FEW boast the experience of captaining their country at any level of international sport, but that is exactly the case for 2020 North Adelaide draft prospect, Jamison Murphy. The rugged inside midfielder skippered Australia’s Under 16 cricket side before deciding to focus on his AFL draft dream, showing the same leadership traits as a vice-captain in South Australia’s 2018 Under 16 state squad. The Prince Albert Collegian has also turned out in big games for his school side, proving his ability to stand up at clutch moments and set the tone from the stoppages.

While Murphy’s year may be put on hold in a footballing sense at the moment, he and fellow Roosters product Tariek Newchurch had both made great strides in their under-age years. Having been granted access to SA’s pre-season fitness testing day hosted by Rookie Me, Draft Central was able to sit down with Murphy, as well as bottom-age Norwood gun Cooper Murley to help you get to know the next generation of footballing stars.

An All Australian at Under-16 level last year, Murley has already cracked the Under-18 level as one of his state’s most promising midfielders. A real metres-gained player, Murley catches the eye with his pace and agility from the contest, winning his own ball to possess that ideal mix of inside and outside traits. He joins fellow Redlegs Henry Nelligan and Ned Carey in this year’s state hub, with eyes on representing the Tri-Colours in the Under 18 National Championships. Without further ado, catch up on what Murphy and Murley had to say on the year ahead, and all you need to know about their individual games.

MURPHY ON…

TESTING DAY:

“It’s been a really good experience so far. I’ve never actually had the opportunity to test in front of people before so yeah, a really good opportunity for me… for my first time I think I’ve done pretty well – obviously I’d like to improve, like to get better so hopefully in months to come I can do that.”

STRENGTHS:

“I’m a ground-ball player, I’m not a big jumper so definitely the running (tests) show my strengths.”

POSITION:

“Inside mid definitely. Contested ball is my go-to, and using it by foot off half-back, setting up the play.”

GOALS:

“My major goal this year is definitely to play senior football at North Adelaide, that’s to crack either the Reserves or League teams so I’ll work hard and hopefully achieve that.”

SA STATE ACADEMY HUB EXPERIENCE:

“Yeah it’s been great. (Tariek Newchurch and I) push each other – whether that’s at the Academy or whether it’s at club-land – we just push each other all the time to strive to be better.”

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MURLEY ON…

TESTING DAY:

“(It has been) pretty good. I’m testing reasonably well at the moment and obviously it’s good to get around the boys and everything. “So yeah, been a good day so far… definitely the agility and 20m sprint are some of my strengths.”

STRENGTHS IN MIDFIELD:

“Obviously it’s important in the midfield having a good endurance and that speed to break from contests is really important.”

IMPROVEMENTS:

“The main area of improvement at the moment is probably my kicking. “It fell a bit off towards the end of last season so (I’ve) been putting a lot of work into that and hopefully I can develop that to make it better in-game.”

STATE UNDER 16 EXPERIENCE:

“It’s a whole other level, definitely different to what I expected. “You come against blokes who are the best in their states as well and obviously it’s really good that you get to play with some players that you’ve never played with before and develop new friendships. “Unfortunately we didn’t get the success we wanted but it was still an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it up there (in Queensland).”

GOALS:

“My main goal at the moment is to just keep playing consistent footy. “Obviously this year with the State 18s, I really want to push myself to try and make that as an under-ager to get that really good experience to maybe put me that step ahead when it comes to my draft year next year.”

LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING ALONGSIDE…

“Definitely looking forward to playing with all my mates, all the under-agers in the 18s, and obviously looking to further develop friendships with people I’ve met in the Hub as well.”