Player Watch Cooper Murley (Delisted 2023)

May 27, 2008
25,775
31,853
Wherever I May Roam
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Socceroos, Melbourne Victory
Coop - I'm telling you, it's jobs. We gotta get jobs. Then we get the khakis. Then we get the chicks

images.jpeg-11.jpg
 

Thunderstruck

Premiership Player
Aug 19, 2003
4,014
2,397
Seaford Meadows, SA
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Central District
Another great get here, Murley for mine would have been top 20 if it wasn't for his injuries. Has quite a bit about Zak Butters in the way he plays and moves, he's always on the move, very agile, quick bursts and plays with an urgency. Can genuinely break away from packs with speed when he puts the jets on, he's small but very slippery. Put up some massive games in Under 18's in 2020.
 
Notes: An excitement machine who can explode from stoppages with blistering speed and kick long inside 50. Has a bit of Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters about the way he plays, although he doesn’t yet possess Butters’ fearless attack on the ball. Murley may be slightly built but he is clean, well-balanced, wins the ball on the move and uses it well with both feet. Injury sidelined him for most of this year but, after earning All-Australian selection at the 2019 under-16 carnival, Murley dominated in his bottom-age year of 2020, averaging 26 disposals and winning Norwood’s best-and-fairest in a premiership side. And clubs won’t forget that.

Stats:
2021 SANFL U18 (4 games):
105 ranking points, 21.5 disposals, 5.8 score involvements, 4.5 marks
2020 SANFL U18 (16 games): 128 ranking points, 25.9 disposals, 11.2 contested possessions, 4.7 clearances, 19 goals (total)

 

Crazy Tails

Premiership Player
Nov 30, 2006
4,580
5,454
Collingwood Heartland
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Is there any other teams?
Welcome to Collingwood Cooper.

Gee that second goal in his highlights package is a cracker. Snap on the run from about 45 , running at full tilt, very impressive. Looks to have a very good sense around the big sticks.

Sort of looked a bit Zac Butters’ like for me from that clip. Would be happy if he turned out like him.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
Tim Broomhead style? And I was a Broomy fan so not a sledge.
He could have ended up the second best, or at worst third best South Australian with a good run. Just has so much potential and upside. Presume the club has done the due diligence. Far better than his pick range suggests. Made the U16s AA side after a terrific carnival and was seen as the second best SA kid at that point behind then-MVP Jason Horne...
 
May 27, 2008
25,775
31,853
Wherever I May Roam
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Socceroos, Melbourne Victory
He could have ended up the second best, or at worst third best South Australian with a good run. Just has so much potential and upside. Presume the club has done the due diligence. Far better than his pick range suggests. Made the U16s AA side after a terrific carnival and was seen as the second best SA kid at that point behind then-MVP Jason Horne...

Do you think his size is an issue? I think there are plenty examples of guys Coops size gunning it at AFL level to make that a silly concern. Though we don't seem to have the luck with them.
 
Do you think his size is an issue? I think there are plenty examples of guys Coops size gunning it at AFL level to make that a silly concern. Though we don't seem to have the luck with them.

Unfortunately the majority of him playing against his peers at national championships is limited, but I've dug up a few notes from when he was really amongst the best players running around. He's someone who can play forward, has nice athletic traits, but still win his own ball inside or outside. Basically he's one of those kids who tick most boxes. He's light, but has a crack which is what you ask. So he is not going to back down from a challenge. He was already playing senior footy at Norwood, and at 178cm realistically it's not that small. Like we're not talking 173-174cm. Another cm or two and they're at the 180cm mark. He could easily be an outside ball mover who can still attend stoppages around the ground, and has the burst to be able to get away.

The main concern for me is the body, and hopefully this year was just an unlucky one. He was alright prior, so hopefully it stays that way.

June 19, 2019 U16 Champs vs WA:

#8 Cooper Murley (Norwood)


One of three who most consistently featured at the centre bounces, Murley provided a good point of difference between the midfield trio with some burst and run on the outside. Won an early clearance, but made his first real impact with a goal – collecting the loose ball over the back after initially airing a soccered attempt and converting into an open goal. Went on to win most of his ball on the outer of heavy congestion and moved it forward to good effect.


~

2019 U16 Champs a month later:

#8 Cooper Murley (Norwood)


Murley was a great forward driver for SA through midfield, adding a bit of zip to a tough inside mix. He has the pace to hunt the ball and puts in a heap of efforts until he does just that, breaking with speed and delivering forward well. Murley is still pretty light-on, but showed good tenacity to hold on with his tackles, and took a brave mark in the third term. Was caught out on one occasion when looking to play on quickly, but was otherwise effective in doing so.


#8 Cooper Murley (Norwood)

An important figure in the midfield-forward rotation for SA, Murley made a good start while resting in attack when he found space inside 50, marked, and slotted the set shot from about 40 metres out for his side’s opening goal. He would go on to continue his good form forward of the ball early in the second term as he snapped another goal, almost adding another in the same period of play. He was momentarily moved out onto the wing in the third quarter and dropped an uncontested mark with his first sight of the ball, but recovered really well to clear any danger. Murley would go on to show his well-roundedness, tackling well and providing good bursts from congestion with clearances on the move to push SA inside 50. Ended with 14 disposals, four marks, three clearances, and two goals.


~
 
What a lot of people may not realise is that for 90% of the prospects (certainly the traditional pathway ones), we haven't just started watching them at 17/18. We've viewed them over 3-4 years. Along with a ton of volunteers who assist, we've got two full-time people (myself and Michael) whose sole focus is to watch the pathway systems (boys and girls). We've added two more people who will at least be able to watch part-time on boys and girls, so effectively the site is putting in 100 hours a week watching players as a minimum.

Delving through the archives is something I quite enjoy because we know the information is there, particularly in COVID times where games have been so scarce. But even though clubs are restricted in the amount of people they can have (for example Dekka is the only FTer at the Pies with other PTers/volunteers etc.), we're able to have that independent, unbiased view that we can provide to the public too. A lot of other places will do Phantom Drafts and Power Rankings and all that, and sure there's plenty you can get from a top-age year in the 18s, but getting to know the kids and their attributes from 15-16 pays off long-term, which is why we invest in watching the U16s champs (and V/Line Cup too prior to that).

It's not meant to be a self-promotion or anything, just the work that goes into it, and really valuable to go back and see how players have developed over the years.
 
Aug 23, 2010
26,661
29,040
Information Superhighway
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Exers, Gryffindor, Rich+Ess AFLW, Tassie
What a lot of people may not realise is that for 90% of the prospects (certainly the traditional pathway ones), we haven't just started watching them at 17/18. We've viewed them over 3-4 years. Along with a ton of volunteers who assist, we've got two full-time people (myself and Michael) whose sole focus is to watch the pathway systems (boys and girls). We've added two more people who will at least be able to watch part-time on boys and girls, so effectively the site is putting in 100 hours a week watching players as a minimum.

Delving through the archives is something I quite enjoy because we know the information is there, particularly in COVID times where games have been so scarce. But even though clubs are restricted in the amount of people they can have (for example Dekka is the only FTer at the Pies with other PTers/volunteers etc.), we're able to have that independent, unbiased view that we can provide to the public too. A lot of other places will do Phantom Drafts and Power Rankings and all that, and sure there's plenty you can get from a top-age year in the 18s, but getting to know the kids and their attributes from 15-16 pays off long-term, which is why we invest in watching the U16s champs (and V/Line Cup too prior to that).

It's not meant to be a self-promotion or anything, just the work that goes into it, and really valuable to go back and see how players have developed over the years.


And seeing some of the names appear in the U12's carnival yearly is the foundation that each year's crop is built upon.

It'll be back to Murley but, the U12's lists was where I saw such names like Jack Bytel, Kaine Baldwin, Sam Collins (the Tassie version) and, from last night, Dante Visentini for the first time plus, for next year, a guy called George Wardlaw.
 
Last edited:
For those concerned about his height; he’s 178cm which is the same as Billy.
Pie 4 Life thanks for all you do, quick question do recruiters approach you for feedback/background on players?
 

Crazy Tails

Premiership Player
Nov 30, 2006
4,580
5,454
Collingwood Heartland
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Is there any other teams?
For those concerned about his height; he’s 178cm which is the same as Billy.
Pie 4 Life thanks for all you do, quick question do recruiters approach you for feedback/background on players?

I get Zac Butters/Zac Bailey vibes on Cooper. Crafty up forward with short bursts up the ground. Butters only 181cm and Bailey only 182cm. So being in that range hasn't hindered their ability to impact.
 
For those concerned about his height; he’s 178cm which is the same as Billy.
Pie 4 Life thanks for all you do, quick question do recruiters approach you for feedback/background on players?
They don’t really need to, they’re following them the same way we do. They have access to a lot more, so it means we have to be able to work harder (ie get to as many games as possible, buy all the subscriptions etc.). Everything we provide to the public, the recruiters see too. Occasionally if they can’t attend a game they might ask how it went, who stood out, but they’re the gurus in this. We have the fun of doing their job without the pressure of getting the sack by incorrectly rating players.

This year we got 40/40 on our Power Rankings and all went in the main draft. It’s why recruiters can trust what we do, and it’s a free resource (like having an additional team of scouts, albeit independent ones that share info with other teams), so they’ll use it. They download the draft guide just like anyone else. At the end of the day, even if you disagree with us, it’s always worth having a look because it’s an informed decision and not like it’s one person, more often than not, we’ve got 5-6 people looking through content for accuracy.

In saying that, we are more attached to the players and clubs, though we still talk to recruiters, it’s not the same volume that Cal does, which is why his Phantom Drafts will always be the most accurate. We often defer to players and then find out from recruiters to see who is calling bluffs/trying to steer media in a different direction.
 
Back