Premiership Magpie Nathan Murphy talks concussion recovery and adjusting his game to play on

Two AFL players have been forced into retirement recently due to concussion, but Magpie Nathan Murphy is still making the adjustments to continue his career. Murphy chats to JAY CLARK.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 30: Nathan Murphy of the Magpies leaves the field with trainers during the 2023 AFL Grand Final match between Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on September 30, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Nathan Murphy is trying to remodel his game to help preserve his brain.

The gun Collingwood defender has taken heed of the grim warnings around concussion in football by taking time out from playing to make adjustments.

One more heavy hit to the head could end his career.

Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw and ex-Saint and Swan Paddy McCartin have both had to medically retire over the past two years.

So when Murphy, 24, went down in the Grand Final and fought back tears on the interchange bench, and then copped another knock in pre-season training, it was time for a rethink after a string of heavy knocks.

There have been brain scans and meetings with his parents and the club board following an approval from the AFL’s concussion panel to play on.

Murphy suffered another concussion in the 2023 decider. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Clearly, he wants to continue, but how he does it is now the key question.

Can he fly for the ball without taking as much risk?

And are there ways to position himself in ways to provide him more protection?

For players who operate on instinct, hesitation and doubt is the enemy.

But importantly, in years gone by there hasn’t always been this sort of consideration or medical opinion helping guide footballers to make smart decisions about their futures.

Many concussion victims starts their stories by saying if only they had their time again.

But Murphy, who is yet to set a time frame to make his return through the VFL, is being more considered.

The premiership backman knows he needs to tweak his approach, and potentially pick his moments with more regard for his own safety, to ensure he can play for many more years.

“It is (taking time to regain) confidence but I also think it is (about) being able to play this game for longer and doing it in a smart and measured way,” Murphy said.

“I think the confidence is still there, but it is just being able to adjust that – my technique and stuff – so I can play this game for longer.”

Collingwood has told the 57-gamer to take as much time as he needs, and at training he is slowly stepping up his paces.

The club has made an unconvincing start to its premiership defence at 2-3, and has missed his football smarts and selflessness in the back half.

The Magpies are ranked 14th for points against and 16th for points against on turnover, according to Champion Data. For the bulk of this season they have bled in the back half.

And you can’t win a flag without a top-four defence, the coaches say.

So Murphy is a bit of a missing link, as much as Billy Frampton has improved playing some of the best football of his career over the past fortnight.

The Magpie is slowly on his way back to playing. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Thankfully, Murphy’s concussion symptoms have eased.

“It’s a week-by-week thing, and the symptoms have actually been really good at the moment,” Murphy said.

“We have put in a really good (training) base, so we are just trying to get that right and each session is just focused on how I am feeling and that is where the club has been amazing.

“They have just left it in my hands to attack it how I want to. I will continue to do that and when the time is right I will get back to football.”

The Sandringham product’s recovery has focused on his physical and mental health, involved chiropractor treatments and daily checks-ins with club staff.

If clubs shied away from the concussion issue in the past, the opposite is true these days.

“They (Magpies) have sourced all these people in the mental health space, in the chiropractor space as well,” he said.

“So we are working really hard weekly with some exercises and addressing these needs to so that I can go and attack the football the way I do.

“Everyone around me is amazing along with family and friends and my manager (Liam Pickering), so I’m really lucky to have the people around me.”

Murphy knows there is a life after footy. Picture by Wayne Taylor

Murphy, who was a talented junior cricketer, said he certainly took notice of Brayshaw’s retirement this year, when scans confirmed tiny changes in his brain.

The Collingwood defender knows there is a life after footy.

“I have always been one to think about the future in terms of off the field,” he said.

“That is always in the back of my mind, and the ‘Gus’ thing probably did make me get a head scan, but I think I will make that a regular thing.

“I’ve been a guy who has done uni since my second year (at the club) so I’ve got other things outside of football.

“While I’m so grateful and fortunate for the position I’m in, there is also going to be a time when football is going to be done.

“And I’ll need to move on to those things, so I’m just trying to balance that out and get the football (approach) right and the rest will take care of itself.”

Originally published as Premiership Magpie Nathan Murphy talks concussion recovery and adjusting his game to play on