FOR A man coming off arguably his best season, Bulldog Robert Murphy has set himself the rather modest goal of "getting a kick" in 2012 after returning to the club's leadership group.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs announced the laid-back half-back had re-joined the leadership group, at the expense of Adam Cooney, and Murphy said he wouldn't try to do too much differently in 2012 after arguably his finest season in red, blue and white.
Murphy had stepped down from the group the previous year after struggling with injuries, but said on Wednesday that he didn't link his All Australian 2011 season with his choice to surrender his official leadership title.
"Last year I stepped out [of the group] having endured a couple of tough years injury-wise," Murphy said after training at Whitten Oval.
"[In 2011] I got my body right, enjoyed the year but towards the end of the year I realised that I thought I still had something to offer in that regard.
"It [my 2011 season] is not all down to that [surrendering the official title] - I was just more settled down back.
"Hopefully I can still get a kick being in the leadership group."
The 209-game veteran said he wouldn't change much despite his elevation.
"I'm a one club player, this is my 13th pre-season, it's a great privilege. Like any official role, it means more meetings and that sort of stuff, but it won't change my demeanour around the club," he said.
The Murphy-Cooney swap was the only change from the previous year's group, with Matthew Boyd to continue as captain next year. The other official leaders are senior players Daniel Cross, Dale Morris and Daniel Giansiracusa.
First-year senior coach Brendan McCartney said the club's decision-makers were united in their belief that Murphy should re-join the posse of top Dogs.
"Bob Murphy was almost unanimous, everyone felt he belonged in that group because of the sort of person he is," he said.
"That group was selected right across the club, there were 15 people from multiple sectors in the club involved in the decision, and then we involved some players in the process, and arrived at a group of five.
"They are solid Western Bulldogs people, everything they do is about the club getting better."
Star midfielder Cooney could only manage 13 games in 2011 due to a knee injury, and McCartney said his exclusion was partly to give him more opportunity to focus on his fitness.
"Adam is not in the group because he wasn't selected. We had some criteria that we selected the group against, and he met some criteria … and there were other areas that he needs to grow in and we'll try to help him with that," he said.
The rookie coach added he was looking forward to adding four new, young faces to the club at Thursday night's NAB AFL Draft. The Dogs' live picks are 17, 39, 49 and 57
"We'll draft four young men tomorrow night … we've got a clear picture of the type of players we want to bring to the club, hopefully they will be there when our numbers roll around," McCartney said.
"I love this time of year - as a coach it's almost my favourite time of year because you know young men are getting opportunities to play at AFL level and for them … it's been a dream for a long time, so I enjoy seeing their faces when they get drafted and their reaction when they arrive at an AFL club.
"We're looking to bolster our club with smart players, consistently hard players, [players that are] good teammates, do the right thing at the right time, who train and live well and are good to be around."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
Niall Seewang is a sub editor at AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter @NCWang
