What they may not realise is that in completing the noble deed, Murphy also consigns three generations of his family name to the VFL/AFL record books, in an historic first in 114 seasons of League competition.
With Leo and John Murphy to be joined by Marc in the Ton Up Club, the Murphys become the first to reach the ton as a grandfather-father-son 100-game combination.
John, who lists five best and fairest awards at Fitzroy amongst his list of lofty on-field achievements, wasn’t aware of the milestone when contacted earlier this week.
“I don’t know of any others come to think of it,” said father John when the grandfather/father/son statistic was put to him this week. “Maybe the Kennedys (Hawthorn’s John, John junior and Sydney’s Josh) will be next.
“It’s quite amazing really. Hopefully Friday will be a good night and we win the bloody game too.”
Murphy’s grandfather Leo - Hawthorn’s first player to complete back-to-back best and fairest victories, represented the Mayblooms in 132 senior appearances as a backman, and was twice acknowledged with Victorian selection, while father John was an outstanding centreman for the Lions, and later South Melbourne and North Melbourne, in a career which spanned 275 senior appearances over 14 seasons, including state representation on nine occasions.
Uniquely placed to reflect on the careers of both his father (originally a dyed-in-the-wool Carlton supporter) and his 23 year-old son, John was only too happy to do so in the lead-up to Marc’s date with destiny.
“I was only a little boy, but I was a pretty fanatical Hawthorn supporter because I was mindful of where Dad played,” Murphy said.
“Dad didn’t talk too much about his footy, and there wasn’t much around in those days in terms of press coverage. But I used to hear enough it at the Hawthorn games because there were always plenty of old Hawthorn people around, and they used to tell me how good he was.
“We used to go to Glenferrie Oval to watch the games, because Dad was a good mate of a bloke named Paddy Edmunds, who was coach of the Hawthorn seconds through the 1950s . . . and Brendan Edwards was my favourite player.”
That John Murphy could have been taken by Hawthorn under the father/son rule has undoubtedly served as a constant irritation over the years to those of the brown and gold persuasion - even moreso now that Marc is within days of the 100-game landmark, having opted not to join Brisbane under the same statute.
So why didn’t John join Hawthorn? “I was playing senior footy for Heidelberg and zoned to Fitzroy. Back then I’d train at Fitzroy one night a week, and the next at Hawthorn,” John said.
“Hawthorn offered me the no.16, which was the old man’s number, but Fitzroy probably made me feel a bit more welcome in those days and they also offered me a bit of dough. I can remember the old man saying to me ‘Mate, that’s more than I’ve made in my entire career’. In the end he said to me ‘Just go with your gut feel’, and it’s remarkable that Marc basically did the same thing.”
Ever-present in the Carlton rooms on matchdays in Melbourne, John has closely followed Marc’s progress since Wayne Hughes called his name with Carlton’s priority selection (selection one overall) of the 2005 National Draft.
“He’s doing what he wanted to do,” John said. “He made the choice between footy and cricket because he had a pretty promising cricket career, but he’s stuck to the task and I think he’s done exceptionally well. He’s pretty durable, he’s copped a few baddies in his time, but he’s kept getting up.
“It’s five years now since he first ran out, and it only seems like yesterday. Gee, it goes pretty quick.”
Leo Murphy
August 7, 1909 - April 5, 1999
132 matches, 22 goals for Hawthorn, 1930-’40
Hawthorn best and fairest 1936 & ’37
John Murphy
November 20, 1949 -
246 matches, 374 goals for Fitzroy, Fitzroy, 1967-’80
23 matches, 40 goals for South Melbourne, 1967-’77
Nine matches, nine goals for North Melbourne, 1979-’80
Fitzroy best and fairest 1968, ’70, ’71, ’73 & ’77
South Melbourne best and fairest 1978
Fitzroy leading goalkicker 1971 & ’76
South Melbourne leading goalkicker 1978
Fitzroy captain 1973-’77
Fitzroy Team of the Century centreman
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee 2006
Marc Murphy
July 19, 1987 -
99 matches, 80 goals for Carlton, 2006 -
Carlton Best First Year Player, 2006
AFLPA Best First Year Player, 2006
John Nicholls Medal (Carlton best and fairest) runner-up 2008 & ’09