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The Western Bulldogs have a pleasant dilemma – should Robert Murphy play forward or back? Murphy returned from three weeks out after knee surgery to play a starring role in Sunday’s 65-point AFL win over Brisbane at Etihad Stadium.
While Murphy is better-known these days as a lead-up forward, he played a great game in defence against the Lions.
Murphy had 25 possessions and frequently set up scoring opportunities with his long kicks into the forward 50.
“There’s been debate before, because obviously our defensive coach wants to play him down back and the forward coach wants to play him forward,” said coach Rodney Eade.
“But he’s just very calm, isn’t he, under pressure … it’s a bit like Brian (Lake), you’d like to have two of them, wouldn’t you?
“At this stage, we’ll probably keep going with him down back.
“We just thought having three or four weeks out, maybe he’ll be able to run in a straight line forward rather than having to try and lose an opponent, it might be better for him ”
Murphy came off in the third term when he suffered a knock to his knee, but was able to return for the final quarter.
Overall, Eade wanted his team to play with more dash and daring after two losses and they cut Brisbane apart in the second half.
The Lions challenged the Bulldogs in the second term, but otherwise it was an easy win and a morale-boosting performance.
“We got ourselves into trouble in the second quarter because we didn’t – we went back to being safe and it got us into a bit of strife,” Eade said.
“The most positive (aspect) … was just the fact we took the game on a bit.”
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