are a New Zealand rugby league club. They are from Ngongotahā in the Bay of Plenty. In 2000 and 2001 they competed in the Bartercard Cup but now they compete in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League competition. Notable players ...

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

. During the season he was again selected to represent New Zealand Māori.

Coaching career

Between 2006 and 2008 Murray coached the Otumoetai Eels in the

Bay of Plenty Rugby League Bay of Plenty Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Following the restructuring of the New Zealand Rugby League they are part of the Upper Central Zone ...

competition.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Doc 1972 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Chorley Lynx players Ellerslie Eagles players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand rugby league coaches Ngongotaha Chiefs players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Warrington Wolves players Wigan Warriors players