CARLTON young gun Marc Murphy has signed a new three-year deal with the club.

Murphy, 21, has become an integral part of the Blues' onball brigade since being taken first overall in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft and was delighted to have signed the deal.

"I have signed a new three-year contract with Carlton and it feels great to be locked into the club for a good, long period," Murphy told carltonfc.com.au on Thursday.

"There's a really good group of guys like Chris Judd, Brendan Fevola, Jarrad Waite and Bryce Gibbs who have committed their futures to the club, so we're all in for the long haul and hopefully we can play in some finals in the coming years.

"Most of the guys in the core group have got two or three years to go on their contracts now, which is good. We'll all be at the club for a few years to come and hopefully we can form the nucleus of a really successful Carlton team."

Murphy, who has played 57 games in three seasons with the Blues, recently finished second to new skipper Chris Judd in the club's best and fairest count and is currently in Perth with the Australian International Rules squad preparing for the First Test.

Paul Connors, the midfielder's manager, began talks with the club on a new deal during the season and while the broad terms were quickly agreed upon, some finer details delayed the signing until after the recent AFL player exchange period.

"The contract was always going to get done, but there were just a few minor things that needed to be tidied up along the way that dragged it out a bit," Murphy explained.

"It was probably done about a month ago, but I've just been away and the club's been busy with trade week and all that sort of stuff. We thought we'd just wait until the end of all that and get it done before the International Rules Series.

"I always wanted to stay at Carlton and they were happy to give me the three years which was great. It's good because it gives me a bit of security and allows me to stay at the same club which was always my goal. I'm looking forward to playing with the boys for three more years and hopefully another seven or eight after that."