Murdoch blindsided by Geelong delisting
JORDAN Murdoch says he was blindsided by Geelong’s decision to delist him, but is excited about a fresh start at the Gold Coast Suns.
Murdoch was last month put on the trade table by the Cats, but cut three weeks later along with Daniel Menzel after a deal failed to materialise.
The pacy winger said he did not see it coming.
“I was a little bit relieved at the end of trade period when I hadn’t got a trade,” Murdoch said.
“I felt that meant that I was going to stay at Geelong where I was happy and have a lot of good friends and great relationships within the club.
“So it was a bit of a disappointment and I didn’t get much reason for it other than it was just the way the club wanted to go and that they’d already made their decision.
“But look, a couple of weeks is a long time in footy ... it’s probably turned into a blessing in disguise and I’m really looking forward to the new opportunity.”
Murdoch, 26, was wanted by St Kilda, but chose the Suns after being “blown away” by coach Stuart Dew. He will join the struggling expansion club after a 108-game career at Geelong in which he was on the winning side 72 times.
“I’m really confident with where my footy is at and what I’ll be able to bring to Gold Coast,” Murdoch said.
“I did meet with the Saints, did a medical and had really good conversations with [list manager] James Gallagher and [coach] Alan Richardson … it was definitely an option.
“It was a very tough decision, I can’t stress that enough. But I’m really excited to get up to the Gold Coast. A clean start is probably what I want as well, to get out of the Melbourne fishbowl and enjoy helping set up a culture for hopefully years of success.”
Murdoch said Menzel was too good not to be at the elite level and backed him to get another chance, with Sydney looking the likely suitor.
“I absolutely love playing with the guy and having him as a teammate and clubmate and I’m pretty certain he’s going to be on an AFL list next year,” he said. “He is just a great person for a club to have.”