Nick Murray

Nicholas Murray (born 18 December 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a junior, Murray played for the Murray Bushrangers and the Greater Western Sydney Giants' reserves team. He was overlooked at the AFL draft for two seasons in a row before being signed to a rookie contract with Adelaide in early 2021 and making his AFL debut less than three weeks later. Murray has since become an integral part of Adelaide's backline.

Early life and career

Murray is the younger brother of Sam Murray, who played 13 AFL matches for Collingwood before Murray began his career. He is also the older brother of Toby Murray, who is currently listed as a rookie for . As a junior, Murray played 21 games for the Murray Bushrangers in the NAB League across the 2017 and 2018 seasons, becoming the team's co-captain. He became a member of the Greater Western Sydney Giants academy and played eight games for the Giants' reserves team in 2019 as a key defender and also played seven matches with Wangaratta Rovers in 2019.

Murray was overlooked in the 2019 AFL draft, then signed a contract to play for Williamstown in the Victorian Football League in 2020. Murray played for Williamstown in two practices matches against Port Melbourne Football Club and Footscray, but the 2020 VFL season was cancelled without a game being played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Murray returned home to play for Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong in the AFL Riverina Championship, where he was one of the standout performers. He predominantly played at centre-half-forward during the season and kicked 12 goals from seven games. His season came to an end when he injured his collarbone in a final. (Sources describe this match against Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes as either a semi-final Adelaide had one spot left open on their list and, unable to decide between Murray and their own delisted player Ayce Taylor, the club decided to give the two players the opportunity to train with the rest of the team during the pre-season to decide which player would join the team's list.) Murray played in two pre-season games against Port Adelaide but was unavailable to make his debut in round one. Former Adelaide player Stephen Rowe said of Murray's rise to the AFL: "It is remarkable. I doubt there will be a bigger football debut story than this one. Three weeks ago not on a list, six months ago playing for a 'buckle wheel league'. And now he's playing Buddy [Franklin]..." Through the 2021 season, Murray played for Adelaide in a total of thirteen games, averaging nearly six spoils per game. Murray became Adelaide's first-choice key defender. He excelled in the role, becoming one of the highest-rated players in his role across the competition, until he himself ruptured his ACL in round 19 against . His injury ended his season, opening the door for Mark Keane and James Borlase to make their club debuts. Murray's younger brother Toby was invited to play with Adelaide's SANFL squad following the 2023 season, and in May 2024, Toby was drafted as a rookie in the mid-season draft.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

78 !! 3 !! 3 !! 500 !! 217 !! 717 !! 267 !! 98 !! 0.0 !! 0.0 !! 6.4 !! 2.8 !! 9.2 !! 3.4 !! 1.3 !! 0