When Port Fairy lines up against Koroit in the Hampden league grand final at Reid Oval in Warrnambool on Saturday, Murrihy will be in the thick of the action in his role as a trainer for the Seagulls.

Murrihy, 53, has deep roots in the club and while he is yet to see a senior football premiership, he has strong ties to the 1958 team that won the Seagulls’ only flag.

His late father Murt was a member of that team, lining up on the wing in the victory over Colac. 

“Dad never talked about his own career much,” Murrihy said.

“All he used to say was that he was quick and wasn’t scared. When I was a young lad people used to tell me dad was a good, tough player.”

Murrihy was a fine player in his own right for the Seagulls, with highlights of his career including captaining the senior team and being a Hampden interleague representative.

He played in the Seagulls’ losing grand final against Coloc-Coragulac in 1983 under the coaching of Ronnie Wearmouth.

“They were a really strong team but we only lost that game by 11 points,” Murrihy said.

“There were a few little things that happened on the day that could have gone either way.”

Stress fractures of the back meant Murrihy was forced to retire in his late 20s.

But he was not lost to the game, joining the Port Fairy committee where he has served for close to 30 years.

In this time on the committee, he has seen Port Fairy make grand finals in 1997 and 2005, but he has also stuck tough during some years when survival was more of a focus than finals.

From 2006 to 2014, the Seagulls won just 20 games and claimed five wooden spoons.

Murrihy admits there were some tough times to negotiate. 

“There were a few meetings where a move to the district league was discussed,” Murrihy said.

“But there were enough of us that weren’t keen on that. We just had to band together. I always thought if we kept working hard, we could turn it around. You never know what’s around the corner. There are a lot of people coming to Port Fairy and lots of different connections and the club has been able to tap into those. Hopefully that will continue to serve us well into the future.”

With 59 years having elapsed since the Seagulls’ first and only premiership, Murrihy is looking forward to Saturday’s grand final.

“I reckon I’m more nervous now than when I was when I played in a grand final,” Murrihy said.

“I suppose I was only 19 back then and at that age all you want to do is get out and play the game.

“I don’t think the long period of not winning a flag will weigh on the players.

“It has never really been a burden players at the club have carried. I know the blokes that are left from 1958 are keen for another premiership. They would be happy to have another group of players step into the limelight.”

The Murrihy family’s links to the Port Fairy Football Netball Club are vast.

Murt’s wife Marj is a passionate supporter and life member of the club.

Two of the couple’s grandsons, Jake Hetherington and Matthew Sully, are members of the Seagulls senior team.

Their mothers, Catherine and Maria, are Murt and Marj’s daughters while their husbands, Scott and Gerard, are both former players and life members of the club. 

Catherine and Scott Hetherington’s two other sons, twins Blair and Tyler, are members of the Seagulls under 18.5s team.    

The Murrihy’s other son, Peter, played for the Seagulls before moving out of the district.

Shaun’s wife Martina co-ordinates Thursday night teas at the club and is a tireless worker, while the couple’s four sons, Ben, Sam, Daniel and Lachlan, have all worn the purple and gold jumper. 

But it is Murt and Marj Murrihiy’s eldest child Leanne (McElgunn) that is the most closely linked with the club’s first premiership.

Marj Murrihy explains that eventful day in 1958.

“Murt and I got married in 1957,” Mrs Murrihy said.

“At the 1958 grand final Leanne was six weeks old. I can’t remember much of the game to be honest, looking after a new baby was a bit more important at the time.”

Mrs Murrihy remembers the after-game celebrations which began for the players in Warrnambool where they were entertained by then club president J.C. Williams.

After that they came back to Port Fairy where they were triumphantly paraded through the town’s CBD before being presented to a large crowd at the old Borough Chambers.

After the formalities were completed, the players headed down to the RSL Hall where they celebrated into the night.

Mrs Murrihy is upbeat about the Seagulls prospects of grabbing a second senior football premiership and excited by her family’s strong connections.

“I am very proud to have two grandsons playing,” Mrs Murrihy said.

“Matthew and Jake are the only two grandsons of the 1958 team that are in the seniors.”