After making an appearance with his father John Murphy on Fox Footy’s Open Mike, Carlton skipper Marc Murphy headed into another studio on Wednesday morning.
Speaking to the RSN breakfast program, as part of their ‘inner sanctum’ segment, ‘Murph’ says the Blues will be looking to bounce back against Brisbane this weekend after suffering a disappointing loss to St Kilda.
Having faced four top-eight sides in the month leading up to the Saints game, the midfielder acknowledged his side looked “sluggish” on the MCG.
“We came off three positive weeks against really, really good sides,” Murphy said.
“We looked a bit sluggish out there on the weekend, not taking away from St. Kilda who (have) played really well against us twice this year.”
The 29-year-old also noted the Blues’ pressure wasn’t at the standard required and the team would be working hard on the track this week to rectify it.
“Our pressure certainly wasn’t anywhere near where it needed to be last week and we got exposed pretty heavily,” Murphy said.
“To allow 120 uncontested marks and around 30 inside 50 marks – that just showed our pressure wasn’t good enough.”
After suffering an ankle injury against the Cats earlier in the year, the captain praised his teammates who have stepped up both on and off the field in his absence, including vice-captain Kade Simpson, Bryce Gibbs, Sam Docherty and Patrick Cripps.
‘Simmo’, who was named in AFL Media’s ‘Team of the Week’ for Round 20, is averaging nearly 26 disposals per game this season and is ranked fifth in the competition for rebound 50s.
“He (Simpson) has certainly played his best footy of his career this year I think, even though he’s played some really good footy for us over a lot of years, Murphy said.
“He pulls up really well…he’s hardly missed a game or had an operation...he’s so resilient and puts a lot of time into his body as well, his preparation is first class.”
From one of Carlton’s veteran defenders to an up-and-coming midfielder, Murphy says Blues fans should keep an eye out for young David Cuningham.
Taken at pick 23 in last year’s draft, the 19-year-old has started to show some consistent for in the VFL for the Northern Blues.
“He’s an inside and outside mid, he’s got plenty of speed and class, and he’s a good decision maker,” Murphy said.
“He’s going to be a good player for us for quite a few years. He’s from the Oakleigh Chargers – where I’m from – so hopefully he can get an opportunity pretty soon.”
Carlton takes on Brisbane this Saturday at the Gabba, with the match kicking off at 1:45pm, while the Northern Blues have a bye.
