Tim Watson has taken aim at Sam Newman for his ‘hurtful and distasteful’ comments directed towards retiring Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy on The Footy Show.
Newman had accused the injured Murphy of stealing the glory of the club’s fairy-tale 2016 premiership from his teammates, and was roundly booed by the crowd.
The former Essendon legend said while the game is littered with people who overstate their importance and actively seek the limelight, Murphy is not one of those.
“This is not the first time it has come up…What Sam said last night is a really hurtful, distasteful thing to say,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“Bob Murphy is a genuine person, a most genuine person. He did nothing other than join in the celebrations of the club’s unlikely flag. He more than most understands the game is all about the team.
“The fact that he was dragged into the group was an acknowledgement of what he meant to the group and how deeply they felt for someone who had given so much, but missed the Grand Final day experience.
“The game is littered with media people, administrators, coaches, and some players who have over stated their importance and desperately sought the spotlight- Bob is not one of those people.”
Watson said Murphy was dragged into the celebrations, and would have probably felt embarrassed.
“I’m angry about that (Sam’s comments), because I know it is not the way that he (Bob) would like to portray himself, it’s not the way he wants to be portrayed by other people as well,” he said.
“It was the emotion of the occasion that dragged him in. He didn’t want to take the spotlight away from anybody.
“He didn’t call himself up there with Luke Beveridge and say I want your premiership medal, he felt embarrassed about that.”
With suggestions the AFL is set to reduce the number of people allowed on the ground following the end of the Grand Final, Garry Lyon says it’s a good idea.
“The people who have been involved as part of the club, the premiership part of the club from day one, I want to see them all on,” he said.
“All the peripheral players, AFL administrators, sponsors of the AFL should sit in their corporate box, sit back, click the glass and say money well spent boys. We invested well.
“Why do they need to walk out onto the green stuff?”