Almanac Book Review – Leather Soul: Reflections of Bob Murphy’s Football Career and Inner Feeling with Uniqueness

 

It’s bit late, but Happy New Year to great Almanackers. I wish you all the best in 2019.

 

The Bulldogs legend’s book was delivered on New Year’s Eve, but I was not at home at the time, so I collected it on the first day in 2019. Reading Bob Murphy’s book was the good way to start the brand new year.

 

The title reflects on his passions on touching leather ball (footy) and soul inside him both on and off field.

 

His stories started with his childhood ones as his autobiography. His family, background, and footy involvement in childhood are read. Like other footballers, his family had a cricket pitch at the backyard and indeed Bob played cricket there.

 

As a young boy, Bob decided to jump the back fence seeking an adventure or someone to play cricket with. He ended up joining a bunch of kids playing at nearby front yard. Such attitudes create his uniqueness and passions of playing sports, I reckon.

 

Then I sense his bravery was established when he accidentally released a handbrake on his mum’s car and tried to push the vehicle up.

 

It’s like one of his close friends Nick Riewoldt having not wanting to lose cricket games in his childhood that created his competitiveness.

 

Due to unavailability of grass footy field, he played footy at school car park during his primary school years in Warragul. Although he was not a big kid, he was picked into a team fast. His dad sensed he was gifted at his first game played for the ‘Colts’ at the age of nine.

 

He describes high school times more with romance. His first kiss under a big tree at the back of footy field. Everyone does, but his one was controversial that is out of his character.

 

The highlight of his high school times is how he met his wife Justine and his sense of uniqueness of his sweetheart.

 

His excitement of being drafted is covered. The interesting story was him spending nights at his mate’s house and not available for a phone call from Hawthorn Football Club’s recruiter. However he was drafted as number 13 from the Bulldogs in 1999.

 

His professional playing stories follow with his unique storytelling.

 

Bob talks about tortured pre-season camp, tough program called Leading Teams without humour, dealing with knee injuries, how he was greeted by Irish on his International Rules tour, nicknames and names of players whom he loved playing against and playing with because of their characters.

 

The 2016 Grand Final story and talking about captaincy are also talked about.

 

I had never read such a footy book before. At the epilogue, he tells readers he wanted to write a unique book and I have sensed it before he mentions. Bob has the same attitudes as Saint Nick but both legends write differently.

 

I admire his honesty. He was unsure if he was the right person to lead the club or not. He had thought someone else would be better. But when the club had a turmoil in 2014, he was honest with Club President Peter Gordon and accepted to be a skipper.

 

Also his expressing his Irish spirits and soul that he found during the International Tour to Ireland is impressive. I want to be honest with my emotion and spirits like is Bob.

 

Describing great friendship with Saint Nick as well as Hawk, Jarryd Roughead and expressing his worry on Nick’s knee injury at Round 1, 2017 are what make me smile. I am happy three are close friends no matter they play(ed) different clubs.

 

At the end of reading, I got a big attention.

 

Athletes absorb themselves and don’t listen to the thoughts, it’s said and Bob mentions.

 

Then here is the respond from his respecting journalist’s wife.

 

“Writers are the worst! They’re always off in their own worlds, ignoring the real world, the real-time problems of life at home!’

 

As an amateur writer, it still shocks me, even I am single.

 

Writers are creative. Players need to be motivated to win and to set strong mind to be competitive.

 

But these attitudes can’t be created without seeing real world, can they?

 

And they are talented and have unique thoughts. Simply they have different perceptions, I reckon. But each parties need more discussions to have better relationships, I think.

 

After asking my mate Harry his approve of my featuring story about him, he says I am a talented writer. Cheers mate!

 

Unfortunately I have been criticised with my unique friendly attitudes at work recently. Even having been told that writing is a lonely job (as well as is a skipper, Bob says), why would I need to hide talents and gifts?

 

Like his three-year captaincy, it should be time to unleash in profession.

 

Bob has a good point – working with Luke Beveridge brings the club the second flag in 2016. The pair had the right matching.

 

It is a reminder of myself I need right people to unleash my talents and utilise them.

 

I advise you to read his life journey. It’s a wonderful book for good entertainment.