Murphy joins Bulldogs’ AFLW program

https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/n...s-aflw-program

Former captain Bob Murphy has joined the Club’s AFLW program for the 2020 season.

Murphy, who played 312 AFL games for the Western Bulldogs and captained the side from 2015-2017, will work with the team in the leadership and culture space.

He will work alongside new Senior Coach Nathan Burke to foster leadership qualities and aid individual development, whilst also assisting the ongoing development of team culture.

General Manager of Women’s Football, Debbie Lee, said Murphy’s expertise would be beneficial for the Club’s AFLW program.

“Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, we worked proactively to implement significant changes to our program to provide our players with every opportunity to grow and develop, both as footballers and people,” Lee said.

“Adding Bob to our program is another positive step towards achieving this aim.

“He is a Bulldogs person through and through, and has a wealth of experience as a player and a leader across his 18 years playing at AFL level.

“Bob will work closely with Nathan and our players to nurture leadership qualities and encourage open, honest and respectful communication, with the aim of driving our group forward.

“He is the perfect fit for this position, and we are thrilled to have him help continue to build a strong and vibrant environment whereby our players thrive and prosper.”

Murphy said he was looking forward to working with the team.

“I can’t wait to get to work with the players and the coaches in preparation for the 2020 AFLW season,” he said.

“The future is bright for the Bulldogs AFLW team and I’m honoured to fulfil a supporting role.”

Great news

I played on Debbie Lee in rec footy and she went the full Steve Kretiuk on me! It was early in the season and I had a finger on my hand splinted to the other finger after a slips catching accident at cricket training. She asked about it and I said it hurt a lot but I loved playing footy so I was prepared to overlook it for an hour or so to play.

Early on I took a mark and kicked a goal and the next time the ball came towards us instead of contesting the mark she punched my hand! She said "You weren't expecting me to do that, were you mate?" as I stood there holding my hand and sucking in deep breaths trying to deal with the pain.

Hopefully this works well.

I think Murf has spent a lot of time thinking about leadership and team culture, so it might help after our struggles in the 2019 season (which I think also had a fair bit to do with coaching as well).

I'm looking forward to the 2020 season, but we'll need a strong team to be able to cope with the losses of Konti and Brenen (as well as Byrch and Earnst).