Murphy bullish on Blues after “big gets”

Former Carlton captain Marc Murphy is feeling bullish about the Blues in 2027 and beyond.

Last season under Josh Fraser, who initially took over as interim coach to replace Michael Voss, the Blues won 12 of 16 games including a Wildcard final.

Fraser is now the full-time senior coach, and the club has since managed to lure three-time premiership coach Chris Fagan as Director of Coaching.

Add to that the capture of All-Australian defender Lachie Whitfield from the Giants and things are looking up at Ikon Park.

“I think it was a huge get to get Chris on board. The football club is in great hands,” Murphy said on SEN Mornings.

“To see what Josh Fraser was able to do this year and turn that club around has been enormous. And to have Chris come on to support Josh in being a young coach getting started is crucial.

“Being a Carlton supporter, obviously it's been good to watch the way in which they finished off the year. Hopefully they can build on that and into next season.

“Lachie Whitfield is another big get for us over the trade period. I think if you're asking anyone, if you could get a half-back flanker from anywhere, he’d be one of the top picks, I would have thought, to add to your side.

“It’s something that Carlton has been crying out for, someone who's a great ball user and he's probably one of the better ones going around.”

Murphy says he’s feeling as optimistic about the Blues as he can remember in recent years.

The 300-gamer who won two John Nicholls Medals outlined all the reasons why he has such a sense of confidence.

“I was buoyed a few years ago when they were a couple of kicks away from a Grand Final,” Murphy added.

“But I think the way in which they played in that last three months, just to be able to turn it around from where they were to where they got to - I haven’t really seen anything like it.

“He obviously knows what he's doing, Josh. He had all those blokes playing their role, then confidence builds, and they were one of the teams to beat in the last three or four months.

“You add Joel Amartey into that mix and Whitfield, and hopefully a young Cody Walker in the next week or two will be nice to add into that mix. Jagga Smith being a year older and Sammy Walsh doing what he did, I think they've got a pretty handy mix.

“I’m looking forward to the next footy season already.”

Away from the footy field and Murphy and some of his fellow former and current Blues had a big win at Flemington on the weekend in the form of Birdman.

The Chris Waller-trained galloper took out the $3 million Champions Stakes under jockey Ben Melham with Murphy sharing in the glory with the likes of Chris Judd, Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh and John Barker, who manages the Baggers Naggers syndicate.

He says the connection piece is the main factor for being involved in thoroughbreds, and winning Group 1 races is purely a bonus.

“It was certainly one of the reasons why we looked at putting a little syndicate together, just so you're actually forced to almost have a connection still,” he said.

“Because for people who aren't involved in AFL, it is certainly a bubble when you're at clubland. When guys leave and exit, it is hard to try and have that connection still.

“This is purely just around enjoying racing together. If it gets to a city meeting, you can all go watch it and have a few beers and just enjoy each other's time. So it's guys who are still obviously playing league football and there’s probably five or six who have moved on.

“But we’re all in different areas and it’s just an excuse really just to get together. Luckily enough for us, we've got a pretty handy one and we're just enjoying the ride.”