Murphy won the award with 94 votes from Chris Judd who polled 90 votes with the Bulldogs Matthew Boyd and Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell in equal third place on 87 votes.
Each Senior Coach voted on a 5,4,3,2,1 basis after each home and away game during the season with Murphy being presented with the AFLCA “Championship Moves Champion Player of the Year Award” at the function at Crown in Melbourne.
This is a wonderful reward for a fine season by Murphy who also polled a career high 19 votes in the Brownlow Medal on Monday night. Murphy’s win in the AFL Coaches Association gives Carlton a clean sweep in the ‘peer awards’ in 2011 with Chris Judd having easily won the AFL Players Association Award earlier this month.
“This is a wonderful honour and I am very thrilled to receive this award,” Murphy said after the presentation.
“To be considered the best player by the coaches is very humbling, it is an absolute honour,” Murphy added.
Murphy thanked his team-mates and Brett Ratten and the Carlton Coaching panel, who were in attendance at the awards, together with his family (his father was also in attendance). He also paid tribute to the runner-up, Chris Judd, who he said has been such an inspiration for all the players at Carlton.
Murphy is the first Carlton player to win this award since it was introduced in 2003.
In other awards, West Coast’s John Worsfold, who as an assistant coach at Carlton for two seasons, was announced as the AFLCA’s Allan Jeans Etihad Airways Senior Coach of the Year. Worsfold also won the award in 2006.
2011 AFL Coaches Association Awards
Senior Coach of the Year - John Worsfold
Champion Player of the Year - Marc Murphy
Assistant Coach of the Year - Darren Crocker (North Melbourne)
Best Young Player (in his first two years of AFL) - Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
