Justin Murphy (rugby league)
Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Justin Murphy |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m) |
| Weight | 12 st 6 lb (79 kg) |
| Position | Winger |
Justin Murphy is a rugby league player who currently plays for Catalans Dragons in the European Super League competition. Justin joined the club at the end of 2004 when the club was in the national French competition. He quickly established himself as one of the better players, topping the try scoring charts and helping the club become the first French team to go through a season without defeat, winning the Coupe de France and the French championship where he was man of the match in the Final. Murphy previously played for New Zealand Warriors in Australia's National Rugby League,where he played in the 2002 Grand Final. It was his first full season in Super League that saw him shoot to prominence. He finished as Top try-scorer in Super League XI with 26 tries and also making the Super League "Dream Team" despite his team, the Catalans Dragons coming bottom of the table.
Justin Murphy says he is doing his utmost to avoid being labelled a one-season wonder. "I more or less came from nowhere last season," said Murphy, "I've been thinking about the whole 'second-season syndrome' problem, but I've trained harder than ever to make sure that it doesn't happen to me". To counteract this problem Dave Black suggested to "try concentrating on having a more mediocre first season."
In 2007, Murphy rose to public attention once more after suffering a spectacular injury in a match against Wigan Warriors. While running to try and claim a chip kick, he was pushed innocuously in the back by Pat Richards and went flying towards the advertising hoardings which surround the pitch. Trying to jump over the danger, his feet caught the hoardings and his neck and back were slammed into the concrete steps at the bottom of the stand. Unbelievably, Murphy played on for almost an hour before eventually being substituted, where it was revealed he had broken ribs and he was subsequently sidelined for 6 weeks. [1]