Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy has opened up about his struggles last year supporting his teammates while battling the personal pain of being sidelined by injury.
The Dogs broke a 62-year premiership drought but did it without their skipper, who suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee in round three.
“I knew straight away (how serious the injury was)… that’s the game, that’s probably the end of the season, that’s probably the end of the career and that’s no premiership,” Murphy said in the fifth episode of The Chase video series.
He had to be mindful not to mope or be an anchor to “a group that was just flying and bouncing on top of a wave”.
“No way I was going to be the sad guy and bring any of that down and halt some of that momentum,” Murphy said.
“That took a bit of energy, being that leader of the footy club and then at home it would all fall apart…I’m a lucky man that my wife [Justine] is an incredibly strong, brave woman and she nursed me through it."