Nathan Murphy was an important cog in Collingwood’s backline throughout 2022, however the younger defender says he’s locked in a decent battle for his spot with a brand new recruit.
The 23-year-old, whose return to the Magpies line-up in spherical 10 final yr helped spark an 11-game successful streak, says former Adelaide defender Billy Frampton has been one of many leaders on the monitor throughout pre-season and will squeeze him out of the aspect.
With new captain Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe each locks within the Collingwood again six, there’s solely room for yet one more intercepting defender, with Murphy going through time on the perimeter if the Magpies go for Frampton, who’s 8cm taller.
“We’ve had a lot of changes in the off-season, we’ve had Billy Frampton join our backline and he’s brought a lot of his strengths, which we want to keep seeing,” Murphy mentioned.
“He’s been awesome for the group, a lot of the boys around him want to get better because of the standards that he has brought to the club.
“I’ve got to lift there as well because he’s challenging for the spot that I had last year … we’ve got a lot of healthy competition which as a club is what we want to see, so it’s really exciting.”
Murphy solely averaged 10 disposals and three marks in his 16 video games final season however had an immense affect as a lockdown defender, starring within the Magpies’ miserly wins over Fremantle and Melbourne the place they conceded solely 100 factors throughout the 2 video games.
He mentioned he had been working with Collingwood director of teaching Brendon Bolton to extend his offensive affect in video games.
“He’s really encouraging me just to take the game on a lot more and as a group we’re all trying to do the same thing as well,” Murphy mentioned.
“I think it’s a really exciting brand at the moment, and we’re looking forward to playing some competition to test it out.”
The Magpies had been thriving underneath the reign of Moore, who had made a huge effect on Murphy’s growth effectively earlier than he took the captaincy, he mentioned.
“When I was in my second year we did a lot of rehab together and I probably started my uni course because of (Moore),” Murphy mentioned.
“He’s got a great balance of football and life outside. He represents the club really well and his relationships with the boys are something that I have never seen before.
“He just gets to know you more on a personal level, he kind of forgets the football side of things and actually wants to get to know you outside of football.”
Source: www.news.com.au
