The Lions have been struggling to find a rhythm in their up-and-down season, but they don’t have to look far to find a star with the consistency of a military drummer.
Jack Murphy is a prolific midfielder, former VFL player and now playing co-coach of Seymour and has been a pillar of consistent excellence in 2025, in particular the past four games.
Murphy’s performances have had him be crowned Shepparton News’ GVL Football Player of the Month for May.
The Lions leader has donned the Seymour guernsey on 151 occasions and is in his 11th season of senior football.
Still as sharp and damaging as ever, Seymour’s wily midfielder said the secret behind his ever-green football nature was simple: consistency equals consistency.
“I am pretty consistent away from footy in terms of my training and life and my routine, I think living a consistent life generally can correlate to consistency on field,” Murphy said.
“I am a pretty competitive person, so I have a fair bit of internal drive (to remain at the top of my game).
“Added pressures and responsibilities of being head coach as well as a player is also another reason why you have that drive to continue playing good football and help set the club up for the present and also the future.”
Murphy’s impact for the Lions across May can’t be missed as he averaged 153 ranking points across the four matches.
His best performance came against Tatura when he put his head deep into the trough and collected 45 disposals (at 78 per cent efficiency), won eight clearances and had eight inside 50s.
The veteran Lion's game is all about impact.
More than two-thirds of his disposals in May were kicks as he gained territory with ball in hand, while his average of 34 possessions went at 81 per cent efficiency.
Add the fact he has kicked 13 goals from eight games this year and there is a strong case that he is one of, if not the, most damaging GVL players currently.
Jack Murphy’s May averages
Ranking points: 153
Disposals: 34
Kicks: 23.3
Disposal efficiency: 81 per cent
Clearances: 6.8
Goals: 1.5
During the pre-season, Murphy did a near-two month block with Seymour Running Club to gain an advantage over his teammates and the competition.
It’s dedication like that combined with his natural footy nous that keeps Murphy in the top echelon of GVL midfielders.
“I am definitely not the fastest or the strongest fellow, so my football IQ is where I have to really try and excel and that has probably been one of my biggest strengths,” he said.
“Working out trends of the game and where the football is going to go and, hopefully, beating your opposition to that to win the ball is something that I pride myself on.
“Because physically I am probably not going to be able to be quicker or stronger to beat guys in some of those contests, so I definitely think sometimes you have to work smarter rather than harder.”
Murphy currently ranks first in the league for total ranking points, while he comes second to only Mansfield’s Matthew King in terms of total disposals and kicks.
Having only played senior football at Seymour (except for VFL), the Lions’ metronomic star said his passion for the club beats long and steady.
“From a young age, the club pushed me to go down and play VFL footy, if it wasn’t for them pushing me to play then I wouldn’t have had the chance to go and play at the state league level,” he said.
“It’s a club that is always looking to better people, so that is a real attraction factor to me.”
