Joe Murphy

Recruited from Princes Hill via the Carlton thirds, Joe Murphy was a tall key position prospect who made a brief but notable impression at Fitzroy during the early 1950s. Standing 188cm, he broke into the senior side late in the 1952 season, playing three games including a semi-final appearance in his debut year. Despite showing promise across 11 games over two seasons, Murphy left the VFL at just 22 years of age to pursue coaching opportunities in the Diamond Valley Football League. He joined Greensborough as captain-coach, where he established himself as a genuine star of suburban football, winning a league Best and Fairest in 1954 and another in 1961. His career also included a successful stint in Tasmania, where he captain-coached Latrobe and earned state selection for the island. Murphy is best remembered today as a Greensborough legend, having led the club to back-to-back premierships in the early 1960s, with the club's best junior player award now named in his honour.