Player Watch Nathan Murphy (Retired 2024)

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Cousin of Daicos said:
I do wonder if he is medically cleared to play cricket (I know he was asked at the presser)

Massive marketing opportunity for Cricket Australia to see if Murph is still interested and good enough to play at that level of cricket. He's only 24 so would have a very long career ahead in cricket

I couldn't give two sh*ts about cricket but I know I'd watch most times he's playing so I can only assume most passionate Collingwood supporters would watch and if they can capture even 5% of those people as permanent cricket fans they'd be rapt
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Medically cleared is the wrong way of looking at it. Medically cleared is the default. The reality is that unless the AFL have clear parameters regarding concussion retirments or there is clear clinical evidence regarding brain function, the medical community aren't going to ban someone - they're only going to give advice.

The other factors are that Murphy played Under 19s for Victoria - he wasn't selected for Australian under 19s - state under 19s is absolutely miles off international cricket, plus I'm pretty confident that a doctor advising Murphy of the risks of footy in his position would also be advising him of the risks of cricket in his position.
 
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Vicky Park said:
I believe Murph also takes over the coffee machine when he’s at his cafe. He’s the barista - a very ‘Melbourne’ skill to have.
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I will have to test them out! Encourage others to do the same.
 
Murph reminds me of another magpie whose career was cut very short by knee injuries. Lee walker.

Lee was a cracking bloke, love by everyone. He only played a handful of games. The club looked after him, gave him a job. After a while he went back to WA and worked in footy for quite a while.

If Murphy wants to stay in footy he’d be a great bloke to keep around in some capacity. Bolton referred to him the glue. These blokes are not all that common and play a big role in a strong culture.

Whatever he decides to do I wish him all the best.
 

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Huge loss for us, got the best out of himself and left everything out on the field each and every week, allowing Moore and Howe to do their thing which made us better as a team.

Played a massive role in our run to a PF and then a flag, will always be remembered for his courage and fearless attack on the ball, despite being a bit undersized for the role he was playing for us.

Made the right choice for his future, one of those young blokes who played footy for the enjoyment of it rather than needing to from a financial / career perspective, so I'm sure he'll land on his feet.
 
Saw him this morning, hanging out near the boundary for a while. He told some friends he would be hanging around the club for a while. Wonder if he'll be a runner? Maybe some coaching?

Then he left with his gf (I assume)
 
TW Sherrin said:
Pukovski gets hit once these days and is concussed. why would Murphy want to risk that?
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In fairness, Pucovski has genuinely terrible technique on short balls that it's almost guaranteed that he'll get concussed when facing that kind of delivery. It seems as if the fear of concussive hits feeds into a self-fulfilling prophecy and makes him freeze whenever faced with them
 
Jen2310 said:
Saw him this morning, hanging out near the boundary for a while. He told some friends he would be hanging around the club for a while. Wonder if he'll be a runner? Maybe some coaching?

Then he left with his gf (I assume)
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Liam Pickering his manager was on sen this morning & said he'd be surprised if he didn't stay around the club in some capacity as he's so popular. And talked about his interest in continuing with footy in other ways, which apparently he has been doing anyway with a school (Brighton Grammar, I think).
 
ElliottsMaggies said:
Liam Pickering his manager was on sen this morning & said he'd be surprised if he didn't stay around the club in some capacity as he's so popular. And talked about his interest in continuing with footy in other ways, which apparently he has been doing anyway with a school (Brighton Grammar, I think).
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Did he say that he thought his payout would be outside or inside the salary cap? I did listen to it but couldn't remember.
 
Matz said:
Did he say that he thought his payout would be outside or inside the salary cap? I did listen to it but couldn't remember.
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I haven’t listened to the interview yet but given that Nathan was only contracted until the end of this season it’s more or less a moot point. Whether it’s stays in or goes out it won’t affect our recruitment and retention moving forward.
 

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Babylove said:
I haven’t listened to the interview yet but given that Nathan was only contracted until the end of this season it’s more or less a moot point. Whether it’s stays in or goes out it won’t affect our recruitment and retention moving forward.
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He was actually extended until the end of 2025.

 
Babylove said:
I haven’t listened to the interview yet but given that Nathan was only contracted until the end of this season it’s more or less a moot point. Whether it’s stays in or goes out it won’t affect our recruitment and retention moving forward.
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Was extended for 2025 earlier this year wasn’t he?

Edit: what ElliottsMaggies said.
 
gouki88 said:
In fairness, Pucovski has genuinely terrible technique on short balls that it's almost guaranteed that he'll get concussed when facing that kind of delivery. It seems as if the fear of concussive hits feeds into a self-fulfilling prophecy and makes him freeze whenever faced with them
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They all get hit. Smith, Warner, etc.
 
Collingwood made the extraordinary decision to hand Nathan Murphy an extra season on his contract over summer so he could make a call on returning to football with his future financially secure.
Murphy was medically retired by an AFL concussion panel on Saturday after at least 10 head knocks and concussions across his 57-game, seven-year premiership career.

This masthead understands the Pies awarded him that extra season – through to the end of 2025 – in the full knowledge he was unlikely to play out that deal.

Collingwood knew he had to make the decision on his own but was aware another concussion would inevitably spell the end of his career if he did return to football.

He will walk away paid out in full by the Pies with a financial package of around $1 million taking in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

As he pondered his future across summer after being medically cleared by an AFL panel in December, the club wanted to reward him for his premiership service given he was only contracted to the end of 2024.

They also knew having that financial security would make a decision on returning to football simpler.

Rather than play on to try to shore up his financial future but risk his long-term health, he could make that decision on retirement safe in the knowledge he would be able to walk away with that seven-figure amount.

Murphy was finally retired by the AFL medical panel made up of neurological experts on Saturday even as his brain scans continued to come up with no damage or deterioration.

He told the panel he could not come to the decision to return to football and they ultimately ruled that after his history of head knocks they would rule him medically retired.

Had he retired without that medical status the Pies might have not been able to exempt his 2025 wage from their salary cap.

But they were prepared to take that risk to ensure he was not going to suffer financially if he walked away.

Collingwood is also determined to look after its players as they exit the club under coach Craig McRae, chief executive Craig Kelly and president Jeff Brown.

Sydney had to push hard to secure an exemption for Paddy McCartin’s 2025 salary when he was medically retired last year because of repeated concussions but eventually won that battle with the AFL.

So Collingwood (Murphy) and Melbourne (Angus Brayshaw) have an established precedent as the league puts in place a set of specific rules about salary cap exemptions for medically retired players.

Murphy, 24, had initially been cleared by the AFL in December to return to play but copped a pre-season knock in training that caused him to reconsider if he was ready to return to the field.

As a retiring player he has three options to shore up his financial future as part of the AFL’s processes.


He can accept his payout from the Pies, he can secure a football-ending payout as part of the AFLPA’s injury and hardship fund and he could have insurance which allows him to claim money as part of his retirement.

AFL players are increasingly seeking out individual coverage which protects them in the case of career-ending concussions.

Murphy’s manager Liam Pickering said he had been well looked after by Collingwood, the AFL and the AFL Players Association, and would be paid out in full on his contract which runs through until the end of next year.

“He will be well looked after,” he said.

“He will continue to get as much support as he can off the field. He is a great young bloke, it is a pity he couldn’t play another seven or eight or ten years or however long it many have been. But unfortunately we know it is a serious issue, concussion , so that was the decision the panel made.”


Murphy’s manager Liam Pickering told SEN he had been well looked after by Collingwood, the AFL and the AFL Players Association, and would be paid out in full on his contract which runs through until the end of next year.

“He will be well looked after,” he said.

“He will continue to get as much support as he can off the field. He is a great young bloke, it is a pity he couldn’t play another seven or eight or ten years or however long it many have been. But unfortunately we know it is a serious issue, concussion , so that was the decision the panel made.”

Asked if Murphy’s payout would be included in Collingwood’s salary cap, he said: “At this stage, I think it does. Should it? I don’t know about that.

“That is something for the club to work through. He will be paid out his contract, (but) where it sits in relation to the salary cap, that is not really my department.

“It is an AFL and Collingwood thing.”
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Really sad for Murphy. Such an improved and important player to our team and system.

Hopefully he takes

Murphy never said no to a photo etc with my son. Easily the most friendly player post match.
Jen2310 said:
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Not sure the decision was extraordinary - I think it was a goodwill gesture. One less thing for him to worry about i.e. you don’t need to rush back etc

Extraordinary are the long term deals to players that are based on potential.
 
Months after he suffered a concussion in the first quarter of the 2023 grand final, Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy was still battling to overcome headaches, migraines and anxiety.

Those battles were what prompted him to call time on his AFL career for medical reasons at just 24.


“There’s obviously the constant battle with headaches and migraines and a bit of anxiety as well, which isn’t really me, so when that is having a bit of an impact on not just me but the people around me ... yeah,” Murphy told this masthead on Tuesday.
Murphy estimates he suffered six concussions while playing AFL and VFL football with the Magpies and 10 overall in his sporting career.

He hasn’t played a game since being concussed in the grand final, and has had at least two brain scans since, with the club organising a second one soon after Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw retired in February, also due to concussion.
He was also in constant dialogue with club doctor Ruben Branson before the fateful meeting with the AFL’s concussion panel on Saturday, where the decision was mutually reached for the Magpie to hang up his boots.


“I can’t deny I have been experiencing a lot of symptoms and that is why we had this plan in place to attack it, which was all based off how I was feeling and reacting to everything,” Murphy said. “There’s no doubt that these concussions have taken a toll on me, but it’s also comforting when the panel are telling me it’s all going to be OK.”
Murphy’s attitude to concussion has gradually changed over the course of his career.


He said he went from the doctor having to chase him around the field to get him off the ground after a heavy knock to ruling himself out of a grand final at quarter-time despite passing the concussion test. He admitted to seeing double at the break as Craig McRae addressed the players, and ruled himself out.
“It’s honestly very hard when you are starting out in this team and you get a head knock that puts you out for 14 days, but this is so much bigger than football. This is your health. This is your future. It’s great that we are taking this so seriously,” Murphy said. “Trusting the professionals is the big thing. I’ve been so fortunate to have some of the best people [at Collingwood] guiding me.”


Murphy spent time in the off-season with defensive coach Jordan Roughead and conditioning coach Jarrod Wade trying to find ways to return to the game after the AFL gave him the all-clear to continue playing in December. Murphy and his parents, Deborah and Shaun, met with the Collingwood board to ensure all parties were conscious of the risk before that decision was announced.

At that point, he was gearing up for a big return, telling a Jan Juc surf club fundraiser at Torquay Golf Club on January 4 that he had confronted the prospect of retiring but was relieved to receive permission to play.



But he knew as the season drew nearer that it was going to be impossible to reduce the risk of further head knocks to an acceptable level and admitted he was “not in the right frame of mind” to restart his career.

“I didn’t want to lose that trademark I had as a player and there were things we altered but ultimately, we did what we could and the medical [panel] decided it for me,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he had no regrets about the sometimes reckless way he played the game, running back with the flight to mark and attacking ground balls, nor the way in which the decision was reached.



“I don’t think I would have honestly got a game if I didn’t play the way I did. I was a guy who couldn’t really kick and handball the football so I had to do this stuff to get in the team,” Murphy said.

“The best thing about it was the boys and the coaches rewarded them and were so grateful for what I brought to the team. I felt really valued which is all you really want as a footballer and as a person.

“It’s a weight off my shoulders. The panel were great in recommending things for me to help me through this process ... it’s not all doom and gloom.”


Murphy is the second AFL player to retire prematurely after being concussed in last year’s finals series, without having played another game. Melbourne’s Brayshaw retired in February on medical advice, five months after being knocked out in the qualifying final. Murphy said Brayshaw’s decision did not influence his case.

Murphy took every precaution after the grand final incident, including not drinking alcohol during the grand final celebrations: “This is just a game of football. We wake up the next day, no matter what, and life still goes on.”
Murphy is studying teaching and environmental science and his girlfriend Rose has joined him in Melbourne. He also owns a coffee shop in Hawthorn called Whiplash with Roughead and other friends. His parents, girlfriend Rose and one of his two sisters, Jessica, were at Collingwood for the announcement.

“It’s been an amazing journey and I’m very grateful for everything but I think this is the right decision for my future,” Murphy said.
The Magpie will be eligible for a career-ending injury payout and the Magpies have also agreed to financial terms with Murphy, whose contract was extended by a year a couple of weeks ago.

Football manager Brendon Bolton said the club was open-minded to Murphy having a role inside the club and confirmed an agreement had been reached.
“I’d rather not go into the detail of contractual status and all those scenarios but ultimately our club will be here to support ‘Murph’,” Bolton said.
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www.theage.com.au

‘The constant battle’: Why Collingwood’s Nathan Murphy is hanging up the boots at 24

Headaches, migraines, anxiety. Nathan Murphy opens up about his immediate retirement from football after suffering concussion in last year’s grand final.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au
 
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