The biggest moment
The sidestep, the banana.
Particularly in recent years, Murphy’s trademark in front of goal has been the banana, and there weren’t any sweeter than in Round 15, 2019.
You all know the one. After trailing by five goals, hitting the lead and then falling behind once more, Carlton had one more chance to snatch the four points.
Winning the clearance from the boundary throw-in, Murphy surged forward, got the tap off Zac Fisher, stepped inside one and bent it home beautifully for a famous Carlton win on the road.
Of course, it would hardly be the first - or last - banana that Murphy delivered. Round 3, 2017 against Essendon springs to mind among many, but this takes the cake.
The biggest game
There’s a certain sense of irony that Murphy’s last game for Carlton will come interstate to Port Adelaide.
After all, his finest few hours came in that very fixture eight years ago.
Going down as one of the great captain’s games in Navy Blue (or, specifically, the white jumper), only a win do for Murphy’s side if they were to make finals.
All looked lost when the home side kicked out to a 39-point lead.
From that point on, Murphy flicked the switch. He kicked three goals from the halfway mark of the third term, producing a best-on-ground performance as the Blues stormed home to secure eighth spot.
He wasn’t bad in the following week against Richmond at the MCG, either.
The biggest season
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Patrick Cripps mentioned how there was a time when Marc Murphy stamped himself as arguably the best player in the competition.
That season came in 2011.
It was a career-best season for Murphy, who achieved All-Australian selection, the 2011 AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award and a first John Nicholls Medal.
It was the first time since Chris Judd’s arrival at IKON Park that the-then captain was dethroned as the best-and-fairest winner.
Murphy would also poll 19 votes in the Brownlow Medal: a career-high, and it could’ve been even more if he and Judd hadn’t taken votes off one another as Carlton’s one-two combo in the middle.
The biggest honour
The significance of captaining the football club for six years wasn’t lost on the departing Murphy in his closing press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Murphy’s first year as captain was a memorable one, going on to make a semi final against Sydney after those aforementioned back-to-back victories over Port Adelaide (Round 23) and Richmond (elimination final).
While the ensuing years were leaner, Murphy would lead the side as a number of new faces would walk in the door.
He was the first captain of the 2015 draft class in Weitering, McKay, Curnow, Cuningham and Silvagni, while the end of his first season saw his successors Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty walk through the doors of the football club.
The biggest achievement
There was the 2011 season littered with achievements everywhere, and the 2017 campaign where - as captain - Murphy led the team with aplomb on the way to a second John Nicholls Medal.
However, Murphy’s greatest achievement since arriving at IKON Park at the end of 2005 as the No.1 pick has come away from the football field.
Murphy walked into the doors as the best underage footballer in the country, but now leaves it as not only a club great, but a father and a husband.
Marrying Jessie in December 2016, the Murphys welcomed Max in January 2018 before the birth of baby Imogen six weeks ago.
Having arrived with ties to Hawthorn from his grandfather and Fitzroy, North Melbourne and South Melbourne from his father, the Murphy family is now - most definitely - a Carlton family.
