David Murphy
1984-1993
156 games
92 goals
All-Australian 1988
Swans Team of the Century

Six hundred and fifty-nine kilometres southwest of Sydney lies a country town named Finley. Their footy club, the Cats, has a rich premiership-winning history in the Murray Football League and, in the 1950s, persuaded Allan ‘Yabby’ Jeans to make the 18-minute drive up the Newell Highway from Tocumwal.

Jeans would later coach St Kilda and Hawthorn to four premierships, but only after he played in the victorious 1954 Finley side alongside a teammate named Ray Murphy. They defeated Yabby’s old side, Tocumwal—the Bloods.

Ray Murphy’s son David showed great promise as a junior footballer within the town. However, at the age of 16, he suffered the most dreaded injury in football—a ruptured ACL.

At the time, recovery meant at least eight weeks in a cast and an extended recuperation period once the plaster came off. David Murphy missed two years of football and, during that time, commenced work at the National Australia Bank. Finley footballers were zoned to the VFL’s Cats, with Jack Hawkins among those recruited previously.

The bank transferred Murphy to Wagga Wagga with football off the short-term agenda. Footballers from Wagga were zoned to the VFL’s Bloods. As his knee slowly recovered, thoughts of footy returned, and eventually, he joined the Turvey Park Football Club as a form of social interaction more than anything.

He delivered much more than that, and in two seasons as a half-forward, Murphy kicked 76 and 78 goals. He recalled a surprise approach, “At the time, Greg Miller was the Swans’ recruiting guy, and he’d come to Wagga to watch Paul Hawke play. I was playing against Paul, and Greg grabbed both of us and took us up to Sydney.”

Suddenly, Murphy landed in Sydney and, with some senior Swans on hand, began to settle into his new surroundings. “Stevie Wright met me out at the Warwick Farm racecourse and drove me into the Swans’ little office in Clovelly, and they told me they’d moved me into a hotel in King’s Cross—never been to Sydney before, and there I was in the middle of King’s Cross!”

“Ian Roberts was a few years older than me, and he showed me the ropes. I met Ricky Quade for lunch at Doyle’s, and the first training I went to nearly killed me”.

The recruitment of Murphy and Hawke not only added some much-needed local NSW talent to the list but also helped revitalise a team on the wane. The side needed a youthful injection, and both quickly made their mark alongside fellow newcomers Barry Mitchell, Mark Bayes and Warwick Capper.

The lead-up to Murphy’s debut match in Round 10, 1984, was unique. During the week, senior coach Ricky Quade took him aside to deliver the good news at training. However, when Murphy arrived for the game, Quade had stood down, with former Swan Tony Franklin temporarily placed in charge.

Soon after, the club appointed South Australian coach Bob Hammond for the remainder of the 1984 season, only for John Northey to come in for the ‘85 campaign. By the end of that season, the popular Northey made way for the new owners’ preference—Tom Hafey.

The idea of private ownership of VFL clubs came to fruition when Powerplay—a consortium fronted by Dr Geoffrey Edelsten—bought the Swans. They promptly signed Hafey and a host of star players, including Murphy’s former Finley Primary School classmate, Bernard Toohey.

With Edelsten’s intentions now very clear, the next step in the publicity barrage came when he hosted players and partners at his 5,000 square metre mansion, and Murphy remembers it well. “All of a sudden, we were treated like royalty. We were all taken on a bus out to his farm property at Dural. He had 10 Lamborghinis in the driveway, and Leanne Edelsten was there.”

“We had lobster on skewers; we had blokes flying over the tennis court in helicopters, throwing tennis balls down to us; it was just ludicrous. But it was all very exciting. We started flying first-class, staying at the Hilton, and everything changed.”

It was undoubtedly an exciting time for the club, and with marketing and promotion at an all-time high, the time had come for these Swans to fly.

“We just got better and better,” Murphy said. “Our best years were in ‘86 and ‘87, and we really should’ve won it during those two years. We finished second and then third, but in those days, we didn’t get a home final. We probably over-trained at the wrong end of the year, too.”

In 1987, the Swans scored 201 points against West Coast in Round 16. The next week, they slammed home 236 against Essendon. To this day, it is the club’s highest-ever score, and it was the first time in VFL history that a team had scored more than 200 points in consecutive weeks. When the Tigers arrived in Sydney the following week, they were more like lambs to the slaughter.

“We kicked 198 points, the third week against Richmond, and Tommy Hafey gave us one of the biggest sprays of all time,” Murphy recalled.

The astronomical scores and comprehensive wins catapulted Sydney into 1987 premiership calculations and entertained a burgeoning supporter base, which was still critical to their ongoing fight to win over the city.

Ultimately, they fell short of that elusive premiership, but the Swans finally had a footprint in Sydney. They just needed to consolidate. Unfortunately, financial hardship again came knocking on the door.

Halfway through the 1988 season, Murphy, a brilliantly balanced, pacy wingman, sat in second place for the Brownlow. When he attended the announcement of the All-Australian team later that year, he sat next to his Dad’s old teammate, ‘Yabby’ Jeans. “When my name was read out, he shook my hand and said well done son, your Mum and Dad would be proud,” Murphy said later.

Despite several star players being moved on, the Swans performed well, just missing out on a third successive trip to the finals. However, off-field developments contributed to an overall decline in form.

“Merv Neagle went to get in his car after training, and the car had been repossessed because Powerplay was paying the lease,” Murphy said.

“One day, I got whacked at training and needed stitches. There’s no doctor, of course, because he hadn’t been paid, so I wrapped a towel around my head, ready to drive to my local GP in Sutherland. I went to grab a drink before I left, and the Gatorade machine had been repossessed, too.”

From that point, Murphy welcomed another four senior coaches during the final five years of his career. He provided stability and leadership during one of the most tumultuous times in the club’s history, maintaining a high level of performance throughout.

He treasures his playing days, and the SCG holds a special place in his heart. “The SCG is our spiritual home for the Swans – it just feels so comfortable, and it is such a significant home ground advantage. Whether you’re playing or going along to watch, it’s always a beautiful feeling when you go there.”

Murphy and a group of his former teammates have remained close and regularly attend Swans matches together. He describes his selection in the Swans Team of the Century as ‘a shock’ and an ‘absolute highlight’. For those who saw him play, the word ‘highlight’ seems appropriate.