When ‘Tex’ Walker was sidelined early in Showdown 59 last Friday night, Adelaide supporters may have asked: who can kick the clutch goals to keep our chances alive? Enter Toby Murray, aka ‘Ibis’, the 201cm ruckman/forward who hails from Henty, New South Wales.
Playing just his third AFL game, Murray (#39) answered the question late in the third quarter, right on cue to bolster Adelaide’s resurgence in the pulsating local derby. And they were Toby’s first goals at the top level. He was matched against Todd Marshall, but when Aliir Aliir intervened Murray was often out positioned and outplayed. Ibis stuck to his guns however and provided the perfect foil for Riley Thilthorpe.
After taking five marks in the first quarter, Murray showed his potential as a tall forward. But it was on the cusp of three-quarter time that he really stood up, as he marked and goaled twice; his first, a beauty from ‘Eddie’s pocket’. The post-goal celebration showed how delighted the new Crows boy and his teammates were.
Adelaide recruited Toby Murray with pick 7 in the 2024 Mid-Season Rookie Draft after a pathway from Henty through to the Murray Bushrangers – Collingwood’s VFL team – Ovens and Murray League club Wangaratta Rovers and Adelaide’s SANFL team.
Toby, and his brother, Adelaide defender Nick Murray, have football blood running through their veins. As does their elder brother Sam who played for Collingwood. The Murray boys’ father (Peter) played for South Melbourne reserves, while their great uncle is St Kilda legend Bob Murray.
Besides the three Murrays and Harrison Macreadie (Carlton), the Henty ‘Swampies’ have produced at least two other VFL/AFL players – Bert Clay who played 157 games for Fitzroy (1940-51) and his identical twin brother Ivor who also played for Fitzroy (1941-46).
Henty is a small town midway between Albury and Wagga on the Olympic Way. The Swampies, who get their name from the nearby Doodle Comer Swamp, play in the Hume League. They have won five premierships since joining the competition from the Farrer League in 1980. The first of those came in 1984, 47 years after Bert and Ivor Clay were instrumental in their 1937 Albury and District League (later known as the Farrer League) premiership. The club’s home ground is at the Henty Showgrounds, where a sculptured tribute to the locally-designed Headlie Taylor Header stands tall above the entrance gates.
Meanwhile in the Bill Mohr Medal goalkicking, Geelong’s Shaun Mannagh from just down the road at Walla Walla, booted four goals in the game against North Melbourne to take his season tally to 10.
Casey Bunton Medal Leaderboard – NSW player leading in AFLCA votes
31 (5) Isaac Heeney (Cardiff/ Sydney Swans)
18 (-) Nick Blakey (University of NSW-Eastern Suburbs/ Sydney Swans)
13 (4) Shaun Mannagh (Walla Walla/ Geelong)
12 (-) Matthew Kennedy (Collingullie/ Western Bulldogs)
10 (-) Taylor Walker (North Broken Hill/ Adelaide Crows)
Bill Mohr Medal Leaderboard – NSW player leading goalkicker in the AFL
11 (-) Taylor Walker (North Broken Hill/ Adelaide Crows)
11 (2) Cooper Sharman (Leeton-Whitton Crows/ St Kilda)
10 (4) Shaun Mannagh (Walla Walla/ Geelong)
10 (2) Phoenix Gothard (Albury/ GWS Giants)
10 (-) Isaac Heeney (Cardiff/ Sydney Swans)
9 (1) Jobe Shanahan (Moama/ West Coast Eagles)