The 197cm youngster was picked up a year ago from Gaelic football club Rathvilly in County Carlow, where he was considered a rising star of the game.
He signed a two-year rookie contract and has since showed promise on the centre half-back line in the Swans' flag-winning reserves side of 2008.
But the powerfully built Irishman admits the last 12 months have been a massive challenge which has tested his resolve.
"Last year I felt homesick at times and was asking myself 'have I done the right thing?' This year, it's different. I want to be here and I want to play senior AFL," Murphy said.
"I'd never lived away before. It was a massive shock and there were some very tough times when I thought … I could I go back to my comfortable life?'
"But I'm glad I stuck it out now. I love it. If the club will have me, I'll stay [long-term]."
Murphy says being part of a professional AFL club has opened his eyes. Coming from the amateur ranks of the Gaelic game, where a dip in a frosty river substituted for ice-packs, the resources now available to him have allowed the 19-year-old to focus solely on football – a luxury he could only dream of in Ireland.
"Back home, I'd be up at 6.30am for my job (as an apprentice electrician) in the freezing cold … You have to try fight through everything.
"Even the diet, here it's carbohydrates into you the night before a game and protein before weights. I've learnt a lot."
He’s also gained a lot: 10kg to be exact which has taken his weight to 97kg. Bulking up so soon did result in some related injuries and he's taken time to adjust to some Australian football skills.
"Last year, I was low on confidence with my kicking because I was missing my targets all the time, but now I'm more confident”, he said.
"Kicking is the main thing. You're a chance to play senior AFL if you've got that at least in your game.
"Just watching (Nick) Malceski and (Jarrad) McVeigh kicking a ball, they never miss a target. It's unbelievable."
Murphy is currently in rehab with a foot ligament injury after he fell awkwardly marking a ball at training in early January. But he is a chance to make a senior debut in the weeks after the Swans' first NAB Cup game on February 22.
"The aim is still to play a senior game in my first two years.
"This year, it's make or break for me."
