Robert "Bob" Murphy (born 9 June 1982) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the Western Bulldogs in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). Renowned for his silky skills and leadership qualities, Murphy also proved a versatile player, equally capable of playing in attack or in defence depending on the situation. He was appointed as the Bulldogs' captain for 2015 following the departure of predecessor

Ryan Griffen Ryan Leigh Griffen (born 27 July 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Griffen was born in Goolwa, a South Australia ...

Early life

Murphy is the third and youngest child of John and Monica Murphy. Both parents belonged formerly to Catholic orders, John as a priest and Monica as a nun. He has one brother, Ben, and a sister, Bridget.

AFL career

Murphy was drafted to the Western Bulldogs with pick 13 in the 1999 National Draft. After spending much of the 2000 season developing his slim frame, he made his debut in Round 19 against Carlton at Princes Park, gathering 13 disposals and kicking a goal in a thrilling 3-point victory. In 2001 he was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in round 16 after playing . Robert murphy

In 2005, under new coach Rodney Eade, Murphy cemented a place as a small centre half forward. He kicked 33 goals from this position and his overhead marking and leading ability were invaluable to the team. As part of the leadership group he led his younger teammates by great example across the half forward line. On 26 May 2006 Murphy injured his left knee during a horrible collision in the Bulldogs' 34-point loss to Collingwood. This injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 2006 season, including what would have been his first finals series. After successful reconstruction, he returned to action in the

2007 NAB Cup The 2007 NAB Cup was the pre-season competition of the Australian Football League's 2007 season. It culminated in the Grand Final on 17 March, which was won by Carlton. Prize money * Winner: $220,000 * Runner-up: $110,000 * Round 3 losers: $ ...

series in February 2007. He injured his right knee early in the 2008 season, but played on for the remainder of the season, before undergoing surgery to repair a damaged patellar tendon in September 2008. Murphy was back to form resembling his best in 2010, when he posted his second top-five finish in the club best and fairest. He spent more time across half-back, where his disposal and decision-making were up to his usual high standard. In games against Essendon and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

he collected a career-best 28 disposals. He missed three games mid-year with a knee injury which was again aggravated in the preliminary final, requiring post-season surgery. In 2011 he had one of his best ever seasons, finishing second in the Bulldogs' best and fairest award, and earning his first selection in an All-Australian team, being named on a half-back flank. In 2015 he was named captain of the year at the AFLPA awards becoming the fourth player to win the award in his first year as a captain and was also named captain of the all Australian team becoming the first ever player to have collected both honours in the same season. On 10 April 2016, in the final minutes of the Bulldogs three-point loss to Hawthorn, Murphy sustained a knee injury while contesting a mark in the Hawks' forward 50. Scans later revealed he had injured his knee and had sustained a season-ending ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Murphy later confirmed that he would play on for the Dogs in the 2017 season, and he ultimately missed the club's premiership win in October of 2016. Easton Wood was named as his replacement as captain. Robert Murphy played the final game of his career in round 23 2017, where he collected 15 disposals and 1 goal in a 9-point loss to Hawthorn.

Statistics

: , - , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, , 22 , , 3 , , 1 , , 0 , , 13 , , 7 , , 20 , , 4 , , 1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , 6.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, , 2 , , 16 , , 2 , , 0 , , 105 , , 60 , , 165 , , 45 , , 16 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 6.6 , , 3.8 , , 10.3 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , 2 , , 19 , , 5 , , 6 , , 196 , , 94 , , 290 , , 93 , , 27 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.3 , , 4.9 , , 15.3 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, , 2 , , 22 , , 5 , , 3 , , 273 , , 101 , , 374 , , 98 , , 31 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.4 , , 4.6 , , 17.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, , 2 , , 19 , , 16 , , 8 , , 218 , , 69 , , 287 , , 85 , , 40 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 11.5 , , 3.6 , , 15.1 , , 4.5 , , 2.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , 2 , , 22 , , 33 , , 19 , , 284 , , 77 , , 361 , , 172 , , 26 , , 1.5 , , 0.9 , , 12.9 , , 3.5 , , 16.4 , , 7.8 , , 1.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , 2 , , 9 , , 13 , , 12 , , 97 , , 22 , , 119 , , 70 , , 11 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 10.8 , , 2.4 , , 13.2 , , 7.8 , , 1.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, , 2 , , 17 , , 19 , , 13 , , 188 , , 45 , , 233 , , 110 , , 23 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 11.1 , , 2.6 , , 13.7 , , 6.5 , , 1.4 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , 2 , , 24 , , 34 , , 18 , , 321 , , 108 , , 429 , , 209 , , 42 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 13.4 , , 4.5 , , 17.9 , , 8.7 , , 1.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , 2 , , 16 , , 10 , , 15 , , 186 , , 85 , , 271 , , 128 , , 20 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 11.6 , , 5.3 , , 16.9 , , 8.0 , , 1.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , 2 , , 21 , , 8 , , 7 , , 281 , , 122 , , 403 , , 135 , , 22 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 13.4 , , 5.8 , , 19.2 , , 6.4 , , 1.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , 2 , , 21 , , 6 , , 4 , , 306 , , 128 , , 434 , , 77 , , 36 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 14.6 , , 6.1 , , 20.7 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , 2 , , 21 , , 2 , , 0 , , 295 , , 125 , , 420 , , 78 , , 33 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 14.0 , , 6.0 , , 20.0 , , 3.7 , , 1.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , 2 , , 19 , , 13 , , 7 , , 296 , , 122 , , 418 , , 88 , , 43 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 15.6 , , 6.4 , , 22.0 , , 4.6 , , 2.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 2 , , 22 , , 4 , , 5 , , 294 , , 158 , , 452 , , 91 , , 39 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 13.4 , , 7.2 , , 20.5 , , 4.1 , , 1.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , 2 , , 21 , , 2 , , 2 , , 324 , , 147 , , 471 , , 96 , , 32 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 15.4 , , 7.0 , , 22.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , 2 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1 , , 55 , , 29 , , 84 , , 19 , , 6 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 18.3 , , 9.7 , , 28.0 , , 6.3 , , 2.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , 2 , , 17 , , 10 , , 7 , , 208 , , 128 , , 336 , , 84 , , 36 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 12.2 , , 7.5 , , 19.8 , , 4.9 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 312 ! 183 ! 127 ! 3940 ! 1627 ! 5567 ! 1682 ! 484 ! 0.6 ! 0.4 ! 12.6 ! 5.2 ! 17.8 ! 5.4 ! 1.6

Personal life

He is married to wife Justine, and has three children – a son, and two daughters.

Media work

Murphy features frequently in the media. He writes a weekly column in the sport section of '' The Age'' newspaper. An article he wrote about playing against Steve Johnson earned him a highly commended prize in the 2012 Australian Football Media Association awards. He was formerly a regular panelist on the AFL 360 television talk show on Fox Footy. In 2018 in collaboration with Fox Footy he released his own short weekly series called Bob'',' where he interviewed a number of Australian icons. Murphy formerly hosted the Western Bulldogs' podcast "Freedom in a Cage" along with retired basketball player Chris Anstey, and also co-hosted the Official Bulldogs podcast 'Barkly Street' alongside captain of the Western Bulldogs,

Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...

. In mid 2019, Murphy joined

Andy Maher Andrew Maher is an Australian sports journalist and broadcaster for the Seven Network and Melbourne sport radio station 1116 SEN. He is best known for covering both Australian rules football and the Big Bash League for the Network Ten, Ten tel ...

to host the late afternoon drive show on

1116 SEN 1116 SEN (call sign 3AK) is an Australian radio station in Victoria. Owned and operated by Pacific Star Network, it broadcasts a sports radio format from Lower Plenty to Greater Melbourne. First broadcast on 29 November 1931 as 3AK, the sta ...

radio. In September 2021, it was announced that Murphy would leave his Melbourne based media roles and move to Perth to become Fremantle Football Club's Head of Football Operations and Performance.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Robert 1982 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Western Bulldogs players Gippsland Power players Warragul Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) Australia international rules football team players Fremantle Football Club administrators