available on Kayo Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\nEnter Grant Birchall – a four-time premiership Hawk and Lions academy development coach whose balance of defensive discipline and attacking flair made him a prototype of the modern rebounding defender.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went to half-back, he (Birchall) pulled me over and said: \u2018Mate, you\u2019ve got to defend,\u2019\u201d Murray told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I worked pretty hard on that during pre-season. It was positioning, knowing where my opponent is but also getting aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work soon paid off.<\/p>\n
Birchall, along with fellow Lions academy coaches Mitch Hahn and James Gellie, helped turn Murray from an attack-minded midfielder into a more complete half-back. It now looms as his most likely role during the early stages of a promising AFL career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be in the position I\u2019m in today without him (Birchall) and picking his brain,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve watched his highlights and how he went about it, it was pretty crazy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve looked at his leg drive, but he helped me a lot with defence, transition and positioning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like when I got that down pat, it elevated my game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant Birchall upon his signing with Brisbane. Picture: Zak SimmondsSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Birchall, who finished his playing career in Brisbane, is one of several Lions stars of the past helping shape Murray, who looms as a key part of the club\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Murray also credits triple premiership greats Simon Black and Jason Akermanis for playing a significant role in his development. Akermanis, a Lions academy assistant coach, earlier this year told Zero Hanger Murray was perfect for the modern AFL game.<\/p>\n
Asked if Akermanis sometimes pulled out a classic or funny story from his playing days, Murray smiled and said: \u201cFar out, probably not PG!\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray truly arrived as a top-end prospect during this year\u2019s national champs, claiming the Allies\u2019 MVP award and earning selection in the Under 18 All-Australian team.<\/p>\n
His \u2018pick me\u2019 performance came in the Allies\u2019 second match against South Australia when he booted 2.1 from 31 disposals, nine marks and 798m gained as a high half-back. Crucially, there were signs of more defensive accountability.<\/p>\n
It prompted one scout to declare to foxfooty.com.au post-game: \u201cHe just looks like a first-round pick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caylen Murray competes in the 2km Time Trial during the AFL National Draft Combine Testing at George Knott Reserve on October 01, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
For Murray, it was a breakthrough performance that strengthened his belief he belonged among the draft\u2019s leading prospects.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it enhanced my draft stocks a bit. That was a big game in my year – probably the biggest game of my career so far,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always like \u2018I don\u2019t know\u2019, but after that game, I thought I could make it. It wasn\u2019t a lack of self-belief – I do have confidence without being cocky, I\u2019m pretty humble and try to keep myself level-headed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut after that big game and how I played, the confidence went up a bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big goal of mine throughout the year was to find that sweet spot between offence and defence. I feel like I found that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caylen Murray of the Allies during the Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Boys match between South Australia and Allies at Alberton Oval on June 21, 2026 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Interest from AFL clubs and scouts subsequently increased. That has fuelled speculation Murray\u2019s name could now be called inside the top 10.<\/p>\n
If it is, Murray would become the sixth Lions-tied player to attract a first-round bid this decade after Will Ashcroft, Jaspa Fletcher, Levi Ashcroft, Sam Marshall and Daniel Annable. And it\u2019ll be tougher for Brisbane to match this year following a change to the draft bidding system.<\/p>\n
When North Melbourne called Will Ashcroft\u2019s name at Pick 2 in 2022, Brisbane used Picks 34, 35, 38, 40 and 41 to match the bid after receiving a 20 per cent points discount. Not bad value for a two-time Norm Smith Medallist!<\/p>\n
But if the Lions want Murray next month, they\u2019ll be limited to using two picks to match a bid, with a potential 20 per cent loading if it comes inside the top 18.<\/p>\n
AFL draft whispers unpacked | 02:51<\/p>\n
Brisbane\u2019s first two selections in the draft, after the trade period, are Picks 21 and 27. It puts them in a good spot to match a Murray bid between 10 and 15 because Port Adelaide, Carlton and the Giants are expected to use early picks to match bids for Dougie Cochrane, Cody Walker and Ethan Matthews respectively.<\/p>\n
Murray, however, isn\u2019t too worried about the maths.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty relaxed. I feel like anything can happen on the night and nothing\u2019s guaranteed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While Murray is relaxed about the uncertainty of draft night, Brisbane is already familiar territory. He has been part of the Lions family since he was 13.<\/p>\n
He stepped away from lifesaving to take up footy with the Maroochydore Roos where the Lions academy spotted him and signed him. Five years later, he\u2019s still tied to a club that\u2019s just won its third straight flag yet has an age profile that suggests it should contend again for several more years.<\/p>\n
Caylen Murray playing in Lions Academy colours.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Murray said he\u2019d enjoyed getting a \u201csniff\u201d of the AFL program over the past few years. He admits he still gets a bit \u201cstarstruck\u201d walking past and training with triple premiership stars Ashcroft, Logan Morris and Zac Bailey. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty surreal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked if he\u2019d ideally like to remain at Brisbane, Murray said: \u201cI mean, it\u2019s my local club. I\u2019ve been there in the academy almost my whole life. But if it happens, it happens. That\u2019s part of footy. It\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray is viewed by some clubs as a potential long-term replacement for Dayne Zorko at half-back when the five-time club champion eventually retires.<\/p>\n
While Zorko is renowned for his precise kicking and toughness, Murray offers speed, line-breaking ability and polished ball use, underpinned by strong footy IQ.<\/p>\n
\u201cHim and even blokes like Darcy Wilmot who play that role as well, at training I try to lean on them a bit and watch how they go about it,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty crazy what they\u2019ve both done this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray said he saw himself at half-back in his first few years at AFL level, but would be keen to follow in the footsteps of Nick Daicos and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who became superstar midfielders after starting out as rebounding defenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can do something similar (to what) they did, it\u2019ll be alright,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
If he does return to the midfield, he\u2019ll do so as a more complete player, thanks to Birchall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the message from a former premiership star that Caylen Murray needed to hear. And it helped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":933020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-933019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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