Murphy voted Blues' best
Star midfielder Marc Murphy has capped a stellar 2011 season, winning Carlton's best and fairest ahead of skipper Chris Judd
Murphy polled 678 votes to take out the John Nicholls Medal at the Crown Palladium on Tuesday night. Nicholls, a record five-time best and fairest winner with the Blues, presented Murphy with the medal.
Skipper Chris Judd, winner of the past three John Nicholls medals, finished second, a massive 209 votes behind Murphy. Fellow midfielder Bryce Gibbs finished third on 448.
Murphy said the number of votes he polled shocked him.
"I went out every week to play my best footy and I thought I did that for the majority of the year," Murphy said. "I feel the fittest and strongest that I've ever been.
"Last year I didn't do a pre-season at all. I had hip surgery in late January and was a fair bit behind the eight-ball."
Heath Scotland was fourth on 408 votes, followed by Kade Simpson (376), Andrew Walker (319), Mitch Robinson (301), Eddie Betts (285), Michael Jamison (257) and Chris Yarran (237).
Murphy's resurgence matched that of his team, which was an unlucky three-point loser to West Coast in the first semi-final.
"I watched the Geelong-West Coast [preliminary final] and knew that we could have given Geelong a real shake. We match up pretty well against them, especially at the 'G," Murphy said.
"I thought that we at our best could match it with the top sides. I think we're not too far off.
"Hopefully, we can win a 17th flag for the Carlton Football Club."
Murphy, 24, was named in the All Australian team for the first time this year and won the AFL Coaches' Association Player of the Year Award. He collected 699 disposals (391 kicks, 308 handballs) over the season, the fifth highest in the competition, at an average of 29.1 a game.
Murphy polled 19 votes in this year's Brownlow Medal, his best result over his six-season career, finishing four votes behind Judd and 15 behind eventual winner, Collingwood's Dane Swan.
Since making his debut against Melbourne in round one, 2006, Murphy has played 126 games and kicked 104 goals. This season he played in all of the Blues' 24 matches and kicked 22 goals.
The No.1 pick in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft, Murphy has finished in the top three of the John Nicholls Medal for the past three seasons, being runner-up to Judd in 2008 and 2009 and third last year.
In presenting Murphy with the medal, Nicholls said the midfielder would be part of an exciting era for the Blues.
"We love the way you play, we love your attitude," Nicholls said of Murphy.
"We can do better, but we're on the right track in more ways than one."
Murphy was also recognised for his excellent form during the finals, winning the award for the best player in the Blues' finals campaign.
Murphy becomes the third member of his family to win a club best and fairest award at AFL/VFL level. His father, John, was a five-time best and fairest winner at Fitzroy. He also won a best and fairest in a brief stint with South Melbourne.
His grandfather, Leo, won two best and fairest awards (1936-37) in a 132-game career with Hawthorn.
South Australian recruit Nick Duigan won the award for the best first-year player and Scotland took out the best clubman award.