(04-07-2021, 04:48 AM)PaulP date Wrote:Murphy dislocated his shoulder in his debut season, in tackle by Robert Copeland. Another shoulder injury colliding with Dangerfield in 2012 and a busted cheekbone colliding with Hodge in 2013. And there's probably others that I can't recall. Those three blokes are bigger and heavier than Murphy. Any apprehensiveness on his part is perhaps understandable. He's small, not dirty and alway tried to be a ball player, and has paid the price.Agreed, and I remain convinced it's a very narrow perspective of what people think tough is, and I think it says more about the critics than the players!
I'm not a fan of labelling any AFL footballer soft. I think it's distasteful. Even the "softest" player does things that would leave all of us running twice as fast the other way.
I can't help but think "some" of the sMurph critics, would think Stan Magro or Darren Milburn were tough, were I see those two as pissweak! Copeland as well for that matter!
PS; I do think we need some mongrel in the team, but it won't be a tougher team if it comes at the expense of sMurph. I don't think that is the contradiction some will claim it to be!
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"